Hungry and thirsty ~ Stay and take

A few days ago someone shared with me an image of this sculpture of a begging Jesus, entitled When I was Hungry and Thirsty, by Timothy Schmalz. Maybe it was the presence of the bowl, but as I looked at it, it spoke to me of the Water of Life sculpture in the cloister garden of Chester Cathedral, depicting Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman.

I first encountered Water of Life during a retreat maybe ten or more years ago, and was immediately struck by its intensity and strong, loving focus, and the way Jesus' hands seemed to grip those of the woman. Stay with me, I heard him say, and experienced this as a strong, compelling call to deeper, prolonged prayer. The image stayed with me throughout my retreat, and I still have a copy in my room - if I turn my head, I can see it now. Alas, though, as with so many familiar, every day things, it's all too easy to look past it, and forget the power of its call. 

But Stay with me... is Jesus' irresistible plea to me, today, as we begin Holy Week, and he begins his inexorable journey to the Cross. Stay with me... the 'staying with' which lies at the heart of the grace of the Third Week of the Exercises; a 'staying with' which is a 'being with', in increasing closeness and compassion, throughout Jesus' Passion. Not because of the joy his presence brings, or the healing or consolation he can give, but simply, purely, out of love: because now it is Jesus who needs healing and consolation; because, for his lover, there is nowhere else they can conceivably want to be.

Stay with me... 

But I looked again, saw the bowl and cup anew; powerful symbols of Eucharist, of the mystery of the Body broken and the Blood poured out. And I heard other words, too, from a half-forgotten poem by Tagore. These words would usually be addressed to a deity, but now I heard them as Jesus appealing to me...

Take, O take, has now become my cry...

Take, O take... From this bowl and cup, piled high and overflowing with my unmeasured, unconditional love; offered and poured out, for you. Take every opportunity for more loving, for grace and growth; every opening from my wounded hands and Heart for healing and holiness and strength... Take that extra time in prayer you keep half-promising; those barriers to me from your life; all those invitations I keep holding out to you... 

Stay with me, unwavering, and then you will be able to stay with others in their suffering
Take more from me, unstinting, and then you will have more to give

And you ~ what does Jesus say to you, as you journey with him into Holy Week...?

This week, and every week, let us pray for each other, that we may respond to whatever Jesus asks of us, and offers us...

Image copied from: https://timothypaulschmalz.com/featured-works/corporal_works_of_mercy/