Anais Nin once said, “We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.” We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are. We are shaped and formed by our circumstances, our culture, our religion. Because we are Christians, Anglicans, who are mostly exposed to Bible stories based on the lectionary, we may have only ever heard the story of the Israelites complaining about the lack of water just as we have this year, like it is something that has happened in a kind of sequence – the Red Sea parted, the Israelites were in the wilderness, they got hungry, and manna and quails showed up and now they are thirsty. We see the story as we are.
Jewish people see the story as they are. They see the story as having far more nuance. The journey through the wilderness is recorded not only in the book of Exodus but there are also elements in the Book of Numbers and in the ways Rabbis have engaged with and shared the stories throughout the ages via what is called Jewish midrash. This midrash helps to fill in the gaps, resolve contradictions, and expands on the stories and laws. It further supports how Jewish people see the Bible and all that it contains.
According to Jewish midrash, Miriam, Moses’s sister was given the gift of a spring that followed them around the wilderness for 40 years. When she dies and the spring dries up and the Israelites find themselves in the wilderness of Sin quarrelling with Moses about being thirsty and demanding he and Aaron find a solution to their need. How does the inclusion of Miriam’s gift of water change how individuals might see this story? How does the story of 40 year’s of Miriam sharing water potentially change the perspectives on the experience of thirst?
Can we see something sacred in Miriam’s gift? What might her relationship to the spring look like? Might there be some special way she would reveal the water as they journeyed? How would she protect the water? What images come to mind for us about what Miriam’s relationship to the water would be like?
How might Miriam’s walk with the water have been like Autumn Peltier’s walk with the water? What does it look like for us to speak for the water, sing for the water, and dance for the water today? How can we see our relationship to the water in a way that ensures it remains a sacred gift for generations to come?
We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are. As we continue to reflect on our relationship with water, may we see with the eyes of Mirian and Autum, holding water sacred for today and for generations to come. This we pray as we sing: 578 O Healing River
