Some Thoughts on Going to See a Baby

This year, the week before Christmas, we had the joy of visiting our son and daughter-in-law in Texas.  It’s always great to see them but this year was, well, especially special:  We also got to see our first grandchild—a tiny little boy who was only two and a half weeks old when we first held him.  It was a delight being there.  In that short week, I think we could almost watch him grow. 

One morning, I got up early, sat at their kitchen table, and began to scribble out the following thoughts, thoughts I planned to use at this year’s Christmas Eve service  (a service we almost missed due to a late plane connection in Atlanta—but that’s another story).  I’ve tried to weave together two ideas, our experience in seeing our grandchild for the first time and how I’ve so often heard mothers say, “No matter how old your child gets he/she will always be a baby to you.”

This is as I presented it on Christmas Eve, with only some minor edits.  I have, of course, also used a bit of imagination in Mary's story.

Some Thoughts on Going to See a Baby

We missed the cantata last Sunday.  We heard it was great but, you see, we had gone to see a Baby.  In fact, if you had come by our home, we wouldn’t have answered the door;  we weren’t there, we had gone to see a Baby.  Nor would we have answered the phone, had you called;  we had gone to see a Baby.

One night, hundreds of years ago, had you searched on the hills outside Bethlehem, you would have found some sheep;  you wouldn’t have found the shepherds.  You would have searched all over the hills for those shepherds and not found them.  They had gone to see a Baby.

Of course, that same night, if you had somehow been able to look into the throne room of heaven, you would have found it wasn’t quite as full as usual.  A whole multitude of angels was missing.  Those angels that Isaiah said spent their entire time praising God—where were they?  They had gone to see a Baby.

A few days later, at the temple in Jerusalem, you might have seen an old man and an old woman praying there.  Everyone knew them, Anna and Simeon;  they were familiar faces around the temple.  But, today, their faces seem different:  They are brighter, more joyful, satisfied.  When they rose this morning, they didn’t know their dreams were about to come true, didn’t know, as they walked the familiar streets to the temple, they were going to see a Baby.

Later, in far away Babylon, you would have heard rumors that some of the Magi (wise men) had been gone a long time.  There were lots of explanations offered for their absence but the most persistent was that they had gone to see a Baby.

Years have passed and a worried mother and father are rushing back to Jerusalem.  They had been to a festival, left for home, and found someone was missing.  They were rushing back, hoping to see their Baby.

They found him and the whole experience left his mother pondering, thinking deep, deep thoughts every time she saw her Baby.

Now many years have passed and the Baby born in Bethlehem had grown to become a man who did remarkable things and spoke remarkable words.  A good mother, Mary could probably sense the tension growing around her son—her Baby.  Of course, many loved him.  But many hated him.  And those who hated him were the ones with influence and power.  Their hatred for him had been growing, yet, when the crisis came, it seemed to come quickly.  She feared for her Baby.

She didn’t want to believe the sentence that had been passed.  She knew what it meant.  She had heard the horror stories.  She didn’t want to go out to that hill.  But she couldn’t leave him to die alone.  She had to see her Baby.

When it was over, his mother sat alone.  His closest friends were in hiding.  Some of the women were looking after her.  This morning some of those women had gone to make sure her Baby’s body was properly prepared for its endless stay in the tomb—the tomb donated by  the kindly Joseph of Arimathea.  Joseph had been her husband’s name.  She wished he were here but, of course, he wasn’t.  So, she was alone with her thoughts, thoughts about her Baby.  She remembered holding him to her breast, she remembered watching him take his first steps, she remembered seeing her growing boy play in the Galilean sun, she remembered feeling proud as he worked with Joseph’s tools, all the while wondering what would become of her son, her Baby.

Then, she remembered the last time she had seen him.  Was this what old Simeon had meant when he told her “a sword will pierce your heart,” words he had spoken to her that long ago day in the temple when he saw her Baby?

Mary was shaken from her thought when one of the other women came in.  She, too, was named Mary.  This Mary was a woman with a sketchy past, a woman whose life had been changed when she met Mary of Nazareth’s son.  This Mary Magdalene had left this morning a picture of grief.  Now, back from her errand, she was excited, joyous in fact.  Mary of Magdala breathlessly said, “Mary, Mary, I’ve seen him, seen your Baby!”

