Water is such a commonplace but such a necessary thing! Little wonder then that it has many symbolic values - in the Bible and in many different cultural and religious settings. Our readings and psalm today invite us to meditate on some of the qualities of water: destructive, cleansing, fruitful, life-giving, healing. The only negative quality is destructiveness: uncontrolled or wrongly used, water can be devastating, as many people know through bitter experience. But we can gratefully acknowledge that our experience of water is normally beneficial.

In the vision of Ezekiel, water flows out from the Temple and its sanctuary, like a stream watering a new Garden of Paradise. This water symbolizes, among other things, the presence of God. In a desert land, water is an enormous and necessary blessing. In our lives, the presence of God is a similar blessing. God's presence is always a loving presence, a presence of creative power, giving life, healing all our faults and hurts, making good our imperfections. God's presence is always a protective one, continually giving and sustaining life in the face of all that death and sin threaten against us.

Let us prepare to renew our baptismal vows at Easter, when water sprinkled on us reminds us of the eternal life we have received.