John 7:37-44 Streams of Living Water

Last week we talked with the prophet Amos about his picture of justice rolling like a river. This river brings new life into communities, families and individuals, helping them see God in their lives. This week we’re stopping by the Feast of Tabernacles where Jesus offers a similar picture of a river of living water bringing new life and hope into our world and the lives of people that we know and live with. It’s not uncommon for people to tell me that they feel dry inside; a number of people have described their lives being like walking in a desert place. They’re looking for this living water that Jesus is talking about here.

Jesus picks up on the invitation found in Isaiah 55:1-2, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” It’s part of our nature to try to provide for ourselves, to not rely on anyone else, even if that someone’s God. Yet life throws us so many curve balls, so many changes in the journeys we’re on; there are times when tiredness and discouragement creep in and take away our strength and energy. Talking with a few pastors this week online, a number of them mentioned how, now that in-person services are slowly starting again, that exhaustion and depression is settling in as they bring others back into the decision making and hand over responsibilities again to the various ministry leaders. They’ve been working on adrenaline for months now and now are crashing. They’re dry, they’re thirsty, even if they don’t realize it. What life events or times drain you? Where do you go to be refreshed?

In Matthew 11, Jesus offers a direct invitation to come and rest and be renewed, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” It’s the same message as Psalm 23 where the shepherd leads his sheep to quiet waters and lush meadows. Now, at this harvest feast, where the people are celebrating God’s generous and abundant providing, Jesus uses the symbols of the feast to reveal himself as the promised Messiah, the one who has come to save his people.

The priests pour water from an underground stream that fills the Pool of Siloam over the altar. This pointed to a number of Old Testament passages: Joel 3:18, “In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and will water the valley of acacias.”  Isaiah 44:3, ^“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” These verses point to the coming Messiah and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit over the people.

Pointing to the water and other symbols surrounding the feast, Jesus stands and declares in a loud voice so everyone can hear, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” Mitch Glaser, in Jewish Voice Today writes that Jesus is saying, “I am the reality that the water in this ceremony symbolizes—the true life-giver through who the Holy Spirit is also given.” We hear echoes from Ezekiel 36, “‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Jesus knows that the people at the feast know these passages from the prophets, that they get it, that’s what they’re looking for: hope, refreshed hearts and souls. They’ve been slaves under Babylon and now they’re under Rome’s power; they just want to be free.

Rivers flow. They stop being rivers when they start collecting in one spot, becoming ponds, lakes or seas. The water doesn’t go any further. Think of the rivers that Jesus’ listeners would be thinking about: the great Nile and Euphrates rivers that nourish the lands they flow through, the Jordan River that provides life to the land as it flows from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. The soil of the Nile River delta between Cairo and the Mediterranean Sea is rich in nutrients because of the large silt deposits the Nile leaves behind as it flows into the sea. The banks of the Nile all along its vast length contain rich soil, thanks to annual flooding that deposits silt. From space, the contrast between the Nile's lush green river banks and the barren desert makes it clear how important rivers are to the land and how much it impacts the people all along its length.

Jesus doesn’t say “pools of living water,” he says rivers of living water will flow from within us. Living waters are not meant to stay in us, it’s meant to flow into the world around us. It reminds me of the Samaritan woman Jesus meets at the well, the woman whose life was filled with questionable choices. When offered living water from Jesus, she rushes back to the village to tell them about Jesus, to allow the living water offered by Jesus to flow through her and into the village people so they can also experience the new life and hope that Jesus brings.

Jesus came to take the punishment for our sin on himself, but also to bring new life and reconciliation with God. In the resurrection we’re reassured of new life. We no longer are seen as sinners in the hand of an angry God, as the preacher Jonathan Edwards wrote, we can rest in knowing that we are created in the image of God: children of God, masterpieces created by God. Seeing ourselves through God’s eyes can bring soul healing knowing that God’s with us through the Holy Spirit, he’ll carry us through life, especially when life is hard and painful. His living water helps us accept that our past has made us who we are today, for better or worse, but that the living water of the Holy Spirit will also shape our future, allowing us to look forward with hope and peace.

Living water needs to keep flowing. It flows from Jesus through the Holy Spirit into us, and then out of us into the community we are a part of. The Samaritan woman is an example of how Jesus’ living water flowed through her into her village. But how does that story of a woman from a completely different time and place work here? It begins with something as simple as coming here to worship on Sunday. Why do you come? Is it to worship God because it strengthens your faith, makes you feel good, it fills you with joy, it’s the right thing to do, or do you come to worship so that you can take what you have learned and experienced in worship with your boss, your employees, your co-workers, fellow students, neighbours, and friends? Both and?

In Africa, when I preached there, people had their heads down because they were busy taking notes so they could share what they learned at work, with their neighbours and friends. A fellow pastor in Montreal connected with me a couple of weeks because of a joint ministry we were both involved with. 3 people we know have stepped up in really cool ways. One person, a nurse has started a small group ministry of compassion and listening for other nurses where she is able to speak Jesus and hope into their lives and jobs. Two other people. they both own their own businesses; one has begun a lunch time Bible study for his employees while the second has an evening Bible study for their employee’s whole families around a meal.

We’ve begun live-streaming our worship services. What an opportunity to start a small house church in your home by inviting a couple of friends, a neighbour family, someone you’ve wanted to talk to about Jesus over to join you Sunday morning over brunch. As a church we need to look at how we can support you in being living water in a way like this. The thing is that we begin thinking like rivers instead of still ponds. Who can you flow into with the love of Jesus?