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As Christians we confess that “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it” (Ps 24). We acknowledge our responsibility as stewards and caretakers of God’s unique and abundant Creation of which we human beings are part. And yet we look around our world today, and see that due to our greed and negligence the entire living planet is threatened by accelerating climate change. “The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers…”, “The earth is defiled by its people…” (Isaiah 24:4-5).

This meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman shows Jesus going beyond conventional rules and talking to a Samaritan woman, which astonishes the disciples when they see him (v. 27). 

Food is central to life and our faith. It is a blessing and a gift of God, in the form of the abundant creation which we depend on for our sustenance. Food is also a reflection of the quality of our relationships with each other- our caring for the other and the sharing of resources and the hospitality we show each other. Food is central to our worship life, our liturgy and the Eucharist, which helps us to be one with God and with each other.

In Gaza, 30 to 40 percent of all disease-related deaths are caused by bad water. The multiple cases of kidney and liver diseases Gaza have to do with salts and minerals in the water. 95% of the water that Palestinians in Gaza have been consuming for decades has been proven unfit for human consumption.

The 6^th biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2015 is by Susan Smith, a Professor of Law and Director of the Certificate Program in Sustainability at the Willamette University, USA. She teaches environment law, including water law and is a water activist. She represents the United Church of Christ at the International Reference Group of the Ecumenical Water Network of the WCC. In this reflection she highlights that the kingdom of God/ paradise can be witnessed here on this earth, if we make water available for all for their basic sustenance with dignity, contrary to the model where water is “harnessed as fuel for the engine of economic growth to serve the twin gods of economic efficiency and profit”.

The fourth Biblical reflection of the Seven Weeks for Water 2014 is by the “Green Bishop” Geoff Davies, executive director of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environmental Institute. Citing several examples from the Bible, he brings a strong critique of the anthropocentric  understanding of our theology  and  encourages us to become “earthkeepers”. He also strongly advocates that water  is a gift of God and no one should be denied of this life giving resource.

The psalmist once declared, “The Earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1). From generation to generation, we have a lifespan to enjoy and steward God’s Earth. However, in recent decades, industries that unsustainably extract from God’s Earth have been spinning out of control. Their actions challenge God's sovereignty over the gifts that were created for sharing by  all Creation and for all generations. Extractive and other industries have been privatizing the natural gifts of God’s Earth and have excluded local communities from sharing in these gifts.

The Bible begins with the story of creation by God, with the Genesis of the Earth. Before the creation of humankind, God creates the heaven and the earth; he then separates the earth from water which he called “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas” (Genesis 1:9). God then plants a garden and puts humankind in the middle of this garden to live there and to cultivate the land and take care of it and his creation (Genesis 2:15). Land is the place where humankind is invited to live and called upon to be its stewards.