Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Tuesday in the Fourth Week of Lent

Suzi Raeside

The Collect

O God, with you is the well of life, and in your light we see light: Quench our thirst with living water, and flood our darkened minds with heavenly light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Readings:Ezekiel 47:1–9,12, John 5:1–18 & Psalm 46:1–8

I have to admit, I am no Biblical scholar. At the back of my mind is always the fact that this Holy Book was written by mere mortals. I tend to look at it as mostly allegorical in nature.

So when I read the readings for this day, there were two things that struck me as relevant. First was the reading in John where Jesus cures the man who had suffered some affliction for 38 years. That's great, yes? Well the authorities didn't think so because he did it on the Sabbath. For that infraction, they were determined to kill him. I think much of religion over the centuries has been too rooted in the "Thou shalt not" rather than the positive actions of its members. I know this is why so many say they are against "organized" religion. I truly think that this is one of the reasons I found a home in St John's. We don't seem overly bound by dogma but more about praying with our feet, as Anne has so often reminded us.

The other reading from Ezekiel talks about water flowing from the Temple to the Dead Sea, making it less saline in nature. Along the way the water feeds the trees and brings life in its journey. The banks of the river remain salty so there is a source of salt. I looked at that river and its journey as a metaphor for our year of pandemic. The journey the pandemic has given us: time to reflect, time to refresh our family relationships, time to feed our souls, time to appreciate all that is around us.

And lastly from Psalms: God is our shelter and our strength, so we will not be afraid. Good words to live by, not always easy.