GIVE DRINK TO THE THIRSTY

This morning as I was shaving I suddenly became conscious of a recent public service ad I saw on television. Its message is that we turn the faucet off while we are brushing our teeth because we waste more water in a day than most people have access to in a week. I looked down and the water was running. I turned the water off and only used it to wash the shaving cream off the razor only when needed.

It reminded me of when I was a youngster and watching my Uncle Dom shave. He was an old brush-and-lather man for those old enough to remember when there was no such product as shaving cream in a can. He would put the plug in the sink, fill it with enough water to cleanse his blade and no more. This was the same Uncle whom I once caught patching a patch on his undershorts even though he had a drawer full of new ones given to him by my siblings and me.

Uncle Dom never went to church except when I was in town celebrating. But a more Christian man could not be found. He was a union man to the core who believed that the CEO of Alcoa should not make any more money than he did. They needed each other. Besides, he had all that he needed because he somehow never wanted for anything that he really did not need.

Uncle Dom taught me more about being a Christian than all my Sunday School and seminary classes put together ever did. He always cared for those who were not as blessed as he was. And for him his blessings were not about material possessions. His blessings were his five nieces and nephews, my siblings and me. He did for us what our parents could not. We have college degrees because of him.

In our own ways my sibs and I were thirsty, thirsty for higher education. Both Uncle Dom and my Mom left school after eighth grade to help support their immigrant family. Dad, well he was asked to join the army after tenth grade and I will leave it at that. They thirsted for education. We drank till we were sated.

Thirst comes in many forms. We thirst for water. We thirst for knowledge. We thirst for companionship. We thirst for…well, we each know what we thirst for, truly thirst. There are needs each of us has, needs we thirst for. Some of those needs we can fill on our own. Others can only be filled with the help of others.

Everyone thirsts for something, some true need. It is our responsibility as Christians to help give whatever drink is necessary to those who thirst. It may be by conserving water. It may by helping with their education. It may be by being present in their sorrows. It may be by contributing to organizations that purchase water purifiers for those whose water, little as it is, must be cleansed to prevent disease. This world thirsts for those who will give them drink. We must be one of those in our own way as best we can.