April 6: The Fifth Word: “I Thirst”
♫ Music:
Week Six Introduction
Title: The Fifth Word: “I Thirst”
April 6–April 12
The Missionaries of Charity, founded in 1950 by Mother Teresa, today operate 758 houses for the poor in 139 countries throughout the world. Located above each chapel entrance in these facilities are the words “I THIRST, I QUENCH.” During her lifetime Mother Teresa wrote, “[Our] aim is to quench the thirst of Jesus…He spoke of his thirst [on the cross]—not for water—but for love, for sacrifice…His love, his thirst is infinite. Our aim is to ceaselessly quench the thirsting God by our love and the love of the souls we bring to him.”
Although the Savior of the World suffered insatiable physical thirst as His body succumbed to hypovolemic shock, His plaintive request appears to be more spiritual than temporal. Christ’s thirst for our affection can only be satisfied when we in turn hunger and thirst after Him. The author of Psalm 42 declared, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Like all mammals, deer seek water when they get thirsty, but instinctively flee to water when they are in danger or have been wounded. Likewise, we must continually drink deeply from that “well that never runs dry” and find protection from the dangers that threaten us in the “Fountain of Life.”
The thirsting Christ became a “drink offering” to provide hydration for a dying world in desperate need of lifesaving fluids. Through the shedding of His blood, He quenched and quenches thirst. “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37–38). Thirst, yearning, and love are inextricably intertwined. Cardinal Basil Hume wrote, “To long for the beloved, to yearn, to pine for the beloved—[is] to be thirsty.” Christ’s poignant words to His followers “I was thirsty and you gave me drink” (Matthew 25:35), or to the Samaritan woman “Give me a drink” (John 4:7), are a rhetorical device used to invite His listeners to enter into a relationship of abiding love—Christ thirsts for us as we in turn thirst for Him.
Day 33 - Sunday, April 6
Title: He Who Gathered the Waters Together Thirsts Upon the Cross
Scripture #1: Genesis 1:1–10 (NKJV)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
Scripture #2: Psalm 29:3–4, 10–11 (NKJV)
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty…The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood, and the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.
Poetry & Poet:
“Ocean Water”
by Dasha Kelly Hamilton
The ocean pushes back
Alive and vigorous
The heritage of habitat
Leans against expectation
Muscles its due respect
Without regard
Without warning
Without reorienting the ones
With swimming pool perspectives
Limitations of consistent temperatures
and painted cement walls
The ocean rumbles its sovereignty
Full weight of freedom on my
skin
#BASIC
Dad, you’re so basic. This is my teenage daughter’s favorite insult of me––Dad, you’re so extra. This is my preteen son’s favorite insult of me––Dad, that’s so mid. This is their reaction to my ideas for family night. No matter what I do or say, even if it’s in the exact same situation, I’m either too little or too much or just too mediocre for them. Thus is the predicament of raising kids in the generation of TikTok.
This week we meditate on Jesus’ fifth word: I thirst. He who created the world and gathered the seas now desperately needs water as his body surrenders to thirst. He who made the human body now yields to its basic need.
About 70% of our Earth is covered by water––it is so basic. Water is a necessary component to all bodily functions like regulating temperature, transporting nutrients, lubricating joints, eliminating waste, protecting organs, moisturizing skin, helping digestion–– it is so extra. 75% of the human brain is water and 75% of a living tree is water–– it is so mid. Thus is the predicament of water––we have so much of it that we forget that it is a precious resource, our most vital resource.
And here’s what we can remind ourselves today: Jesus’ thirst is not about how much water he needed in that moment. Don’t get me wrong, he was likely extremely parched and was vulnerably expressing his physical need. But Jesus could have miraculously found a way to get water into his system. Jesus’ thirst expresses more his humility and submission to the Father’s will than his dehydration. Jesus was fully committed to obedience and invites us to the same.
This I thirst statement also reminds us that the particulars of life matter to God. Christ’s journey to the cross captures details like this two-word declaration to remind us that God’s work of redemption was meticulous. We can rest in God’s goodness and know that he sees all the specifics of our lives––He’s planned them out thoughtfully. We can be faithful through the big and small aspects of our lives because he cares about them.
Every thirst matters. God might not quench all our thirsts in the manner and timing that we might desire, but he meets us at every thirst, and we have every opportunity to drink in his living water.
