We continue on our journey today as we examine and reflect on--for our spiritual edification--"The Fifth Word" of our Lord Jesus Christ from the cross.

So far, we have heard our Lord share these words from the cross: First he said, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Then he promised the repentant thief, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." He committed the care of His mother, Mary, to his closest friend John. Last week we heard that powerful cry from the cross "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" Now we hear the words, "I thirst."

Dr. Harold Brack of Drew Seminary was a gentleman and a true Saint of God. He taught us that, when we are called upon to search a biblical text for meaning, we should not overlook the obvious. He felt that seminary students too often felt a need to conjure up some complex philosophical interpretation for a passage of scripture when there is an obvious meaning right in front of them. I think this principle is most appropriate for this fifth word. You should have seen all the philosophical explanations offered for these two simple words: "I thirst."

It''s as if we forget what had happened to our Lord on this historic day called Good Friday. Jesus was beaten and whipped thirty-nine times by the Roman soldiers. He had to carry an immense wooden beam up a long, winding road to a hill outside the city of Jerusalem. They did not stop for coffee breaks. It was a tough, grueling experience. He had probably had no water since 6:00 in the morning. He was placed on the cross around 9:00, and it was now around 3:00 in the afternoon. No water, a grueling trek, a hot desert climate, and people wonder why he cried, "I thirst."

As I learned in First Aid Class, there are four stages of thirst. The first stage is that of discomfort. Everyone has probably felt this stage on more than one occasion. Most people at this stage get to a water fountain, or grab a bottle of coke or some other beverage. The second stage is one that I remember during days of football camp--it''s often called "cottonmouth." You can almost feel your tongue getting stuck to the roof of your mouth. Only once in my ministry did one of my parishioners go on a hunger and water fast. It almost seemed as if her tongue shriveled into a knot. Her skin began to crack, it was so dry. The doctor finally had to place her in "protection care" and feed her through an I.V. --or her kidneys would have shut down. It was the most extreme case of physical thirst I have ever seen. It was not a pretty sight to behold. Now our Lord Jesus Christ probably was not at this extreme, but no doubt his thirst was well advanced. So he cried out, "I thirst." My professor, Dr. Brack, was absolutely correct in teaching us not to overlook the obvious.

But let''s not overlook something else just as obvious: when Jesus cried, "I thirst" he revealed his human nature.

It was Dr. Robert Bull, also at Drew University, who taught us in our Church History class that the greatest debates that existed in the early Christian Church were those trying to explain the two natures of Christ which are "divine and human." It was hard to understand how these two natures could be present in one person. There were those who saw Jesus simply as a person like you and me--and there were those who saw Jesus as a Gnostic Phantom, who simply appeared to be human. To these people Jesus simply appeared to be going through the motions of hungering and thirsting. But if this were true, I don''t think that it would be of much help to us in our journey of faith.

There is a legend that tells of a time when Satan tried to get into Heaven by pretending to be Jesus Christ. He was all decked out in his very best disguise. When St. Peter opened the door, he asked Satan to open up his hands. When Satan showed his hands there were no scars on them, and St. Peter slammed the door shut--for it is easy to spot an impostor trying to be like "Jesus Christ."

Yes, Jesus could not have promised us a place in the eternal kingdom of God if he were simply a man. And he could not have bled or have been hungry or thirsty if he was simply a Gnostic Phantom. However, if he was "the perfect God-Man" as Biblical Christians believed, then he could have done all of these things. He can identify with us in every respect, without sinning.

It was Dr. Charles Haddon Spurgeon who helped us capture the great paradox found in the words, "I thirst," by sharing:

"Who was this that said, `I Thirst?''

"It was he who balanced the clouds and filled the channels of the mighty deep. "He said, `I thirst,'' and yet in him was a well of water springing up to eternal life! "Yes, he who guided every river in its course and watered all the fields with grateful showers--he it was, the King of kings and Lord of lords, before whom hell trembles and the earth is filled with dismay, he whom heaven adores and all eternity worships--he it was who said, `I thirst!''

"Matchless condescension--from the infinity of God to the weakness of a thirsting, dying man! "And this was for you." (1)

Colossians 1:16 teaches us "for in him all things were created in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities--all things were created through him...."

This text also teaches us that, since it is the nature of every human being to thirst, there must be an object of that thirst in order for fulfillment to take place.

It was in the Synagogue School that Jesus first learned Psalm 42:2, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

Jesus had a thirst to do the will of the Father. In Philippians 2:5 we learn how Jesus emptied himself of his divinity in order to completely identify with us.

We know that in John 7:37 Jesus declares: "If any one thirsts, let him come to me and drink." Jesus knew that in the soul of every human being there is a sense of want. The soul of every single person desires to be filled, and there is no joy in the human soul unless God fills it. We are not here to manipulate life to serve our own ends. We are here to serve the living God. That is our number one priority in life. Everything else is a poor substitute which will eventually leave us hungering and thirsting. The world''s cup and plate might satisfy us for a meal, or even a season, but not for the long haul. We thirst for meaning. We thirst for purpose. We thirst for the presence of the holy. Jesus boldly declares that only He can satisfy this deep hunger and thirst within the human spirit.