The world has never been the same since Mary and Joseph first saw that Baby.  Oh, yes, there is still hatred, still wars, still sorrow,   But, perhaps, that’s because so many don’t really understand Christmas, haven’t really seen the Baby.

Oh Christmas Tree

     Lots of Christmas memories involve the Christmas tree. 
     My friend Ben tells of how he and his brother would gather up the Christmas trees their neighbors had discarded the week after Christmas.   The enterprising boys would then take them over to the Greek neighborhood in his hometown to sell them cheap to the Orthodox believers who celebrated Christmas in early January.
     During most of my childhood, my parents stored all our Christmas decorations in an old, dark blue muffler box.  All the ornaments fit in that one box.  That box lasted for years. Today, boxes for storing decorations come in all shapes and sizes.  There are even special boxes for wreaths.  My family's Christmas decorations take up a corner of the attic. 
     One memory I have about Christmas trees involves a tree that never was.  At the first church I served, the pastor was expected to lead a children's group known as "Kids for Christ."  Meeting on Tuesday evenings, the group involved Bible study and crafts. 
     Now, let me say that this story actually began, not during the Christmas season, but on the previous Halloween.  Then, too, you should know that every Halloween the church made its van available to take children around the farming community so they could do the Trick or Treat routine.  On Halloween afternoon, I stopped by the home of a boy and his two sisters to let their mother know when to bring the kids to the church that night.  She came to the door dressed as a witch!  Fake spider-webs draped the door and a cauldron was on the porch ready to be filled with a witch's brew.  They were newcomers to the community and I admit being amused at their enthusiasm for Halloween.
     Flash forward a couple months to a Kids for Christ meeting.  Our craft that evening was a Christmas tree ornament.  The boy and his sisters just sat, doing nothing.  I asked why.  "We don't have a Christmas tree," the boy replied and his sisters nodded in agreement.  "Well," I said, "you just don't have it yet.  You'll have one soon."  "No," he insisted, "my parents don't believe in Christmas trees."
     I called the home the next day and told the mother that I hoped the children didn't feel left out.  Their mother said it was okay and then began a lengthy discussion of why Christmas trees are wrong.  She even cited a verse from Isaiah that she said  proved it.  (As it happens, the verse was about idols, not Christmas trees.)   I didn't argue because it was clear I'd be wasting my breath and possibly cause them to leave the church.  
    Over the years, I've often thought about that incident.  Here was a young Christian couple who were absolutely inspired by Halloween (a holiday many Christians find pagan and immoral).  Yet, they were firmly opposed to Christmas trees, so opposed it was clear this mother thought her neighbors were joining the Druids when they put up a tree.
    Sometimes we Christians can be a funny lot. 
    Anyway, this mother would never have to worry about where to store Christmas ornaments.

Christmas in One Word

This message from the prologue to the Gospel of John discusses the concept of the Logos (the word translated as “The Word”).  There was a time when such discussions would have   remained in the seminary or university classroom.  The internet and the availability of scholarly commentaries mean that many Christians now have opportunities to encounter such subjects.  Some of what has been written about the Logos overstates the case for John’s depending on Greek philosophy for his ideas.  I’ve tried to correct that and explain the significance of John’s “Christmas story.”  The sermon was preached on 5 December 2010.

Christmas in One Word

John 1:1-18

He died almost two years ago but I’m sure some still miss his voice.  For almost seventy years he had been on the radio somewhere, most of that time bringing us news and commentary from the heartland.  Of course, I’m talking about Paul Harvey.  I most enjoyed his program “The Rest of the Story.”  Maybe it’s because I enjoy trivia but I find learning some arcane fact about a celebrated person to be great fun. 

For example, he might tell us about a “mama’s boy” whose mother was so domineering he actually hid from her the fact he had a girlfriend.  This mother badgered his superiors until they finally agreed to give him a promotion, making him the youngest person around to hold that position.  Only after a couple more such tales of motherly aggression would Harvey reveal he had been talking about the youngest brigadier in WW I, Douglas MacArthur, and then Harvey would conclude his essay by observing; “Now you know the rest of the story.”

John seemed to write with an intention to let his readers know the rest of the story.

From the very first sentence John lets us know some things that might not have been immediately apparent to the casual observer.  “In the beginning was the Word…”

The Word Unseen

John’s opening words recall the very opening words of the Bible, “In the beginning God…”  There may be several reasons why he chose to commit that bit of plagiarism but I can’t help but wonder if he was trying to signal his readers that what he is about to say is every bit as momentous as the story of the Creation

Here John introduces us to the Logos, the Word.  Introduces us, but not necessarily his first readers.  Many of them, both Jewish and Greek, would have been familiar with the term Logos. 

