He suddenly cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. In this case, Jesus is in the temple surrounded by a throng of worshipers. Of course, that does not tell us what the living water is! For that, we must go to another passage of Scripture. Notice that He does not say that He is the living water, but that He would give living water to her, and when she received it, she would never thirst again. Jesus ignored the question and went right to the point, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). Of course, she had no idea who Jesus was and asked Him how He could ask her for water since He was a Jew. The Samaritan woman was quite shocked because Jesus was a Jew, and Jews simply hated the Samaritans. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. Jesus was tired and sat at a well while His disciples went into town to buy food. The first instance is found in John chapter 4. We have many gifts, but one Spirit unites us, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit whom Jesus has given to the Church to unify us, to unite us, to call us to serve a single purpose, a common mission, which is “to make and mature disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.Jesus uses the phrase “living water” in two instances in the Bible. Some of us are wealthy, others of us are just starting out, some are college educated, others are still in school, some are from this country, others have immigrated from elsewhere, some are well-known in the community, others not so much. We are male and female, we are young and old, we are Republican and Democrat, we are liberal and conservative, we are long-time church members and brand new Christians. Here at Wooster United Methodist Church we are a large and diverse congregation composed of persons of diverse backgrounds and disparate opinions. One Giver, one Lord, one Spirit, one Wordįor the Giver, for the gifts, praise, praise, praise! In our difference is blessing, from diversity we praise Many gifts, one Spirit, one love known in many ways. Each one of us, therefore, is a special child of God, formed and fashioned by One who loves us just as we are and who calls us to reveal the Divine Image implanted within us to those others, neighbors and strangers, all of whom we are called to love. A God of “many colors … many signs,” to use the words of the hymn, chooses to make human beings different and unique. Thus the song highlights our many gifts as United Methodist Christians but also the one Spirit who draws all those gifts together and makes them usable to God for the purpose of fulfilling God’s vision, God’s desire and dream for the people called United Methodist. This Assembly was the first following the merger of the Methodist and the Evangelical United Brethren churches. Written by Al Carmines on a commission from the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, this song was first sung in October of 1973 at the Assembly of United Methodist Women in Cincinnati, Ohio. The hymn “Many Gifts, One Spirit” has been occupying my attention these past few weeks and days.
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