Living Water
In an episode from John's Gospel (4:4-25), when Jesus stops to rest at Jacob's well, he asks a Samaritan woman, "Give me a drink."
Because Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans, the woman says, "You are a Jew--how can you ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
Jesus says, "If only you recognized God's gift and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him instead, and he would have given you living water."
After she questions Jesus further, he clarifies: "Whoever drinks the water I shall give him shall never be thirsty. Rather, the water I shall give him will become within him a fountain of water leaping up into life eternal."
In wonder, the woman hopefully declares, "Give me this water, sir, so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
When Jesus reveals secrets from her present and past life, the woman acknowledges that he must be a prophet. She then says, "Lord, our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you people claim that the place where men ought to worship God is in Jerusalem."
Jesus elaborates: "An hour is coming and is now here when the real worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth....God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him, "I know there is a Messiah coming. Whenever he comes, he will announce all things to us." (This term "Messiah" means "Anointed.") Jesus declared to her, "I who speak to you--I am he."
Using the symbol of water shows how naturally and realistically John thought of eternal life: water is necessary to natural life as living water is to eternal life. The living water is not Jesus himself but something spiritual that he offers to the believer who can recognize God's gift. Living water is not eternal life but leads to it: "a fountain of water leaping up into life eternal." In the scope of Johannine theology, there are two possible interpretations of "living water." It means the revelation which Jesus gives to men, or it means the Spirit which Jesus gives to men.
Both these explanations go back to the second century, and there are convincing arguments for both. Jesus refers to his revelation as "living water" because in John Jesus is presented as divine wisdom and as the replacement of the Law. "Living water" is the Spirit communicated by Jesus, for the gift of the Spirit was a mark of the messianic days, and the dialogue with Jesus leads the Samaritan woman to speak of the Messiah. It is interesting to note that medieval theologians understood "living water" as the Spirit and thought of it as grace. It is worth citing Thomas Aquinas' commentary on John: "The grace of the Holy Spirit is given to man inasmuch as the very font of grace is given, that is, the Holy Spirit."
There is reason to believe that both meanings are intended, for Johannine symbolism is often ambivalent, especially where two such closely related concepts as revelation and Spirit are involved. After all, the Spirit of truth is the agent who interprets Jesus' revelation or teaching to men. In the passage of Aquinas cited, he also insists that Jesus' doctrine is the living water.
As the dialogue continues, the point of discussion shifts from the place of worship to the manner of worship. When Jesus says "the hour...is now here when real worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth," he is saying that the place or whereabouts of worship is no longer important.
It must also be said that Jesus is not contrasting external worship with internal worship. His statement has nothing to do with worshiping God in the interior of one's own spirit; for the Spirit is the Spirit of God, not the spirit of man, as vs. 24 makes clear, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth." One might even regard "Spirit and truth" equivalent to "Spirit of truth."
It is enlightening that Jesus is not highlighting worshiping God in the interior of one's own spirit. The Spirit involved here is the Spirit of God. It is that Spirit that is worshiping God in us, the Spirit in us as us. This is a challenge to our limited understanding of the nature of Spirit. I regard this as a classical acknowledgement that God and I are one. Although other traditions hold the same truth, it appears that this identity of God with me is clear and a pinnacle of Christian revelation.
I see St. Paul making the same identification as he cites God praying to God: "The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put in words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God."
The Johannine themes are closely intertwined, some of which are spelled out later in his Gospel. Jesus is the truth in the sense that he reveals God's truth to men; the Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and is the Spirit of truth who is to guide men in the truth. "Spirit and truth" simply spell out what we saw already in discussing "living water" as revelation and Spirit."
Since it is the all-pervading "Spirit of God" that we are talking about in worship, it enlarges and deepens the fact of how true worship takes place. The worshiper is "in God." This is not hard to believe if I accept the fact that all are one. My friends and I often talk how difficult it is for many to recognize God's gift. Jesus intimates this problem from the outset of his dialogue with the Samaritan woman: "If only you recognized God's gift."
There is a portrait of St. Paul in a chapel in St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, showing the Apostle with his head tilted lifting an ear to heaven. His eyes are opened wide and his lips slightly ajar in anticipation. He is waiting, watching, listening for the divine. That sublime painting reminds me of the quip: "We were given two ears and one mouth so that we may hear twice as much as we speak."
What appears to be true in looking at the world's great spiritual traditions is that higher consciousness and awareness of spiritual realities must be accompanied by an ethical component. These systems spell out elaborate codes of moral conduct for their followers because simple attention is not sufficient and can be self-centered.
Awareness coupled with goodness is the key. Goodness and Godness go together; my goodness is God acting in the world. Jesus effectively shows the concurrence: how my good work brings God into play. "If anyone chooses to do His will, he will know about this doctrine--whether it comes from God." (Jo 7:17).
