Text
John 7:37-38
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. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
Reflection
Today’s verses take us to the context of festival of the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths (7:2, 10, 14). Jesus is addressing the audience or the pilgrims on the last day which could be either the seventh or the eighth day. The phrase, “greatest day,” seems to favour the eighth day, but that is not certain. The significance of the water ritual at the Feast of Tabernacles is emphasized. For a week, people have been celebrating the gift of water that God has provided for their physical sustenance. Now Jesus is telling them that he is capable of satisfying their spiritual thirst. This is not the first time Jesus talks about satisfying those who are thirsty. In John 4 he made the similar promise to the Samaritan woman. What is Living Water? Living water in the Bible has both a physical and a spiritual meaning. Physically, it refers to flowing, fresh, pure water that quenches thirst. Spiritually, it refers to the perpetual, God-given blessing and life-giving power that Jesus offers to those who believe in Him. We are in the Lenten period which is predominantly represented by the desert which is a place of scarcity and difficult conditions and we are reminded that though our world or lives are like deserts there is still hope in the Living water-Jesus Christ. May we take this Lenten period as a period of fasting and prayer as we seek to build our relationship with our creator. Amen
Collect
Almighty God,
whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain,
and entered not into glory before he was crucified:
mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross,
may find it none other than the way of life and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen
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