Water in the Desert

A Reflection on the First Reading for March 12th, 2023:
Third Sunday of Lent

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Exodus
17.3-7

In the wilderness the people thirsted for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the children of Israel quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

It has been a long season in the desert. For those of us who are still mostly homebound due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I identify with the Israelites’ desperation. They are thirsting and filled with doubt. God brought them out of Egypt to spend decades in the desert. God saved them, but the journey to the promised land felt like it would never end. Days added up to weeks. Weeks added up to months. Months added up to years. Years added up to decade after decade. Was it a trap? Was God’s promise lost in all their unfaithfulness?

As I enter my third year of wandering in this particular desert, those thoughts cross my mind. Will this ever end? Did God save me only to leave me in this desert until I die? Every week, the desperation seeps in, reaching a fever pitch every Sunday, when my heart longs for the Living Bread just a few blocks away, waiting for me, but out of my reach.

Because my promised land is the Eucharist. That’s the thing I most need to sustain my life. My three year fast – with a few times of respite mercifully scattered throughout – has been a season of great trial and great spiritual growth. More than ever, I see the Eucharist as the source and summit of my faith. More than ever, I see how the Holy Spirit moves intensely in me through the Bread of Life. 

Yet I am still called to this fast. I am still invited to dwell in the desert a little longer. I don’t know when it will be the sufficient time. What I do know is that God is with me. I know that He is still for me. I know that He sees when I most need water in the desert, and that He sends me that water.

That water comes in many forms. It comes in the ability to join my Church family at the livestreamed Mass, Zoom small groups, by reading devotionals, and via the ancient prayers of the Church. God is with me through my home Church and through other Churches whose ministries come to bring water to my dusty soul. God sends me all the water I need to make it through another day, another week, another month, another year.

For however long I am called to wander in this desert, I know I will not die. Because God is with me.




Stephanie Potter

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