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 

 

Yesterday we read that, about the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and 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?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to 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."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes,  no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "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 Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "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 Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  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.  My study Bible explains that the last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  We recall that this is Christ's final year in His earthly life, and the season is autumn.  On the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, there is the ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam, to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar.  This serves both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).  So it is in this context that Jesus Himself "draws" upon the Old Testament imagery for a new revelation about Himself and His ministry (and fulfillment of that promise imaged in the flowing water from the rock):  "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."  The living water is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the new life that accompanies this gift.  

 

 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.  Again, the Evangelist gives us the dissension and discussion among the people regarding Jesus.  The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior whom Moses foretold would come in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.  Bethelehem was the town from which the Christ was prophesied to come (Micah 5:2).  We recall from yesterday's reading (above) that the people believe Jesus is from Nazareth in Galilee, where He was raised, but He was born in Bethlehem, where David was.

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."   Earlier, we recall, the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  But by the time of this last day which we're given in today's reading, no arrest had yet been made.  My study Bible explains that this is because these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  The Pharisees and the scribes, who, according to St. Chrysostom (as quoted by my study Bible), had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the other hand, although they could not claim any of the learning of the religious leadership, were "captivated by a single sermon."   When the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

 

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."  Nicodemus had spoken with Jesus by night (see John 3:1-21), and had increased in faith.  But his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and so this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  My study Bible comments that according to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  In their statement that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee, the Pharisees show what my study Bible calls their blind hatred and also their ignorance of the Scriptures.  The prophet Jonah came from Galilee, the town of Gath Hepher -- only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

In today's reading, Jesus proclaims:  "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."  What Jesus is talking about, my study Bible says, is the coming of the Holy Spirit, which will be made possible through His sacrifice on the Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension.  Let us take this image of "rivers of living water."  "Living water" is an image that has appeared earlier in John's Gospel, in the story of the women of Samaria at Jacob's well, found in John 4:1-42.  In that reading, Jesus asked the woman for a drink.  When she is stunned that a Jewish man spoke and asked her for water, He tells her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  "Living water," as explained by my study Bible, is a term which, in the ordinary sense, means fresh, flowing water.  That is, from a stream or spring, as opposed to a pond or cistern.  So this action of flowing water gives us the sense of "living," bringing up a sense of movement, of action, such as found, for instance, in enzymatic properties.  There is a dynamism involved.  This notion of energy (as in the enzymes that turn grapes and water into wine, or that leavens a whole lump of dough) is one that is central to Orthodox theology and our understanding of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God.  For Christ's ministry will make it possible for the Holy Spirit to come into the world, to be a part of Christian baptism (John 3:5-8), to bring Christ's sayings to our recollection (John 14:26), to help us to give good testimony (Luke 12:11-12), and to help us to bear much fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).   This "living" imagery is important to help us to understand grace as the "energies" of God.  In it, we are to understand that while we cannot know nor see nor grasp God in God's substance or essence, we are given God's energies, in the action and work of the Holy Spirit in our world.  The traditional image given in patristic understanding is that of metal thrust into fire:  it does not become fire, but it can take on properties of the fire such as heat.  And this is where Christ's imagery in today's reading -- of the rivers of living water which flow out of the heart of a person -- is so important.  These rivers of living water give us the unceasing, almost torrential-seeming power of the work of the Holy Spirit in us, in our hearts, and the challenge that creates for faith.  Because we are meant to meet all the realities of this world in faith, and these "rivers of living water" are present to assist us in meeting life when we do.  How else to explain the grace with which saints have met injustice in the world?  How else do we understand the capacity of God to work through human beings to create good, even out of circumstances that are evil?  How do we take hardship in our lives, and yet retain the capacity to create beauty where we can, to add kindness even where it hasn't been received?  To give comfort in harsh circumstances, or even a beautiful garden in a small plot, and so give beauty as we can?  These are the realities of the "rivers of living water" given by the Holy Spirit, given not as the world gives, but from a Source that is unending and without beginning, that lives in us and through faith, that does not depend on a world in short supply to bring out an always creative capacity for doing good.  Let us consider how much rests on His words and teachings, and what a difference they have made in the lives of all.  What a difference they can continue to make through us, and into the future.  For what do you thirst?  For what does the world thirst?

