Text: John 7: 37-52
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”[a] 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. 40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” 46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied. 47 “You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”
Isaiah 55:1
“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.
Reflection
I recently had someone ask me what the busiest time of the year was for me as a pastor, and without missing a beat I replied Lent. This is the time of the year when we all should be slowing down and reflecting upon God, yet sometimes it seems like we are just running from one thing to the next without really having time to seek the face of God.
Yet that’s exactly what today’s scripture passages invites us to do. To seek God’s face and be filled. Isaiah is speaking to a group of exiles, trying to bring them hope and proclaim God’s salvation to them. He is speaking to those who are becoming discouraged being in a foreign land amongst people who do not believe what they believe. And to these people who yearn for God to save them, the prophet proclaims, “everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.” Come seek after God and be filled.
I attended a small Christian college a few hours from here, which required attendance at chapel three times a week. Usually we had speakers and sang hymns together or celebrated Holy Communion, but one service I remember in particular was praying through song. We spent our hour together singing and reflecting on what we had sung in silence. One of these songs of prayer was called “Invitation Fountain” and the lyrics had a profound impact on me. “Let all who are weak, all who are weary. Come to the rock, come to the fountain. All who have sailed on the rivers of heartache, come to the sea, come on be set free!” Friends, the invitation to come to the waters and seek after God are just as much extended to us today as they were to the people of Israel. And that is truly what the season of Lent is about, seeking and finding. Realizing that God’s ways are above our ways. Stopping and sitting in the silence listening to the voice of God. To cease striving for the things that cannot last and do not truly satisfy.
Whenever I hear this text from Isaiah my mind goes to the Samaritan woman at the well who encountered Jesus one day. She listened to him talk about this water that will satisfy so you will no longer be thirsty. God is offering us that water still. The water that quenches our very spirits, from everlasting to everlasting. Yet, all to often we reject what God is offering us in our haste to get to the next thing. Or we don’t realize how truly thirsty we are. We forget that what God is offering us is truly the best. Offering us living water from the fountain of life that will not run dry.
For when we run from one thing to the next looking for satisfaction, looking for truth, looking for meaning, we will never find what we are looking for. Never find the water that fills our spirits. The water that is freely given and can be freely received. For that water can only be found in the presence of a Holy God. The one whom the prophet tells us to seek after. May we allow God to draw near to us this Lenten season. May we repent of all of those times that we have neglected what God has offered us. May we seek after the one who invites us to come.
Reflection Questions:
How does Jesus fill you with life-giving water?
How does the water of Christ quench your longings?
In what ways are you called to share this water with the world?
Prayer:
Lord, I come before you this week and pray that I be filled with your water of life. The water that the religious leaders could not understand because their certainty got in the way. Let me be so filled with your life, that I cannot help but splash it out as I live my life for you. Amen.
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