Water of vulnerability and of liberation

Maike Gorsboth's sermon from yesterday's world water day service is now online. It pays hommage to the thinking of Steve de Gruchy and his Olive Agenda linking creation and liberation ethics.

"Water is more than a symbol ... Water being the source of life makes it much more than 'just' a sacramental symbol or a symbol of liberation. It also makes it a means of liberation."

Over on this week's Seven Weeks for Water there is a powerful reflection by John D. Roth on footwashing and practising the politics of mutual vulnerability.

Jesus was challenging his disciples to cultivate a life of mutual vulnerability rooted in the confidence of God’s extravagant and abundant love. By washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus offered a physical, embodied demonstration of this new kind of politics—a politics demonstrated even more dramatically in his death and resurrection in which power was “made perfect in weakness.”

I'll try to return to some thoughts about vulnerability in a later post. I've been doing some thinking about the issue linked to leadership in recent weeks, not sure where that will take me but foot washing is a challenging model for Christian leaders.

Meanwhile this picture and others of our toilet queue were taken by the WCC's great photographer Peter Williams.