Sept 13, 2026: Living Water

Old Testament Reading   Ezekiel 47:9-12
Gospel Reading:  John 7: 37-39

I want to begin with a guided meditation. If you are comfortable, close your eyes. 

Picture a beautiful body of water. It could be a lake, river, ocean or brook. Feel the warmth of the sun on your back as you stand at the edge of that water gazing at its beauty. Now step into the water feeling the refreshing coolness  on your ankles and maybe, if you are brave enough, take another step deeper so the water cools you up to your knees. Now hold still and look down into the water. Watch the swim bugs racing across the top or maybe the minnows or crabs moving below. Maybe some of those small minnows even tickle your feet as you stand there. Feel and see the life in this living water. 

If you like, imagine yourself stepping into a boat, kayak, or paddle board and floating on this living water as it holds you as you continue to look at the life within it from the fish, to the lilies or the seaweed. Imagine taking a sample of this water and putting it under a microscope. You would see wiggly microorganisms, including bacteria, protozoa, and algae: all different forms of life.

Now open your eyes and look at the cover of your bulletin. This is the symbol of this year’s Season of Creation. It is a focus on the living water. In his passage the Prophet Ezekiel is envisioning not just the restoration of the Temple and  Jerusalem after the people’s time of exile, but from that Temple comes a river of life sustaining water  where “every living creature that swarms will live”. There will be plentiful fish to sustain life and “ On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food.” And the trees will not just bear fruit seasonally but “they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary.” And not only will the tree produce fruit for food but also “their leaves for healing”. 

Some people see this vision as a metaphor for the end times or for Heaven, when we are truly restored to God and creation and it is partially that. But if we really think about it, this is the way God created the earth: where all life is in balance and there is enough fresh, life giving water and food for all. And think about it, our local fruit trees may not give us fruit each month and our local lake or ocean may not give us fish each month, but can’t we get fruit and fish at the grocery store all year round as it is brought in from different parts of God’s creation? And there are at least 25 different trees that have healing properties that we use in various medicines. Aren’t we lucky that we live in places where we have access to fresh water daily and there are stores that have all those foods we need and want and most of us have the money to buy them? 

But not everyone on this planet does and part of the vision of restoration is our work in accomplishing the justice of living water that supports all. We are called to be co-workers with the Creator in caring for this planet and all who are on it. 

It is out of this spirit that the World Council of Churches created the Ecumenical Water Network that “promotes the preservation, responsible management and equitable distribution of water for all, based on the understanding that water is a gift from God, a common good and a fundamental human right.” They “promote and coordinate international advocacy for the human right to water and sanitation.” Their work is needed because, “According to the UN News, 1.7 billion people lack basic hygiene services at home, and 2.1 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water - that is 1 in 4 people on the globe!” 

It is easy for those of us for whom fresh water is just a turn of a faucet handle away to forget how far water is from others. According to Oxfam, on average women and children in some developing countries like Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Yemen walk up to 3.7 miles a day carrying 5 gallons of water back to their families. Imagine walking even a mile carrying five gallons of water!

And yet we know the value of water to life. We have all seen how quickly a brown lawn or plant greens up when the rains finally come. But what if the water that is available for a community to drink or water its crops and animals is polluted by chemicals released from factories or taken up by the exorbitant amount of water needed to cool off and produce electricity for data centers for artificial intelligence?

According to a September 9, 2026 Forbes article “ The Hidden Data Center Water Risk that Demands more Attention”, in the “seven states that are home to nearly half of U.S. data centers: Virginia, Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio, and Arizona…(the data centers) depend on about 3.4 trillion gallons of freshwater annually for electricity, making up the majority of the data centers' overall water use. That's roughly 12 times the annual water use of Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Washington D.C. combined.”

While it is nice to have the information at our fingertips that AI offers, is it as necessary as fresh water to all living things? Maybe AI can help us investigate and solve some of our fresh water problems around the world. We will see…

Somewhere in there is a balance that we as stewards of God’s creation are called to work for so that all of creation has access to God’s living water. 

We, as creation, are thirsty for living water - both the literal kind and the hope and motivation that our creator is still working with us and in us to make a difference in our lives and for the planet. Jesus said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me” and aren’t we all thirsty for hope and reassurance? Jesus offers us that. 

“Let the one who believes in me drink.” In drinking in belief, we join with God as a part of the human community of living water: a water that supports, sustains, feeds and grows. When we become part of that community, we support each other and the planet. Our believing hearts and efforts combine together one droplet of water at a time to create the rivers of living water that, with God’s support and guidance, can nourish the whole planet. 

Never doubt that your droplet of belief, of living water, is too small because, like a rising tide, it combines with other droplets of belief to fill the bay. And even when the tide goes out and you feel weighed down by the challenges of the world, remember that in 12 hours, that tide is going to come back to fill you up again. 

We in the United Church of Ludlow are just a few of the droplets in the ecumenical community of faith around the world who are listening to the cry of creation and praying for God’s living water during this Season of Creation. But our droplets join with the Catholics, the Episcopals, the Lutherans, the Orthodox, the World Council of Churches and so many others to make a tidal shift in this world. Let’s follow the advice of all of our partners in this season of creation:
“Let us overcome our fear and step into the water of God’s love - to be
part of the River of Transformation for the world, to see the literal
healing and renewal of creation and the blessing of the Earth.” Amen.
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Pastor Michelle Fountain

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