I have never been to the Holy Land, but I have heard the land described. The "desert" in Palestine is not made up of sand dunes, but of parched, rock-filled crusty soil. It quickly turns to dust in the long dry seasons. This is an arid land where water was used only for the most essential needs. When the rain falls, the thirsty land is satisfied and in a few days the land rejoices with blossoms shooting up everywhere in beautiful array. Soon again the dry season returns, the harvest ends, and the problems of hunger and thirst return to the people.

Satisfying thirst is, quite literally, a matter of life and death. Jesus fed human hungers. He fed the hunger with food: He taught us to pray for our daily bread. It is hard for us to understand the hunger and thirst those people felt an…