Mindfulness was not originally seen as simple attention, as important as that might be. It was mostly concerned with accomplishing equanimity: dealing with attraction and aversion. Clinging was seen as the enticement that often leads us astray: reaching out to pleasure and running away from pain. One can be aware of what is pleasing or displeasing, but stay independent of that, not needing matters to be other than they are. Equanimity is being even-minded, not a victim of powerful reactions, positive or negative.
With powerful reactions under control, equanimity allows for the entrance and development of love and joy. These qualities are not objects to be achieved; they are personal qualities that are boundless. Since they are limitless, it opens the way to the realization of the Spirit's presence in us. God truly gives us Himself. He gives not simply as a companion but as He is in Himself to be experienced internally.
There is so much in life that we cannot control. If I am constantly trying to change things, I miss out on so much of life that is asking only for acceptance. There is order and harmony in the seasons, in the earth providing shelter and food, in my body, in the animal kingdom, in my ability to love, in my life and death. Heartfelt acceptance brings appreciation. A philosopher has said that all the world's problems come from the inability to sit quietly in a room and do nothing. He is not saying, "Do nothing," but if I cannot be quiet and still some of the time, than I can contribute to the world's problems.
It has been said that belonging to our species is a given at birth, but one must work to become human. And many a wise man has added that you are not a full human being until you love something greater than yourself. I like to think of God as a tree in seed as each one of us. All potential is there in the fertilized seed in my mother's womb. "Living water" is ultimately about life and growth. Jesus gives us a visual: the water he gives "will become within him a fountain of water leaping up unto eternal life."
In conclusion regarding Spirit, I think that Spirit ultimately means to stand in God's stead; Spirit means "I am God;" Spirit means "I Am;" Spirit means "God." That is, Spirit means only God exists. An offering from Joel S. Goldsmith demonstrates this: God is no far-off miracle worker. The Spirit of God, Infinity, Greatness, Goodness, can find outlet only as human consciousness, as your consciousness and mine. There is no God and me. There is only God manifested as individual being. God is our very own being. God fulfills Itself as our individual being. Goldsmith says to, "Enjoy watching the glory of the Father unfold as our individual experience."
Another culture gives the same enduring message. Says the Tao: "True enlightenment is the realization not that there is a Tao to follow but that we ourselves are Tao. That understanding comes from a simple breaking down of a wall, a shattering of the mistaken notion that there is something inherent in this life that divides us from Tao."
(Selections from Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel according to John I-XII, The Anchor Yale Bible, vol 29.)
Because Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans, the woman says, "You are a Jew--how can you ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
Jesus says, "If only you recognized God's gift and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him instead, and he would have given you living water."
After she questions Jesus further, he clarifies: "Whoever drinks the water I shall give him shall never be thirsty. Rather, the water I shall give him will become within him a fountain of water leaping up into life eternal."
In wonder, the woman hopefully declares, "Give me this water, sir, so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
When Jesus reveals secrets from her present and past life, the woman acknowledges that he must be a prophet. She then says, "Lord, our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you people claim that the place where men ought to worship God is in Jerusalem."
Jesus elaborates: "An hour is coming and is now here when the real worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth....God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him, "I know there is a Messiah coming. Whenever he comes, he will announce all things to us." (This term "Messiah" means "Anointed.") Jesus declared to her, "I who speak to you--I am he."
Using the symbol of water shows how naturally and realistically John thought of eternal life: water is necessary to natural life as living water is to eternal life. The living water is not Jesus himself but something spiritual that he offers to the believer who can recognize God's gift. Living water is not eternal life but leads to it: "a fountain of water leaping up into life eternal." In the scope of Johannine theology, there are two possible interpretations of "living water." It means the revelation which Jesus gives to men, or it means the Spirit which Jesus gives to men.
Both these explanations go back to the second century, and there are convincing arguments for both. Jesus refers to his revelation as "living water" because in John Jesus is presented as divine wisdom and as the replacement of the Law. "Living water" is the Spirit communicated by Jesus, for the gift of the Spirit was a mark of the messianic days, and the dialogue with Jesus leads the Samaritan woman to speak of the Messiah. It is interesting to note that medieval theologians understood "living water" as the Spirit and thought of it as grace. It is worth citing Thomas Aquinas' commentary on John: "The grace of the Holy Spirit is given to man inasmuch as the very font of grace is given, that is, the Holy Spirit."
There is reason to believe that both meanings are intended, for Johannine symbolism is often ambivalent, especially where two such closely related concepts as revelation and Spirit are involved. After all, the Spirit of truth is the agent who interprets Jesus' revelation or teaching to men. In the passage of Aquinas cited, he also insists that Jesus' doctrine is the living water.
As the dialogue continues, the point of discussion shifts from the place of worship to the manner of worship. When Jesus says "the hour...is now here when real worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth," he is saying that the place or whereabouts of worship is no longer important.