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink

 

 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) 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 

 

In our current readings, the events take place in what is now the final year of Christ's earthly life.  Jesus has gone to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (see Wednesday's reading).  Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and 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?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to 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."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "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 Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "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 Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  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.  This last day, the great day of the feast is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  On this day was the ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam.  This was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water which flowed from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  This commemoration is the backdrop for Christ's words, "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."   This living water of which Christ speaks is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."   The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah, the Savior foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

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.   Bethlehem was the town from which the Christ was expected to come (see the prophecy of Micah 5:2).   The people know Jesus as one whose family is from Nazareth in Galilee; what they don't know is that He was born in Bethlehem, and, in worldly terms, of the lineage of David (see Luke 2:1-7).  

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."  The chief priests had earlier sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  But by this time, it is the last day of the Feast, and no arrest has been made.  My study Bible comments that the reason for this is these officers had been converted by Christ's teaching ("No one ever spoke like this Man!").  The Pharisees and the scribes, according to St. John Chrysostom, as quoted by my study Bible, who had "witnessed and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  The officers, on the other hand, even though they could not claim any of the learning of the religious leaders, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to 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."  Nicodemus had spoken with Jesus, as reported earlier in the Gospel (John 3:1-21), and had increased in faith since that time.  But, my study Bible notes, his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and this is not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).   According to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  The Pharisees who dispute with Nicodemus (who is also a Pharisee) declare that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  But my study Bible says that in so doing, they show their blind hatred and also ignorance of the Scriptures, for the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  

The temple officers declare to the religious leaders, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" and indeed this is true.  No one ever spoke like Jesus.  We recall that it is the words of Christ which also keep His core disciples with Him, while many went away because of the "difficult" saying in the teaching regarding His flesh and blood.  At that time, Jesus asked the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  St. Peter replied to Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  Moreover, Jesus taught Himself, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  Therefore we see in action in today's reading these words of spirit and life, and their impact on the temple officers, who are unable to resist their truth, and unable to arrest Him.  So what is the impact of these words which are "spirit and life"?  How are we to understand the power within the "words of eternal life"?  A similar experience will be had by the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who did not understand that it was Christ in their midst, but later recalled, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  (See Luke 24:13-35.)   In today's reading, Jesus speaks of the "living water," meaning the Holy Spirit, teaching the people, "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."  So today, let us ask ourselves, for what do we truly thirst?  What is the deep need we have for something powerful, meaningful, filled with light, and giving us direction and substance?  In the race we lead in life, what are we chasing after?  Do all the things we can accumulate and accomplish leave us still with a thirst for something more?  Do we need direction and meaning?  It is Jesus Christ and His words which bring us this light, and we can be stirred by His words as were the apostles on the road to Emmaus in our own hearts, and we can seek this living water that quenches a thirst we will always have.  For it is God's love that compels us forward and that answers the deepest needs we have, which will lead us forward to shape our lives in meaning and purpose, and teach us what the power of that love holds.  The words are spirit and life and they draw us forward into life more abundantly.  Let us consider what we miss when all we have is a race without the struggle for God, and without the living water which quenches a deeper thirst. 

 

 

He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst

 

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

 

- John 6:27-40 

 

Yesterday we read that, when evening came (after the feeding of the five thousand), His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."   

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."   Here is a fascinating statement:  to believe in Him whom He sent is to work the works of God.   Where do faith and works begin?  They are inseparable, both begin in placing one's trust in Christ.

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."    These are the people who've just been filled at the feeding of the five thousand.  They fail to understand, apparently, the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, but they know that Christ has fed them, for they also sought to forcibly make Him king as a result (see Wednesday's reading).  But now they want proofs for faith.  Jesus points to the true bread from heaven:  the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.  Christ Himself is the bread of God.

Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."  Here is another parallel to the story of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt.  The people themselves recall and reference the manna in the desert, the bread from heaven, in the verses just above.   That was the food provided by God, together with a miraculous water source (Exodus 16:1 - 17:7).  Here, Christ is declaring Himself to be the true food and drink, the true bread that has come down from heaven.  Together with the other parallels in this chapter (see earlier readings), the Gospel shows that Christ is the fulfillment of the old covenant.  My study bible comments that the breaking of Christ's body and the shedding of His blood, which free humankind from the slavery of sin, fulfill the sacrifice of the Passover lambs (1:29), which brought the people out of slavery into the Promised Land.

"But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."  Jesus speaks of those who are His, who will come to faith, and come to Him.  These are the ones for whom the Father has sent Him, and of whom Christ should lose nothing, but raise it up at the last day.  My study bible comments on Christ's statement that He has "come down from heaven, not to do My own will . . .."  It says that since Christ has two natures, He has two wills:  the divine will and a human will.  At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, which was held in Constantinople in 680-681, it was proclaimed that these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but rather, "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."

Jesus once again emphasizes His tie to the Father; that, in fact, they are inseparable, as He follows the will of His Father in all things.  Once again, Jesus says this after having fulfilled yet another "type" of the Old Covenant.  This time, He says of Himself that He is the bread which came down from heaven, and that He offers Himself as the food which means one will never hunger, and drink which mean one will never thirst.  Here is the power of faith:  that in our connection of faith, we will be held, fed, nurtured as we need to be, and never let go.  He says that He will lose nothing of that which the Father gives Him.  So, the question for each of us becomes how reliant we are on our faith.  That is, to what extent are you nurtured and fed, through faith?  For what do you thirst?  The way that Jesus phrases it in speaking to this crowd that has wanted to force Him to be their king because they were fed with earthly food, Jesus teaches that what He has to offer fills a much greater and deeper need.  It reminds us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).  How often do we think of putting the Kingdom first when we are in need?  We've often heard the statement that money can't buy happiness, but this is hard to know for people who haven't had that experience of possessing wealth.  We all seem to think that if only we had a little bit more, we could find greater happiness and contentment.  But money cannot nurture as Christ can, and neither can earthly food.  Wealth alone cannot bring us meaning, or even purpose.  But Christ can do that.  Neither can wealth generate love or real belonging, as Christ does.  If all of our worldly needs are met, but not our spiritual needs, do we find contentment or do we still seek what is missing?  For most people in the world, we may not get a chance to test such a theory.  It seems to be part of human psychology to keep desiring the things we think others have that we don't, no matter how impossibly far from real need they might be.  But there is one thing to which many have testified:  that being in deep need, and having just a little, God becomes the greatest source of strength and hope.  Faith becomes the way to keep going, to put one's feet forward in a good path, to set one's bearings straight.  It becomes a question of getting down to what is real -- in any circumstance -- and finding where the bedrock of truth is within us, for a foundation that keeps us upright and standing in a blessed and truly rooted place from which we won't fall.  There are so many things that come into this place of deep nurturing, more than we can count.  When we think of nothing but the worldly, we overlook so much.  What is your deepest need today? 

This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." 

- John 6:27-40

Yesterday we read that when evening came (after the feeding of the five thousand), His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."   The work of God is to believe in Him whom He sent."  So often we forget that faith itself is a choice, a "work" -- there is so much work that must go on within ourselves as our faith is challenged by our lives, our experience, our thoughts and habitual responses, and the earthly life we live.   In this vein of understanding, prayer itself is another kind of "work of God."

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."  Following the parallels to the Exodus noted so far in chapter 6 of John's Gospel, here Jesus declares Himself to be the true food and drink, the true bread that has come down from heaven (see also Exodus 16:1-17:7).

