by Chelsea Page

John Chapter 4

“Whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). What is water but eternal? Think about it, water doesn’t perish. It flows, it is recycled, it moves and changes states and renews itself. It does not die. So it makes a good metaphor for eternal life, which begins during life and continues after death. Eternal life in Christ is made possible by Christ’s eternal Spirit living within us. But exactly what role does this “living water” of Spirit play in our lives?

I’m going to suggest “three C’s” of what the spirit does. First, the Spirit effects Change. It renews our energy and changes us. Think about it, there is a tremendous change in this gospel story from beginning to end. At the beginning of the scene all is still, quiet, and dry, like an old Western movie. The woman is alone at the well, Jesus is wandering alone on a dusty road and stumbles upon her. It’s high noon and hot. You can almost hear the cicadas buzzing and see the vultures floating overhead. The well which is the focal point is subject to an ancient stalemate, Jew versus Samaritan; it doesn’t move; it’s fixed in earth. Then by this story’s ending which Rola read to you, the story is bursting with life. The action is flowing. The Samaritan town is full of people talking about Jesus. The woman is no longer alone and lonely out at the desert well; she is in town surrounded by co-conspirators. How on earth did Jesus effect this kind of change? He did it by introducing the woman to the well of living water inside her, her Spirit. She participated in this discovery by engaging with him, allowing herself to be activated and even arguing with him in order to activate his own highest knowing. Once activated within the woman, the spirit became portable; she took it into the town and it overflowed into words as she talked to others about Jesus. Jesus was then invited into their town and many more came to believe as they drank from the waters he brought to them, carried to them within his own person.

So living water is portable and moves, creating Change. Second, living water helps with Cleansing. It plays a role of truth in our lives. It cleanses us and prepares us for honest, sustainable growth. Jesus says that because of him we are able to worship in spirit and truth. How does living water stay alive? By seeking truth, the way water seeks its level. You could call it conscience, but there’s something within us that squirms and alerts us when we are straying too far from the truth, deceiving ourselves or manipulating others. It’s like the voice of God inside us, not controlling but calibrating. Many younger people who are not church-goers see the water of the church as stagnant and stale and maybe even polluted by the corruption of the world. This may sadden us but it’s also a good sign that the spirit of truth and discernment is alive and active even within these disaffected young people. Only our love of honesty as Christians and our humble ability to confess the church’s failings can create a point of connection with others. So the Spirit which Christ sent to the church in Pentecost is like an Iodine tablet, it purifies the well; and we can be like Britta filters, helping sort the good from the bad.

Finally, living water creates Connection. It surprises us through the multiplying factor of relationship and chemistry between people, to create abundance beyond our wildest dreams. The water in a well can be guarded, regulated, parceled out; not so the water of a geyser. It just showers down on everyone. In the gospel story, living water pushes through and dissolves the old crusty barriers between Jew and Samaritan. It is surprising that this incredibly foreign woman becomes a follower of Jesus but also she is one of the very first to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Christian baptism is the baptism of living waters, waters that move, like the River Jordan; it is not about hoarding the Spirit, but about activating our living waters so that they gush out to bless everyone without discrimination, so that they will be touched by the access to living water inside them and never need to thirst again. Let me give you an example. Rola comes from a society where it is common to talk about God. She says that it annoys her sometimes to work in the American environment where even the mention of God has become odd and obsolete. Friends, do you think this stops her? No, she is having theological discussions with new friends of all faiths at every bar she goes to. She goes out not just to “go out” but to change people’s perspectives, to cleanse the church of its stereotypes in people’s minds, and to create surprising new connections.

Friends, this spring of living water, with its three C’s of Change, Cleansing, and Connection, we all have one. Christ has planted a tap inside you that you can open at any time and share with others. So where will you take your water? Who will you take it to? Who is going to be asking you for a drink? It may be the person you least expect. It may be someone you feel you have no business talking to, who you’re sure has no use for the kind of water you have on offer. But that’s the thing about the Spirit of Christ. Living water is alive and it needs to move. So go out and open your tap. Sometimes being on the road with Jesus is like walking a narrow and dusty path, but sometimes it can be like water skiing. May the Spirit of Christ carry us forward. Amen.