For the Greeks, the Logos had come to mean the underlying rational principle guiding the universe.   From about the sixth century before Christ the term was used to describe an expression of the divine will or thought, but it was never personal.  John may have known the Greek version of the concept but it’s unlikely he borrowed it from them.

There are enough similar notions in the Old Testament that John could have easily found it there

Among the Jews, the Logos (Word) of God was highly revered.  It was the instrument of Creation. (Gen. 1; Ps 33:6)   Eight times in the first chapter of Genesis God speaks the word and another phase of Creation begins. 

Some Palestinian Jews, fearful of taking God’s Name in vain, actually substituted Logos for Yahweh as they read the Scriptures aloud in the synagogues. 

Then, too, John’s own observations of the One who was the Logos may have prompted him to conclude that the term was appropriate.

What’s important is not the source of John’s terminology but what he says about the Logos.  Listen to his description.

The Logos was Pre-existent. V1 a “In the beginning…”  The New Living Bible’s translation is to the point “In the beginning the Word already existed…” 

It’s hard to wrap our minds around that.  We say “The estimated age of the universe is 13.75 ± 0.17 billion years….”  But we struggle when asked what may have been there some 15 billion years ago.  John would tell us the Logos was there.

The Logos was God, fully and completely. V 1c.  “The Word was God…”  The notion here is unequivocal deity.

This is such a clear notion in John’s words that one cult that comes knocking on your door deliberately mistranslates this verse because in four words it contradicts their false teachings about Christ.  They force John to say, “The Word was a god.”

The Logos was in communion with God from the beginning.  This fellowship with God existed from before creation.  The Logos was not a created being, the Logos was eternally in a special relationship with God.  In both verses 1 and 2 John says “the Word was with God” or  “toward God.“  The language suggests a face to face relationship;  on the one hand is says they were on the same plane, equal;  on the other hand, it points to a profound intimacy. 

John assumes the doctrine of the Trinity in the prologue to his Gospel.  The fundamental notion that God has eternally existed as three “Persons” is a profound mystery, but it also points to the reality of an eternal fellowship within what we call the Godhead.

From time to time well-meaning preachers or poets suggest that God Created humankind because He was lonely.  The Bible nowhere suggests that.

What is important here is the fact that the Logos enjoyed this eternal fellowship with God.   As Williams translates verse 2, “He is the One who was face to face with God in the beginning.”  That reality makes what John will eventually say about the Logos all the more shocking.

The Logos was the agent of Creation.  (v 3)  Jews already understood this.  Psalm 33:6 says, “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,  their starry host by the breath of his mouth.”

  This idea is important because later on John will let us know that the One who was the agent of creation will be the agent of the new creation.  Right now, John is telling us that the Logos is the answer to the old question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”

The Logos is the source of life and light.  John speaks of a particular event.  He may be speaking on two levels.  Physical light came from the act of creation, the act of the Logos.  At the same time spiritual life has its origin in him, as well  

He not only has bathed the world in physical light, he has shown a spiritual light onto the world.  Sometimes human rebellion and sin has threatened that light but the darkness has never extinguished that light.  The theme of these verses seems to be the unconquerable nature of the Light. 

John may be letting us know that there will be those who try to put out the Light;  he’s also letting us know that that “ain’t gonna happen.”

For most human history the One whom John calls the Word, or the Logos, was unseen, known only through his works.  What John has thus far said about the Logos is enlightening but hardly prepares us for his next shocking statement.  He takes a brief detour to tell us about John the Baptist and then return to the Logos

 In so doing he gives us his Christmas story in only twenty-one Greek words.

The Word Seen

Listen to the shocking thing John has to say about the Logos.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NASB)

Please understand what John is saying here.  It is at the heart of the Christmas story.  It is more significant than mangers, than shepherds, wise men, than gold, frankincense, or myrrh. 

 "The Word became flesh (a particular human named Jesus) and tented with us" or ("lived a while among us").    Think of what John says:  God--the Creator--became a human being and lived for a while among humans.  Some of the religions told of gods posing as men but there is nothing like this.

The awesome truth is that for a while, in a small province under the boot heel of the Romans, God spoke Aramaic with a Galilean accent.

