Why "Thirst"?

Why "Thirst"? 

The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside

Our Church: The Eucharist

Mary Oliver

"Something has happened

to the bread

and the wine.

They have been blessed.

What now?

The body leans forward

to receive the gift

from the priest's hand,

then the chalice.

They are something else now

from what they were

before this began.

I want

to see Jesus,

maybe in the clouds

or on the shore,

just walking,

beautiful man

and clearly

someone else

besides.

On the hard days

I ask myself

if I ever will.

also there are times

my body whispers to me

that I have. “

Mary Oliver is the author of this poem.  It comes from her recent book called Thirst.  When I first picked up the book, I found myself wondering about the title.

Why Thirst?

Mary Oliver is the author of many books.  She finds a way through her poetry to 

find the sacred intersection of the natural world and the sacred.  We inhabit a 

world created by something much larger than ourselves.  There is much around us that is "man" made and yet it's very origin is beyond our understanding(or at least mine).

Why Thirst?

Yet, having that knowledge does not change my desire to know and understand.  The God that is central to my way of being often manifests itself as a longing for something just beyond my reach.

"Something has happened

to the bread

and the wine.

They have been blessed.

What now?

The body leans forward”

The body leans forward, the body leans to meet that longing that is just beyond 

our reach.  The body is thirsty.  The body looks to have that thirst, that longing

satisfied.

Jesus knew that he was about to leave as he sat around the table with friends.  

In my imagination, I think of Jesus asking God, what to do next.  "How, God, how

 am I to let them know that I will be with them always? How can I help them remember? How can I give them a tangible sign that the longing they feel is for you?  How can I help them quench that thirst?  How, God? “

Jesus finishes this prayer and sits back in his chair.  He lifts his cup of wine

 and takes a sip.  With a big sigh he looks around.  As is so often true with God,

the answer comes.  We are nourished by bread and water.  We gather with others in remembrance that God is always with us.

Why Thirst?

"They are something else now

from what they were

before this began. “

Jesus stands to speak to those gathered around the table.  As he looks around the room, each man was looking at him, waiting…….

Jesus reached for a loaf of bread, the bread that they had shared on this night 

and many before.  He held it up and their gaze followed.  He prayed words of Thanksgiving and blessing to God.  He broke it in half, holding it out in front of him, he looked directly at each person gathered there.  "We have spent this time together.  You have seen healing, miracles, and God's grace on this journey.  I have been your leader, your teacher, but I am leaving soon.  You must remember and carry on this work.  I know it will be hard and you will feel lost and alone.  I am here to help you remember.  I am here to remind you of that longing, that thirst that can only be filled with……

"This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”

Take, eat, be nourished on the bread that is my body, so that you will never forget. Try not to forget me and know that I am always with you.

Jesus puts the bread down on a plate, the plate just like all the others.   He leans

over and picks up his cup of wine.  Those gathered around the table watch his every move.  There is no way they can know the significance of this moment, or these words. 

Jesus lifts the cup and prays.  Prayers of Thanksgiving and invocation to a God that will be the grace needed to hold this all together.  Jesus takes the cup and

looks at each person at that table.  You will thirst for me when I am gone.  There

will be days when you are not sure of what you saw, or will not remember this night. There will be days when it may seem to be too much.  On those days take this cup,this wine, and know that it is now changed to the blood, my blood, that I am about to shed for you.  I do this so you are reminded how very blessed and loved you are. You are loved and forgiven by the God who made you.  You are loved and forgiven by the God that calls you God's own.  Whenever you thirst, drink from this cup,and remember me.

"On the hard days

I ask myself

if I every will.

also there are times

my body whispers to me

that I have. "

Why Mary Oliver used the title Thirst for her collection of poems, I don't know.

  But her poem about the Eucharist names our thirst for that something larger than ourselves and describes the mystery that is God's presence among us.

Why Thirst?

We thirst for the love of God and the comfort of knowing we are not alone.