“Jesus answered and said unto her [the Samaritan woman], ‘If thou knewest the gift of God, and Who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.’ ” (John 4:10)
When Jesus says to St. Photini (St. Svetlana) at Jacob’s well ‘Give Me to drink’ His thirst is not just physical, but much more profound. This is later reflected when He is dying on the Cross and says ‘I thirst,’ two of the last five words He spoke before He died. Jesus is thirsty for our love and our salvation as He pours out His love and mercy to us moment by moment in our lives. He is thirsty to have us shine with His Light manifest within us. He is thirsty for us to become the full and shining icons of the Image and Likeness of God in which we were created. Most of all He is thirsty for us to come to Him in all our weakness and imperfection and ask to be healed, so He can fill us up with the bubbling, fresh, and strong living water of Faith and Love to live with Him forever. If we humbly and sincerely and continuously ask Him for His Living Water, He will pour His love into us, heart to heart, and we will truly never thirst again.
The Monastics at St. Isaac of Syria Skete
and at the Convent of St. Silouan
and the Faithful at St. Nicholas Church
and the Staff at Orthodox Byzantine Icons and St. Isaac’s Bookstore