If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" So there was a division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?" The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed." Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

- John 7:37-52

We are currently at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. Jesus has gone up from Galilee in secret, as it were, as contrasted to the time when He will make His Triumphal Entry. At this time, the leadership wishes to arrest Him and rid themselves of Him. In yesterday's reading (and that of the day before) we read of the turmoil that surrounds Him, those who discuss His identity are also among the people. They form a kind of chorus as background and part of the drama. In the middle of the feast Jesus begins to teach in the temple. Among the leadership, they asked, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?" Jesus said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" He was told that He had a demon, and asked who sought to kill Him. He told them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." People marveled at His speaking openly, when the leadership was after Him, and wondered if they knew He was the Christ. But they said that when the Christ comes, no one is to know where He is from. Jesus said, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me." Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?" The leadership heard the crowds and sent officers to arrest Jesus. He taught, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come." Then the leaders wondered among themselves where He meant to go -- would it be among the diaspora of the Jews in Gentile territory? "What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John's Gospel again gives us an instance of Jesus' words and teachings which are given, and yet not fully understood. The rivers of living water reflects (there is another metaphor!) events at the feast. On the last day, the great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, refers probably to the 7th or 8th day of the feast. My study bible says that on this day "ceremonies include a procession from the pool of Siloam, carrying water and pouring it as a libation at the temple. This commemorates the water flowing from the rock which Moses struck in the wilderness (Ex. 17:1-7)." Hence, Jesus' words, "if anyone thirsts." John tells us this refers to the Holy Spirit, which at this point, not even Jesus' closest disciples understand. My study bible notes here: "Living water is the gift of the Spirit and the new life which springs forth by the power of the Spirit. Christ gives the Holy Spirit, and the believer's heart consequently flows with new life. Christ does not force us, but is always available if we desire Him."

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?" So there was a division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. The Gospel gives us the response of the crowds to Jesus. Everything is "stirred up." The Prophet was one type of expected figure, as was Messiah (or Christ), who would be a second Moses. According to my study bible this would be "one who would lead Israel out of bondage (Deut. 18:15-19)." Others debate still about Jesus' origin. He was born in Bethlehem, the city of David, and of the lineage of David. But people think He's from Nazareth in Galilee. But Jesus will also teach throughout John's Gospel of His divine origins, the One from whom He's been sent and whose doctrine He teaches. His hour - the hour of His Passion - has not yet come.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?" The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" We remember from yesterday's reading that these officers were sent to arrest Him in the middle of the feast. Now it's the last and great day of the feast. Jesus' words are those of spirit and life. They make a tremendous impact on these officers. My study bible points out the contrast noted by St. John Chrysostom between them and the leadership on whom the words are lost, although the leadership has also been witness to signs and knew the Scripture that prophesied Him. He wrote: "When the mind is open to conviction there is no need of long speeches. Truth is like that" (Homily 52).

Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed." We hear the outrage of the leadership, who care for their control and their places of authority. Therefore even the crowd becomes subject to their accusation. But the real threat, of course, is Christ, who is not among their number, who speaks only for the One who sent Him and not for the glory of man, His personal reputation or standing.

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee." We remember Nicodemus from chapter 3 of John's Gospel, who was taught by Jesus about being reborn in Spirit. Jesus' words of living water remind us again of His words to Nicodemus, about being born of water and the Spirit. The leadership here is wrong, by the way - although they are the experts in the Scripture. The prophet Jonah was from Gath Heper, a town in Galilee three miles from Nazareth. But their words reflect a kind of grasping desperation for control, not at all unusual in the circumstances of human experience.

In today's reading, we can think a lot about the power of words. Jesus has told us that His sayings, His spoken words are life and spirit. He uses the example of the feast day's events of the miraculous water from the rock as given through Moses to teach about living water, the Spirit who is life, the life-giver. To Nicodemus He has already taught about being reborn of the Spirit. In the action of God in the world we see the Spirit at work, and in the words of truth we feel His presence and His work. Every facet of our lives can be interwoven with this gift, this living water, the spirit and life in the sayings of Jesus. How we receive it is another matter. Throughout Matthew's Gospel, which we went through before we began John's, Jesus teaches in the words of Isaiah that one must have ears to hear and eyes to see this reality. So today's reading speaks to us of what it is to truly hear and to see, and what it is to be blind and deaf. But the power of the word comes back to us, over and over again. What is it to truly hear? To be clapped round about with the power of the truth in a word? It is the Spirit that gives life, we are told, but life comes to us in so many ways, and we can block out that word and that truth through so many of our own concerns and cares and aggravation and emotions and need for control. But the Spirit, like the wind, blows where it wishes. Let us be open to words of truth, to the Spirit as it may work in our every day lives, through all things, through the beauty of the world and through the elements of life as they come to us. Let us be available to its life in us and through the world.