"But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."   My study bible remarks that since Christ has two natures, He has two wills:  the divine will and a human will.  The Sixth Ecumenical Council , held in Constantinople (AD 680-681), proclaims that these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but rather "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."

Christ speaks so strongly of the link of faith between Himself and those whom He shall raise up at the last day.  He tells us of His link, His closeness with the Father:   "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."   At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, we are given to understand, the existence of both human and divine will in Christ was decided -- and so Christ speaks here not of the divine will which is united within the Trinity, but of His human will, that in His earthly ministry He has chosen to fully align His human will with the divine will of the Father.  This is an example to us, it is something we should wholly and fully desire for ourselves.  Indeed, this is the great goal of all monastic life, and we are also to understand that it is in that divine will of Creator where we truly "find ourselves" -- this process of alignment is, in fact, one of truly becoming ourselves.  If we seek who we truly are, we need to align ourselves to Creator, to have that as our firm aim and direction in our prayer and our efforts to become the persons that Christ asks us to be.  To follow Christ in faith, then, is like a time-based alignment of this will in the sense that Christ sets the example of alignment of will.  We don't "become" God, but we can become "like God."  We simply have a lifetime of work at this work He names, an ongoing process of conversion based on the gift of time that is also given to us as creatures by God.  And once again, what is the work of God?  "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent," Jesus tells the crowds, and us.  Faith itself becomes a work, because it implies so much else that is purely "work."  That is, this kind of faith sets out a lifetime of works, of choices and decisions to follow and to align ourselves with His will -- of allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us, and the indwelling also of Father and of Christ, influencing who we are which is known by the works that we do.  Let us reiterate that "works" are not merely things done to be seen by others.  Works are all the choices we make; the decision to pray; the decision to find the will of God and seek it for ourselves; to hand ourselves over to Christ, so to speak -- and faith itself, to "believe in Him whom He sent" is also the work of God, as Jesus states here.  So let us think about these works we do, what kind of fruit we wish to produce, and the results of a lifetime of choices offered and made through time within this discipline and gift of faith.  Let us never forget how it ties us to the gifts of Father, Son, and Spirit themselves working in us and with us -- and how much help we have all along the way, with myriad messengers and saints as a great cloud of witnesses helping us as well.

The bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life;  and I will raise him up at the last day." 

- John 6:27-40

Yesterday, we read that after feeding thousands in the wilderness, when evening came, the disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Here is the work:  to have faith, to believe in Him whom He sent.  How can we believe that it's just that easy?  Just that simple?  This is the way that grace works.  God does the rest of the work, even in us.

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."   So powerful is this image of bread from heaven, that those who speak to Jesus cite the Scriptures, in which we can find it referenced three times:  see Exodus 16:4, Nehemiah 9:15, Psalm 78:24.  But Jesus takes them from "earthly" images of being fed in the wilderness, to a true heavenly bread, one which is bound up with the work of faith.  The true bread of heaven is the gift of God to the world, the Son given in order to save.

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life;  and I will raise him up at the last day."  My study bible has a note here that tells us that since Christ has two natures, He has two wills.  One will is divine and the other human.  The Sixth Ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople in AD 680-681, proclaims these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but rather "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."    Again we see that with Jesus, everything comes constantly referenced back to the Father.  All things begin there, with the God who is love and who wishes us to be with Him.

