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March 21, 2023
Upon reading Ezekiel’s vision, I cannot help but think of the Samaritan woman at the well and her response: “Sir, give me this water.” That water that Jesus offered to her at the well, one that would quench her thirst entirely. Better than the water at the pool in Bethesda, which is superseded by the Word of God. This is the water that Ezekiel saw flowing from beneath the temple. It is the water that gives abundant life wherever it flows. It is the water that came forth from the temple of Christ’s Body when the soldier pierced His side at the crucifixion.
In Ezekiel’s vision, the water was not simply coming from the temple in any direction but toward the east. The crucifixion of our Lord is, by no means, the end of the story. The cross points to the east, to the Resurrection. The cross and the Resurrection give meaning to our baptism with water. What would be ordinary water is the means of our salvation through the cross.
As we near the cross and the temple of Christ hanging on it, may we recognize the origin of the living water, creating rivers of life and joy wherever it flows. Do not hold back, but ask, as the Samaritan woman did or as the man at the pool wanted to be healed, “Sir, give me this water.”