1st Wednesday of Advent (December 4). WATER ON THIRSTY LAND

Prepare to Listen.  I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.
 
Prayerfully Read Isaiah 44:1-5
But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
   Israel whom I have chosen!
2Thus says the LORD who made you,
   who formed you in the womb and will help you:
Do not fear, O Jacob my servant,
   Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
   and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my spirit upon your descendants,
   and my blessing on your offspring.
4They shall spring up like a green tamarisk,
   like willows by flowing streams.
5This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’s’,
   another will be called by the name of Jacob,
yet another will write on the hand, ‘The LORD’s’,
   and adopt the name of Israel.
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
What do you fear today?
 
“Do not fear,” says the Lord to his chosen people.  Why?  God answers: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.”  Life was dry for the Jews in their Babylonian exile, far removed from their homeland, all that was known and familiar.  God gives hope, promises abundance.  Therefore, do not fear.
 
Most of us have experienced dryness in life, sometimes because of a personal issue, sometimes a result of the broken and toxic world in which we live.  Every election season, I feel like I’m living in an arid land, my soul feels dry and I long for the water to refresh and heal my soul.  I need to hear God’s promise to Israel in their arid land of exile: “I will pour my spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.”
 
Do not fear.  We don’t need to because God’s Spirit has now poured on us, made possible by the Advent of Jesus.  Our task is to willingly receive the pouring out by giving up the old and making changes.  The Spirit ushers in newness, unfamiliarity, takes us to places we’ve never been to and to people we’ve tried to avoid because they’re not like us.  When we hear and make the radical, life-shifting claim, ‘I am the LORD’s’ writing on our hands, the Lord’s, then we’ll have no need to fear; then we’ll splash in water that comes on our thirsty scene and drink freely.
 
If you wrote on your hand, the Lord’s, how would it affect how you live today?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord you are a generous giver, pouring out your Spirit and refreshing our aridity, quenching our thirst.  May I be receptive to your generosity today, not only for me, but for the world.  Amen.