Jesus refers everything back to the Father.  We have repeatedly observed this, especially in John's gospel.  Jesus' identity as Son is derived solely from the Father; without Father there is no Son.  Everything is dependent upon the Father.  And the real bread of heaven, He's telling them (and us) isn't that which came down in the wilderness to feed the Israelites when they were led by Moses, and it wasn't even the sign He performed of feeding thousands in the wilderness, so that these people seek to make Him their king.  No, the real bread of heaven is standing in front of them, and it's been sent --  given, actually, is the real word used in John 3:16 -- it's been given by the Father to the world.   The bread of heaven has been given to the world that through this spiritual food, all might be saved.  Not condemned, but saved.  And what does that really mean?  It means that God who is love desires all of us to be with God eternally, in an eternal state of life, not a temporary one.  It means God wants to free us from death.  It means that all the signs that Jesus performs -- and we remember there are seven in this Gospel of John -- all those signs are here to show us what God wants to give us and what it means to be saved.  Salvation means a kind of addition of life to us that changes everything.  It changes the qualities about us, per St. Paul's references to the gifts or fruits of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  It changes our relationships:   “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother"  (Matthew 12:48-50, NIV).  It changes our relationship to the whole of the world, as in this viewpoint we become stewards of the world, guardians and caretakers of all the good gifts we're given by a gracious God.  This bread of heaven gives everything meaning, because the start of everything is this gracious gift and its inception in the love that we must know as the nature of God and thereby the foundation of everything.  And that's going to rock our entire lives.  This God the Father, who loves us and whose love we can truly sense in the great devotion of this Son, teaches us that love is the foundation of all things:  that we are loved, and if we are to understand what it is to be God-like then we will also have to know what it is to live with love, and to make it the foundation of what we do with our lives.  And that will change everything.  And that's what it means, in my opinion, to be saved.  A selfish perspective on love gives us the image that some people are meant to sacrifice everything, and some people are given everything.  Well, that's not love, in my opinion.  That's a whole different reality.  That's a limited, narrow, self-centered, abuse-prone point of view that is all about manipulation.  The real viewpoint of love is different, because love understands that loving is the same as wanting what is really best for us.  Love isn't just indulgence or granting our fondest wishes as in a fairy tale.  It's different, and it works differently.  Love might teach us to be patient and long-suffering, if we need that.  It might teach us forbearance and kindness to others, because these fruits of the Spirit make us truly good, even perhaps great.  Love might teach us to be less selfish, or that there are some things that we can live without.  Love will give us what is really best for us, the same way a good parent will want a child to be healed of illness even if it means using medicines the child doesn't like taking.  Love also means sharing the best gifts.  That's what God the Father brings us, a life in which we can have eternal life, with Him.  Ultimately, love is about this sort of relationship, in which the best gifts are ours, even if we are not quite prepared to understand what is best.  So let's just start there, with the bread of heaven that wants what is truly best for us, eternal life, a kind of life that adds to our live not just in time but also in the here and now, in the qualities we understand are good, that make us more fully human somehow.  That is, truly human in the sense of the fullness of what we can be, in the potentials built into us by Creator that we might not even be aware of in us.  Love can bring us a joy and peace we can't really understand, and not based on visible external circumstances.  It's in John's gospel that Jesus will also tell us that we are given this bread of heaven so that His joy may be in us and that our joy may be complete (John 15:11), and that He leaves us with His peace which He gives not as the world gives (John 14:27).    All of this is part of this bread from heaven, standing there in Person, the gift of God the Father for the salvation of what it truly means for us to have life.  Can we do the work of that faith?

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 that 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."  And everyone went to his own house.

- John 7:37-52

 In our current reading, Jesus is attending the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot).  Yesterday, we read that about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and 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?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to 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." Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "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 Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "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 Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

On that 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.  This last day, the great day of the feast is the eighth day of this festival, the Feast of Tabernacles.  This is an autumn harvest festival, and it commemorates the time Israel spent wandering in tents or tabernacles.  This particular day had a ceremony of the drawing of water, and thus provides the context for Jesus' words regarding the "rivers of living water" which flow from the heart of faith, an image of the gift of the Holy Spirit, and, says my study bible, "the new life that accompanies this gift."

 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.   Again, John gives us a kind of chorus of the crowds, the various opinions held about Jesus.  "The Prophet" was another image of the Messiah, foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  Micah foretold that the Christ would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  Of course, this crowd knows Jesus as a Galilean, from Nazareth, although He was born in Bethlehem.  There's an interesting little note to mention here, that a clan of the descendants of David did settle in Nazareth after the Babylonian exile (this is likely the source of the name Nazareth, from Hebrew nezer for "branch" of the Davidic lineage).

