"I Thirst", April 18, 2025

 

I Thirst
By Rev. Jamie Green Klopotoski
Good Friday, April 18, 2025
Trinity Congregational Church, Gloucester, MA

 

Jesus said, “I Thirst.” 2.2 billion people around the world thirst, because they do not have access to safe drinking water. Every 2 minutes a child dies from a water or sanitation-related disease. For the past 16 years, the world had been making some progress. Programs funded by US AID had helped 70 million people access water. But there have been drastic cuts to these programs. 86% of projects related to safe water and sanitation services have now been terminated, including an Oxfam project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It operated the only source of water for over 250,000 people who live in refugee camps to escape armed conflict in their villages.

 

Denise thirsts. She is 28 and seven months pregnant, and she doesn't eat every day. Aid distribution has ended at her refugee camp, leaving her without sufficient food, basic necessities, or access to clean water.

 

Feza thirsts. She is 34 and her two children have severe acute malnutrition. Fourraz, the oldest, has Noma, a severe sepsis of the face that is linked to poor living conditions.

 

Zawadi thirsts. He is 8 years old. He has been suffering from diarrhea and vomiting for days. He and his family have no access to showers or toilets.

 

Asifiwe (ah-SEE-fee-way) thirsts. She is 22, and is pregnant with her third child. She said, “It is really difficult to be pregnant in the camp. We are four people sleeping in a tiny hut, latrines are often full, and I do not eat enough. It is a daily struggle.” 

 

Denise, Feza, Fourraz, Zawadi, and Asifiwe are real people behind the numbers and the cuts. They are living, breathing human beings, thirsting not only for water, but for justice.

“I thirst” is a declaration of the profound suffering that Jesus experienced in the last moments of his life. His body is torn and beaten. His scalp is punctured by a crown of thorns. He is broken and humiliated. He hangs from the cross in the desert and he is parched. But his thirst goes much deeper than his physical suffering. Jesus thirsts for justice. He thirsts for a world that is better than this. He thirsts for the kingdom of God to come to Earth as it is in Heaven. He thirsts for us to love each other.

 

Jesus once said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. Truly I tell you, whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me.” When we serve others, when we help to quench human need, it is like we are giving a cup of cold water to Jesus on the cross. We have the opportunity every day to quench Jesus’ thirst by caring for each other.  

 

Real people, brothers and sisters of Jesus, children of God created in God’s very own image, people like Denise, Feza, Fourraz, Zawadi, and Asifiwe (ah-SEE-fee-way) are hungry and thirsty. The Director of Oxfam in the DRC, Manenji Mangundu, said that “US aid cuts have put everything at risk. With little access to clean water and sanitation, livelihoods are deteriorating; cases of measles, cholera and mpox are spreading and straining an already fragile healthcare system. It's a catastrophe. People are going to die.”

 

We cannot stand for this. We must raise our voices. We must wave our palm branches and protest in the streets. We must overturn the tables of injustice. We must speak the truth, we must state the facts, we must share people’s stories. We must do everything we can to ensure that the least of these get the care they need and deserve.

 

From the mouth of the man who spent his life and his ministry as a servant comes one final plea for us to love and to serve others. Jesus thirsts for us to DO SOMETHING. May we find the strength and courage to quench that thirst. Amen.