The Challenge

'No one comes to the Father except though me'--John 14:6

Come To the Water

by John Foley, S.J.

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Let all who thirst,

let them come to the water.

And let all who have nothing,

let them come to the Lord...

And let all who seek,

let them come to the water.

And let all who have nothing,

let them come to the Lord...

And let all who toil,

let them come to the water.

And let all who are weary,

let them come to the Lord...

And let all the poor,

let them come to the water,

Bring the ones who are laden,

bring them all to the Lord:

bring the children without might.

Easy the load and light:

come to the Lord.

While initially the bible verse, 'no one comes to the Father except though me' John 14:6; John 35-37 may be perplexing, daunting or even received with open doubt-- it may be also regarded as a stop sign for some; recalling the general commandment of the Lord God 'to love your neighbor as yourself,' then its significance becomes more clear.

The Christ wishes to make it known that the commandment to love isn't talk, it isn't a pretty phrase; instead it is the teaching to all growing in faith; faith is given in measures by the One Lord, by God the Creator of all. The Christ is saying that if you earnestly follow the teachings, follow the commandments, then you too will like me, ascend to paradise.

Even so many with rational, scientific minds will question, will doubt or reject this saying out of hand. Is this the only way? No. Is it the Christian way? Yes.
May the peace and grace of God's love for mankind be with you and yours. Always. Amen.

Come to the Water, Light to the Nations

The Servant Song
composed by Richard Gillard
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Brother, sister let me serve you.
Let me be as Christ to you.

Pray that I might have the grace
To let you be my servant, too.

We are pilgrims on a journey.
We are brothers on the road.

We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.

I will hold the Christ-light for you
In the night time of your fear.

I will hold my hand out to you;
Speak the peace you long to hear.

I will weep when you are weeping.

When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we’ve seen this journey through.

When we sing to God in heaven,
We shall find such harmony
Born of all we’ve known together
Of Christ’s love and agony.

Brother, sister let me serve you.
Let me be as Christ to you.
Pray that I might have the grace
To let you be my servant, too.

At this season, after the feast of Christmas, there comes in the Gospel story of John, the baptism of the Lord. And through this story we learn several important things about the infant who grows to become the Christ. First, we learn that the 'lamb of G-d' is then not a warrior, that in baptism the child is filled with the Holy Spirit of God, that the child is the divine creation of G-d. In baptism, the child is both interiorly and externally announced as a creature with a life in the Spirit. While many faith communities today find it fit to argue and debate endlessly, to schism and separate from others over the nature, timing and significance of baptism, both the Orthodox and Catholic Christian communities see fit to follow both the Torah and the later Christian gospels for guidance on the matter, choosing to christen or name a child before the Lord in its early days, after birth.

In the Book of Isaiah 49-52, there are the four passages about the "Suffering Servant" in which a servant whose identity is unclear, yet this One is to be chosen by the Lord for a particular service. He is not merely to restore the people to a faith, but to moreover be the sign of God's presence in the world. Thus over millennia, the Servant has come to represent both individuals and whole communities in faith. We are called then to be the light of the nations.

In baptism then, one is called in the Holy Spirit to a life of light. The baptized then live in the light, for help to all, to bear the load, to share in community the gifts which the Spirit then brings. Many are baptized as tiny infants with the faith of their parents, a constant light; others come to the waters of baptism as adults to signify that while they may have once seen only darkness, now they see light. Guided by established members of the faith community, the baptism is their exterior announcement, that they, the light of the world, have been made anew, given life by the Holy Spirit. For them, their eyes shine brightly; peace and joy is their heart.

Come to the Water

Come to the Water

lyrics by Unknown

Oh let all who thirst, let them come to the water.

And let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord.

Without money, without price

Why should you pay the price, except for the Lord.

And let all who seek, let them come to the water.

And let all who have nothing, let them come to the Lord.

Without money, without strife

Why should you spend your life, except for the Lord.

And let all who toil, let them come to the water.

And let all who are weary, let them come to the Lord.

All who labor, without rest

How can your soul find rest, except for the Lord.

And let all the poor, let them come to the water.

Bring the ones who are laden, bring them all to the Lord.

Bring the children, without might

Easy the load and light, come to the Lord.

Sometimes, sometimes often, in a life we have the feeling of being tired. Just plain tired. Our daily existence is plain and unvarying; our creative self left without outlets. Perhaps we're a bit down; our soul needs a rest. In a simple life, we might have just sat down or taken off for our heart's desire, but today's modern life has its own requirements and its own demands. We might, as did the Emperor in the story, The Emperor's New Clothes be oh, so tempted to be turned by flattery, by those who seek advantage at our expense. Yet we may choose another way, to be simply present, without money, without price. Easy the load and light; distribute your burdens to those who care and to those who give light.

Why should you spend your life, except for the Lord. There are all kinds of lords seeking our attention. Today we may leave our devotions at shopping malls, department stores and the like; only to emerge with trinkets in return. We are just tired of those things. They don't seem to last; we gain no certain peace. Earning the sums of money takes an ever consuming amount of our time and stresses us. Carefully considering what we need and what matters is a valuable way to actually enrich our lives, reduce stress and gain control of the "devotional beasts" who would seek to make their claims upon us.