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."  My study bible reminds us that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (7:32).  But this is the last day of the Feast, and no arrest has been made.  These officers, it suggests, have been converted by the Lord's teaching.  We can hear in their response that it was impossible for them to arrest Him because of the words He spoke.  My study bible cites John Chrysostom who said that the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either one.  These officers, although they can claim none of the learning of the leadership, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, says Chrysostom, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

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."  And everyone went to his own house.  In chapter 3, we read about Jesus' discussion with Nicodemus (see How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?).   My study bible points out that by this time Nicodemus' faith had grown.  "Yet," it says, "his defense of Christ was still based on our law and was not yet a public profession of faith.  According to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  It's also noted here that the Pharisees are mistaken in saying that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  My study bible says, "The Pharisees show their blind hatred and their ignorance of the Scriptures, for the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25)."

We have this struggle going on between those who are the experts in the Law and Scriptures and regulators of the religious life, and this phenomenon, Jesus.  Jesus is in some way like all the prophets, and especially like John the Baptist, because His work is driven by spirit, by the God who is Spirit, and must be worshiped in spirit and truth.  That God has given the Law, the Scriptures, the Prophets.  So how do we come to reconcile these two things?  How do we take what we've been given through the blessings of Spirit, and shape our world around it in a way that doesn't lock out the "new things" God brings us?  Jesus alludes to this when He speaks about new wine needing new wineskins in the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 2:22, Matthew 9:17, Luke 5:38).  Interestingly, Job uses a similar illustration to say, "I am full of words;  The spirit within me compels me.  Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent; It is ready to burst like new wineskins"  (Job 32:18-19).   There has to be room made for God's revelation to us, whether that be by the "living water" Jesus talks about in today's reading, or, indeed, something spectacular like the Incarnation.  This promise of the "rivers of living water" that are to flow out of a faithful heart really is the promise of a gift that comes to us in order to make us expand, and in order to help us to continue to incorporate those changes that come from an ongoing experience as described by Jesus' phrase "rivers of living water."  As my study bible pointed out, this statement reflects events on this last, great day of the festival occurring in John's Gospel, when libations would be poured from a pool commemorating the water from the rock (Exodus 17:1-7).  It's interesting to think about, because that incident in Exodus resulted in Moses naming the place for the contention that rose among the Israelites, in which God was tested by the people asking, "Is the Lord among us or not?"  A stony heart may represent something similar -- how can God be among us when things aren't going well?  And yet it is faith that Jesus promises will result in the rivers of living water that flow from the heart, the life He offers, full of grace.  A stony heart is like the old wineskins that can't expand, and it's like the Pharisees who won't open their eyes regarding Jesus because they really have other things standing in the way (like fear of losing their own positions, for example).  So one thing that holds us back, I suppose we could say, from being like the new wineskins that can expand with God's grace and gracious gifts, is just that tendency to hard-heartedness, to that stony place where we think we have all the answers (and certainly there are hidden motives, even possibly hidden from ourselves), where we are afraid of the place grace is bringing us to.  There's a lyric to a popular song that says, "Fear is easy, love is hard," and that just about sums it up.  How do we maintain faith in the face of our fears?  In the face of the things we're afraid we'll lose?  Or the ways we may end up being "the losers?"  Think of the faith of those following Moses into the desert.  Think of the people at this ceremony, this feast in Jerusalem, in a time of occupation, and all kinds of strife.  How are they supposed to think about Jesus and what He's telling them?  What -- and more especially -- Who do they trust?  The temple guard are told to arrest Jesus, and they just can't do it.  His words have too much power.  So what do they do?  What do we do?  Jesus offers the God who is Spirit.  He offers the power and authority of that God, just the way that Moses did.  How do we put our fears aside to follow Him?  And to encounter those rivers of living water within the heart that He offers, and the new life they bring?

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.