Page 39 - Lenten Devotional 2023

Sunday, March 19

Image of God Scripture: John 4: 7-10; 13-14
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His

disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that
you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with
Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to

you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink
of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in

them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.

Reflection
Water flows to the place of least resistance, the lowest terrain, seeping into the depths
of the soil and then it brings forth life. It quenches the thirst of the parched earth and

helps life spring from dust. We can imagine Jesus as the water of life coming to us in
much the same way. Seeping into the recesses of our soul, washing away our sin and
bringing forth new life. All with the promise that we will never thirst again.

Image of God Reflection

God created a universe that demonstrates infinite variety in its life forms, calls our
attention to fascinating details, stuns us with breathtaking beauty and amazes us with
its mathematical patterns and interdependence. That we are created in the image of
God tells me that human beings are meant to be imaginative creatures also, living in

connection with one another, at work for the well-being of all. Each element of Creation
carries a spark of the Divine, a gentle fingerprint of God.

~Barb Johnson Frank (50 yrs with First Lutheran)

Prayer

Gracious Lord, you come to us like an everlasting spring flowing over us, through us and
all around us. You bring us into a world of diversity and then challenge us to be a part of
your creation, in harmony with what you have created. Help us to experience the beauty

of what you share with others and to be awake to the life that is within us. Amen.