Lenten Session III

Since last week's reading was rather long, I thought it would be good to do a little song analysis instead. The hymn we'll be analysing will be Fill My Cup, Lord. We'll go through the hymn two lines at a time.

"Like the woman at the well, I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy"

The nameless woman at the well had an appetite. She had had five husbands and was living with another man when she first met Jesus. We could even assume she was rather attracted to Jesus, which prompted her to make conversation with him, a Jew. At heart, this woman with a bad reputation was simply lonely and looking for love in all the wrong places. Like this woman, often we find ourselves wanting things we do not need. We fill holes in our lives with material possessions in the hopes that they can make us happy. But material things are not permanent. Eventually, they lose their value, and cannot provide happiness. They do not satisfy.

"But then I heard my saviour speaking:
'Draw from my well that never shall run dry!'"

The words in this hymn are a little different from what Jesus said. Jesus said that 'whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst again'. Nonetheless, the point here is that Jesus speaks to us. He offers us this everlasting water, and he offers us himself. Why is this important? Because, at the end of the day, Jesus is always first. Had he not made the first move, had he not made the initial offer, we would be left wanting and forever thirsting, no matter how great our faith. This new life Jesus gives is not our birthright. We do not deserve it. Jesus offers it because that's how much God loves us.

"Fill my cup, Lord! I lift it up Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul!"

Now that Jesus has offered us the living water, we have one more important thing to do. We have to accept his invitation, and we have to want it with all our heart and soul. There is no point accepting a gift when it's going to be thrown aside. God's gifts cannot be wasted. We have to want it, to thirst for it. We have to lift up our cups and ask God to quench our thirst.

"Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!"

Now at last we arrive at the true focal point of this hymn, and of our very religion. What can really quench 'this thirsting of my soul' is the Bread of Heaven. We find God's greatest gift again and again each Sunday in Holy Communion, when the host becomes the true Body of Christ. If we partake of this feast and be witnesses of Christ and his Holy Spirit, we can find true happiness even in the face of adversity.

And that is the Spring of Living Water.