Lily Tomlin once said, "I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." As Christians we all share the common goal of becoming more like Christ, but if we aren''t deliberate about it, we might end up looking more like somebody else. (2) Unless we thirst for God and keep God as our goal, we will always be malnourished.

Abraham Lincoln once went down to the slave block to buy back a slave girl. As the slave girl looked at the tall, homely-looking white man bidding on her, she figured he was just another white man who was going to buy her and then abuse her. Lincoln won the bid, and as he was walking away with his property, he said, "Young lady, you are free." She said, "What does that mean?" He said, "It means you are free." "Does that mean," she said, "that I can say whatever I want to say?" Lincoln said, "Yes, my dear, you can say whatever you want to say." "Does that mean that I can be whatever I want to be?" she asked. Lincoln said, "Yes, you can be whatever you want to be." She said, "Does that mean I can go wherever I want to go?" He said, "Yes, you can go wherever you want to go." And the girl, with tears streaming down her face, said, "Then I will go with you." (3)

Jesus is the only one who can liberate us from drinking out of the cup of the world which can only enslave us and can never quench our thirst. Only he has the living water. His cup is filled to the brim with water of new life that tastes of joy.

One more thing we need to see today is that we thirst for God not because a relationship with God is easy to attain, but because it is right and full of truth.

I want to close today with a story that took place in our nation''s capitol. It is the story of an 83-year-old lady. She has been hospitalized many times in her life, most recently for a serious heart condition. Although she weighs all of 90 pounds, and is not very strong physically, she has the heart and soul of a giant. She has a hunger and thirst to do the will of God. This small woman, who has no apparent wealth or social position, recently stood before some of the most powerful men and women of the free world. She spoke to them without rhetorical flourish. She never once raised her voice or pounded the lectern. Cal Thomas, from whose syndicated column I gathered this material, said that it was the most startling and bold proclamation of truth he had heard in his more than 30 years in Washington, D.C.. The woman I am talking about, of course, is Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I quote directly from Thomas'' column: "She said that America, once known for generosity to the world, has become selfish. And she said that the greatest proof of that selfishness is abortion.

"Tying abortion to growing violence and murder in the streets, she said, `If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill each other?...Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want.''

"At that line, most of those in attendance erupted in a standing ovation, something that rarely occurs at these sedate events. At that moment, President Clinton quickly reached for his water glass, and Mrs. Clinton and Vice President and Mrs. Gore stared without expression at Mother Teresa. They did not applaud. It was clearly an uncomfortable moment on the dais.

"She then delivered the knockout punch: `Many people are very, very concerned with children in India, with the children of Africa where quite a few die of hunger, and so on. Many people are also concerned about all the violence in this great country of the United States. These concerns are very good. But often these same people are not concerned with the millions who are being killed by the deliberate decision of their own mothers. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today--abortion, which brings people to such blindness.''" (4)

You see, Mother Teresa does not thirst for the will of God when it is convenient or politically correct. She follows her commitment to Jesus Christ with her whole being, and drinks from the cup he has offered all of us. Do you think it''s possible that perhaps Mother Teresa''s power comes from a source far greater than Capitol Hill? Don''t you think that it is possible that it comes from Calvary''s Hill? Mother Teresa has never spent any time wanting to be anybody other than what Christ has commissioned her to be. Is Mother Teresa a winner or a loser to you? Is it not amazing that a woman who has not sought any awards or any applause has received the highest awards that our world has to give? Mother Teresa reminds us to ask ourselves what we are hungering and thirsting for.

In C.S. Lewis'' great work, the Chronicles of Narnia, in Book Four, titled The Silver Chair, he tells the story of a young lass named Jill who finds herself in a far away land. She is lost, lonely and quite thirsty. She thinks she hears the gentle sound of a small stream nearby and follows the sound to its source. She finds the stream quickly, but there is a great lion named Aslan between it and her. Here is a hint--Aslan represents the Christ figure. Let us pick up the exchange between them:

"`Are you not thirsty?'' said the Lion. `I''m dying of thirst,'' said Jill. `Then drink,'' said the Lion. `May I--could I--would you mind going away while I do?'' said Jill. The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience. The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic. `Will you promise not to--do anything to me, if I come?'' said Jill. `I make no promise,'' said the Lion. Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer. `Do you eat girls?'' she said. `I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms,'' said the Lion. It didn''t say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it. `I dare not come and drink,'' said Jill. `Then you will die of thirst,'' said the Lion. `Oh, dear!'' said Jill, coming another step nearer. `I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.'' `There is no other stream,'' said the Lion. It never occurred to Jill to disbelieve the Lion--no one who had seen his stern face could do that--and her mind suddenly made itself up. It was the worst thing she ever had to do, but she went forward to the stream, knelt down, and began scooping up water in her hand. It was the coldest, most refreshing water she had ever tasted." (5)

Let me conclude with these words today: "I thirst."

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

On the cross, in his thirst, he was willing to thirst--for me.

Lord, I will follow you. And Lord, would you please pass that cup to me?

Amen and Amen.