REFLECTION:

The reading from Saint John today keeps returning to two striking images: water and blood. He writes, “This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood.” And it makes us pause and ask: Why these two images? Why water and blood? There is a beautiful prayer that the priest prays quietly during the Preparation of the Gifts, as he pours a little water into the wine: “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” That prayer captures exactly what Saint John is pointing us toward. Water and blood are not just symbols. They speak of a real God who truly entered our human life and gave His life completely for us.

From a very human and even biological point of view, life itself depends on both water and blood. Our blood is mostly made of water. Without water, blood thickens and stops flowing. Without blood, oxygen cannot reach the organs and life fades within minutes. In other words, you cannot have life with only one—you need both. It is striking, then, that Saint John tells us that when the side of Jesus was pierced on the Cross, “blood and water flowed out.” He is not being poetic. He is telling us that this was real. Jesus did not pretend to suffer. He did not appear human. He truly lived, and He truly died.

But Saint John is also teaching us something deeper. The water and the blood are not only signs of Jesus’ real humanity; they are also signs of how His life is now given to us. The water reminds us of Baptism—of new birth, cleansing, and God entering into our life. The blood reminds us of the Cross and the Eucharist—of a love that does not hold back, a love poured out completely. Christianity, then, is not just about comfort or inspiration. It is about new life that comes through sacrifice. Just as in the human body life needs both water and blood, so in the spiritual life, faith needs both grace and the Cross.

And if we are honest, many of us would prefer the water without the blood. We want God’s blessings, God’s peace, God’s help—but not the cost, not the struggle, not the self-giving. But Saint John is very clear: “Not by water alone, but by water and blood.” There is no resurrection without the Cross. There is no real love without sacrifice.

Saint John ends this passage with a powerful promise: “Whoever has the Son has life.” Not just someday. Now. Through Baptism and the Eucharist, the very life of Christ is already at work in us.

So the question this reading leaves us with is simple but challenging: Am I willing to accept both the water and the blood? Am I willing to receive God’s blessings and also embrace the sacrifices that love requires? Because that is where real life is found—not in avoiding the Cross, but in discovering that through it, God gives us His own life.