March 8, 2026
Imagine what it’s like to survive in the desert. What do you think is the most important thing you need? We need water each day to survive; we can die without water. In our First Reading, Moses and the people of Israel are walking through the desert, and they’re getting very thirsty. There’s no water. But instead of praying to God, asking Him for water, and trusting Him to take care of them, the people complain. They grumble. They start to think God is going to let them die. But God doesn’t. He tells Moses to use his staff to strike a rock. And then God makes water gush out of that rock like a fountain.
A long time later, Jesus came to die for us. And when He died and His body was hanging there on the cross, one of the soldiers, to check if Jesus was really dead, used his spear to stab Jesus in the side. And from the wound in Jesus’ side came water and blood. It was amazing, like the rock in the wilderness. The rock was hit with Moses’ staff, and water came out. Jesus’ side was stabbed with the spear, and water and blood came out.
Where in church do we see or talk about water? Baptism is where water washes our sins away. What about blood? Where in church do we hear about blood? The Lord’s Supper is where we are given Jesus’ blood to drink to forgive our sins. Remember how water and blood came out of Jesus’ side when He was on the cross? It’s as if that fountain from Jesus’ side pours right into the font and the chalice. This fountain from Jesus forgives our sins and gives us life.
Water from the rock in the desert gave the Israelites life for each day, but they would always get thirsty again and eventually die. In Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, Jesus gives us eternal life. We’ll live forever!
Dear Jesus, thank You for the water and the blood that forgives our sins and gives us eternal life. Amen.