Today’s story of the woman at the well uses one of our most basic human needs, our thirst, to teach us about God. We thirst for all kinds of things besides just water. Like the woman at the well, we keep going back over and over to try to satisfy our desires. We too would be attracted by the idea of never thirsting again. Jesus comes to teach the woman what will ultimately satisfy her thirst. None of us will have rest until we rest in God; only God can truly satisfy our thirst.

Yet, the reading today adds something that might easily be overlooked. Jesus also thirsts. He begins by asking the woman for a drink. Just as the woman is thirsting for more than mere water, so too Jesus is thirsting for something deeper. As we continue our journey toward Calvary, it won’t be long before we will again hear Jesus crying out “I thirst,” this time from the cross. What is Jesus thirsting for? He thirsts for us.