Thursday 15 May 2008
- Bible Book:
- John
"While Jesus was standing there he cried out 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, "Out of the believers heart shall flow rivers of living water."' Now he said this about the Spirit which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified". (v.37-39)
Background
Although today's reading is short, it is full of powerful images- and full of complex puzzles as we seek to understand itsmeaning.
One such puzzle is the fact that scholars have not been able toidentify with any degree of confidence the exact passage ofScripture from the Old Testament which Jesus appears to quote. Thishas made it more difficult for Bible translators to understand thefull background of the imagery that Jesus is seeking to convey. Thecontext is the last day of the Jewish feast of Tabernacles (orBooths) and it may be that Jesus is drawing on the imagery of thepouring of water used in the celebrations.
What is clear, however, is that for John, in writing his Gospel,there are links to be seen between the imagery of water and thework of the Spirit. The woman at the well (
The phrase in verse 39, "for as yet there was no Spirit" is adifficult one. At the start of his Gospel John has spoken about thecoming of the Spirit upon Jesus at his baptism (
To live the "Life in the Spirit" of this week's readings we need tosee in the 'glorification of Jesus' the powerful message of God'slove offered to all - and in so doing to make ourselves open andready to receive the life-giving water of the Spirit which canrefresh and renew.
To Ponder
How can you allow the living water of the HolySpirit to refresh you - and others - today?
Jesus may have used the water of the feast as anillustration to speak of the work of the Spirit. What aspects ofyour surroundings could you use as images of God's love when youare speaking to others?