Come to the water

 

Come to the water

The water, it dances, it gurgles and flows,

it sings alleluia, new life it bestows.

It sweeps over rapids, around unseen bends,

to vistas surprising and landscapes of friends.

This river, it eddies, and catches us all

in long graceful turnings; love’s generous swirl.

This water lives deeply, our thirst, it is quenched;

our bodies are freshened, our souls they are cleansed.

The Spirit is given, she hovers and cries

delights in the dreamings and aches with the sighs.

Give yourself to the water, and hear Jesus' call

to be a disciple, be a servant to all.

Some are wrinkled from birth, some are wrinkled with age;

Hey, come to the water; whatever your stage!

Drink freely, my sister, my brother, my friend;

drink deep from the fountain, receive grace without end.

The water is justice, the water is peace;

it saturates living, its strivings won’t cease

Let none withhold water, the Spirit commands;

as we join in one body to fulfil love’s demands

© 2023 Ken Rookes

Can be sung to the well-known tune St Denio,

Together in Song 143, AHB 80

I have made few adjustments to this hymn, first published in 2016.
The theme of water is strong in this week’s bible readings, especially in the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
I initially wrote it for a baptism, but adjusted it for more general use.