Take a few moments today to gaze at Baker’s works and reflect on Hamilton’s poem that captures the strength, boldness, and beauty of the Earth’s waters. Remind yourself that the God who created the oceans is with you. And take a few moments to listen to the song. It’s a simple antiphon that highlights the details in the vocalists’ presentation. Allow the vulnerable strength of their vocalization as it invites you into resilient obedience today.
Prayer:
God, we are thirsty for you, and we’re grateful that you not only care about our souls’ thirst, but are strong enough to provide for them. Help us to lean into the humility and submission that Christ demonstrated on his journey to the cross. Give us the courage and wisdom to submit to you in the ways you’re inviting us to today.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Dr. Mike Ahn, M.Div.
Dean of Spiritual Development
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Art #1:
Presence (left)
Dawn Waters Baker
48 x 48 in.
Oil on canvas
Private collection
About the Art #2:
Unfurl (middle)
Dawn Waters Baker
24 x 24 in.
Oil on canvas
Private collection
About the Art #3:
Come and Find Me (right)
Dawn Waters Baker
48 x 48 in.
Oil on canvas
Private collection
About the Artist:
Dawn Waters Baker was born and raised as a missionary kid in the Philippines. Her love of trees, light, mist, water, and the mystery that comes with the unfolding of the landscape is what has long inspired her artwork. Her work seems to ride between the traditional and the contemporary, the mystical and the physical, the seen and the deeper things that are unseen. She has participated in three art residencies at the National Parks with the National Parks Arts Foundation: at the Big Bend National Park, the Gettysburg National Military Park, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. She is currently represented by Waterfall Mansion and Gallery in New York; J. Peeler Howell Gallery in Fort Worth, Texas; and Joseph Gierek Fine Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
https://www.dawnwatersbaker.com/work/airskyearthandtree
About the Music: “Today He Who Hung the Earth” from the album The Very Best of English Orthodox Chant
Chant Text:
Today is suspended on a tree.
He who suspended the earth upon the waters. (x3)
Who is The King of the angels is decked with a crown of thorns.
He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery.
He who freed Adam in the Jordan is slapped on the face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the Cross with nails.
The Son of the Virgin is pierced by a spear.
We worship Thy passion, O Christ. (x3)
Show us also Thy glorious resurrection
About the Composer: Medieval Orthodox hymn
About the Performers: Father Apostolos Hill and Liturgia Ensemble
Father Apostolos Hill’s pastoral journey over the years has taken him to a number of memorable places and has provided a fertile seedbed in which the seeds of ministry God placed in him as a child could grow and mature. Today he serves the community of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Phoenix, Arizona, as the senior pastor.
https://www.ancientfaith.com/contributors/apostolos_hill/
Liturgia Ensemble is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the music of the Orthodox chant.
About the Poetry and Poet:
Dasha Kelly Hamilton is a writer, performance artist, and curator. Hamilton has written for national, regional, and local magazines; produced three books of poetry; recorded four spoken word albums; published two novels and an award-winning collection of micro stories; been included in several anthologies; and performed in the last season of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. Her nonprofit, Still Waters Collective, initiated literary arts programming for twenty years, creating platforms for thousands of voices to be honored and heard. She has taught at colleges, conferences and classrooms, and curated fellowships for emerging leaders. She is a former Artist of the Year and Poet Laureate for the City of Milwaukee and the 2020–2022 Poet Laureate for the State of Wisconsin. Hamilton is a national Rubinger Fellow and a National Laureate Fellow with the American Academy of Poets. Touring nationally, her stage production, Makin’ Cake, uniquely engages communities in a forward dialogue on race, class, and equity. Dasha is working on her third novel, a collection of poems with incarcerated writers, and a documentary film.
https://dashakh.com/our-services/
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Mike Ahn, Ph.D., M.Div.
Dean of Spiritual Development
Biola University
Mike Ahn oversees the various departments in spiritual development: chapel programs, worship teams, Torrey Memorial Bible Conference, student-led ministries, and pastoral care. He is a graduate of Haverford College (B.A., History, ’01) and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div., Spiritual Formation, ’09; Ph.D., Educational Studies, ’22). If he could, he would have two In-N-Out cheeseburgers with chopped chilis, animal-style fries, and a Pamplemousse LaCroix for every meal.