It must also be said that Jesus is not contrasting external worship with internal worship. His statement has nothing to do with worshiping God in the interior of one's own spirit; for the Spirit is the Spirit of God, not the spirit of man, as vs. 24 makes clear, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth." One might even regard "Spirit and truth" equivalent to "Spirit of truth."
It is enlightening that Jesus is not highlighting worshiping God in the interior of one's own spirit. The Spirit involved here is the Spirit of God. It is that Spirit that is worshiping God in us, the Spirit in us as us. This is a challenge to our limited understanding of the nature of Spirit. I regard this as a classical acknowledgement that God and I are one. Although other traditions hold the same truth, it appears that this identity of God with me is clear and a pinnacle of Christian revelation.
I see St. Paul making the same identification as he cites God praying to God: "The Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put in words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God."
The Johannine themes are closely intertwined, some of which are spelled out later in his Gospel. Jesus is the truth in the sense that he reveals God's truth to men; the Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and is the Spirit of truth who is to guide men in the truth. "Spirit and truth" simply spell out what we saw already in discussing "living water" as revelation and Spirit."
Since it is the all-pervading "Spirit of God" that we are talking about in worship, it enlarges and deepens the fact of how true worship takes place. The worshiper is "in God." This is not hard to believe if I accept the fact that all are one. My friends and I often talk how difficult it is for many to recognize God's gift. Jesus intimates this problem from the outset of his dialogue with the Samaritan woman: "If only you recognized God's gift."
There is a portrait of St. Paul in a chapel in St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, showing the Apostle with his head tilted lifting an ear to heaven. His eyes are opened wide and his lips slightly ajar in anticipation. He is waiting, watching, listening for the divine. That sublime painting reminds me of the quip: "We were given two ears and one mouth so that we may hear twice as much as we speak."
What appears to be true in looking at the world's great spiritual traditions is that higher consciousness and awareness of spiritual realities must be accompanied by an ethical component. These systems spell out elaborate codes of moral conduct for their followers because simple attention is not sufficient and can be self-centered.
Awareness coupled with goodness is the key. Goodness and Godness go together; my goodness is God acting in the world. Jesus effectively shows the concurrence: how my good work brings God into play. "If anyone chooses to do His will, he will know about this doctrine--whether it comes from God." (Jo 7:17).
Mindfulness was not originally seen as simple attention, as important as that might be. It was mostly concerned with accomplishing equanimity: dealing with attraction and aversion. Clinging was seen as the enticement that often leads us astray: reaching out to pleasure and running away from pain. One can be aware of what is pleasing or displeasing, but stay independent of that, not needing matters to be other than they are. Equanimity is being even-minded, not a victim of powerful reactions, positive or negative.
With powerful reactions under control, equanimity allows for the entrance and development of love and joy. These qualities are not objects to be achieved; they are personal qualities that are boundless. Since they are limitless, it opens the way to the realization of the Spirit's presence in us. God truly gives us Himself. He gives not simply as a companion but as He is in Himself to be experienced internally.
There is so much in life that we cannot control. If I am constantly trying to change things, I miss out on so much of life that is asking only for acceptance. There is order and harmony in the seasons, in the earth providing shelter and food, in my body, in the animal kingdom, in my ability to love, in my life and death. Heartfelt acceptance brings appreciation. A philosopher has said that all the world's problems come from the inability to sit quietly in a room and do nothing. He is not saying, "Do nothing," but if I cannot be quiet and still some of the time, than I can contribute to the world's problems.
It has been said that belonging to our species is a given at birth, but one must work to become human. And many a wise man has added that you are not a full human being until you love something greater than yourself. I like to think of God as a tree in seed as each one of us. All potential is there in the fertilized seed in my mother's womb. "Living water" is ultimately about life and growth. Jesus gives us a visual: the water he gives "will become within him a fountain of water leaping up unto eternal life."
In conclusion regarding Spirit, I think that Spirit ultimately means to stand in God's stead; Spirit means "I am God;" Spirit means "I Am;" Spirit means "God." That is, Spirit means only God exists. An offering from Joel S. Goldsmith demonstrates this: God is no far-off miracle worker. The Spirit of God, Infinity, Greatness, Goodness, can find outlet only as human consciousness, as your consciousness and mine. There is no God and me. There is only God manifested as individual being. God is our very own being. God fulfills Itself as our individual being. Goldsmith says to, "Enjoy watching the glory of the Father unfold as our individual experience."
Another culture gives the same enduring message. Says the Tao: "True enlightenment is the realization not that there is a Tao to follow but that we ourselves are Tao. That understanding comes from a simple breaking down of a wall, a shattering of the mistaken notion that there is something inherent in this life that divides us from Tao."
(Selections from Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel according to John I-XII, The Anchor Yale Bible, vol 29.)