This is a profound mystery.  There are many questions left unanswered, questions concerning the day to day life of an Incarnate God.  In Joseph’s carpenter shop, did Jesus--whose word had created the light pouring through that shop’s windows--abide by the principle “measure twice, cut once?”  We don’t know enough to answer such questions.  We do know that when it was cold, he was cold.  When it was hot, he was hot.  If circumstance ever caused the family larder to be bare, he was hungry.  

As he lay in that manger did the God-Man, the Incarnate Deity we hail in our carols, think to himself, “Boy are you going to be surprised when I grow up!”  As he lay in his crib did he cry at the sound of a thunder clap, the thunder he had created?  We don’t know.

We do know that John thought we should know something more important than the answers to such questions.  So he shares a testimony--the kind an eye-witness would give, and offers a conclusion.

In his testimony he says,   “We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father's unique Son, full of grace and truth.” 

What did John--and the other apostles--see in Jesus?  They saw a glory which could only belong to God, a glory which was reflected in grace and truth.  That, of course, is important.  Grace without truth leaves us ignorant.  Truth without grace leave us lost.

They saw it reflected every day in his life.  Not once did sin diminish that glory.  Time did not stop the outpouring of that grace.  Writing years after his original encounter with Jesus he could still write, “We have all received one blessing after another from the fullness of his gracious love.” (John 1:16).  Every year at Christmas we’re encouraged to give special gifts to our loved ones.  God’s gift to us  the first Christmas was one which never has been exhausted.

This led John to what he saw as the only reasonable conclusion.

1:17.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

 1:18.  No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, (only begotten God) who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

John invites a comparison between Moses and Jesus Christ.  He does not denigrate Moses but he does challenge his readers to weigh the impact of Jesus' coming.  Moses gave the Law ;   Jesus Christ, on the other hand, gave merciful forgiveness.  Because the Logos became flesh, our relationship with God is on a new foundation, not one of our own effort but one of grace.

Jesus--the Logos incarnate--has not only brought us grace, he has given us a clearer picture of God.

A key assertion of Christianity says, "If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus."  He reveals God's character.  How can he do this?  William's translation of “only begotten Son” suggests it is because he is "Deity Himself."  The notion of Jesus--the Incarnate Logos-- as the is a crucial part of what John says about him.

.  The Incarnate Logos has a Sonlike relationship with the Father.  It is a unique and unparalleled relationship.  That is part of John’s Christmas message to us.  Jesus Christ was the Son of God in a way that no one else ever has been or ever will be the son (or  daughter) of God.

At Christmas we have a better view of God because God gave us that better view.

Conclusion

As John reaches the end of this Prologue you can almost hear him saying, “Now you know the rest of the story.”

Back when I was in college there was a popular Christian song which we don’t hear much anymore.  It was written by William Booth-Clibborn back in 1921.  Here are the words

Oh, how I love Him
How I adore Him
My breath, my sunshine
My all in all
The great Creator
Became my Savior
And all God's fullness
Dwelleth in Him

Down from His Glory
Ever living story
My God my Savior came
And Jesus was His name
Born in a manger
To His own, a stranger
A Man of sorrows, fears and agony

The great Creator
Became my Savior
And all God's fullness
Dwelleth in Him.

Without reluctance
Flesh and blood His substance
He took the form of man
Revealed the hidden plan
Oh, glorious myst'ry
Sacrifice of Calv'ry
And now I know Thou wert the great "I am"

It’s an old, but maybe, new way to see Christmas.

Help for Today

This message blends a bit of exposition--examining the text verse by verse--and a topical study.  The psalm underscores God as our source of help and raises the question:  How does God's help come our way?

Psalm 121

Do you remember the Beatles song?

“When I was younger, So much younger than today,  I never needed Anybody's help in anyway.”

You've probably felt that way from time to time. After all, to admit the need for help is perceived as an admission of weakness.

Would High Noon have been as memorable if the townsfolk had rallied behind the marshal? But life isn’t like that. Most crises cannot be resolved with a karate chop or a blast from a "44" or even a laser rifle.

Still, even knowing this, we’re hesitant to ask for help.  It starts early.  When you're in school your teacher has to remind you repeatedly that no question is a dumb question, that it is okay to ask for help. In the workplace, you hesitate to ask for help lest the boss think personnel made a mistake in hiring you. