Linda Hopkins Coaching

The Water of Life sculpture is found in the cloister garden at Chester cathedral. It’s a lovely place, a haven of calm and green in the midst of this small city. Words from the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), that the sculpture depicts, sit around the base of the sculpture: “Jesus said, ‘ the water that I shall give will be an inner spring always welling up for eternal life”.

The water flows from the bowl the woman is holding out to Jesus, but both are embracing it – who is giving water to whom? On my recent visit, I was hit much more powerfully than I have been before by the intimacy of the two, how close they are embraced in the giving and receiving of water. The artist intended to show the intensity of relationship in this powerful encounter and I saw this in a new light. In these Covid times being physically so close to another person, especially a stranger, is something we avoid and if you’re like me, still struggle with even with those I know, in concern for protecting others. It made spending time with this piece of art incredibly moving. There’s a sense of loss and grief at what we have lost, yet alongside that the realisation that Christ is still close, reaching out to give and receive from us. Can you put yourself in the place of the woman? How does it make you feel?