“Sweet Water”

Great Redeemer, Restorer of broken hopes and hearts.                                                   

Encourager of wearied souls,  
                                                         
You who breathe dreams and vision into mere earthen vessels, emptied of expectations, 

to the thirsting You give the Sweet Water,                                                                                             

You Are.                             

Great Redeemer, Restorer of broken hopes and hearts, see us,  

Sweet Water in Your mercy….. 

For Reflection/ Discussion 

* What boundary feels hardest to cross: fear, fatigue, disappointment, past experience or something else? 

* What are signs that dignity has been damaged/ that dignity has been restored?   

* What changes when dignity has been restored? how do we talk about ourselves, how do we talk to one another, how do we imagine our future?  

* Why do you think the poem repeats “Great Redeemer, Restorer…”  what does repetition do for people carrying long-standing pain? How does mercy function as healing; what does mercy make possible that old wounds usually block or prevent?  

Biblical Reflection:  John 4: 4- 52    “Truth At the Well”