In our world today, the inability to access clean, safe water is symptomatic of other forms of injustice – political, economic and social power imbalances that restrict the rights of communities and individuals. Sufficient access to clean water can correct some of these imbalances, fostering greater physical health and creating opportunities for economic growth.
Access to water is a life-and-death issue for many of us and our neighbors in the US and around the world. Water, a powerful symbol of God’s presence and promise in the created world, is bound up with so much of who we are – where we live, how we live and, tragically, whether we live. When available sufficiently, equitably and safely, it can mean life – and new life – for generations to come. Our baptismal call to “strive for justice and peace in all the earth” is both symbolized and realized in our relationship to the very reasons that marks us for this vocation. We do our part in this work, trusting in God’s promise of a time when hunger – and thirst – will be no more.
This message is excerpted from “Water & abundant life” by Ryan P. Cumming in the January/February 2019 Gather magazine.
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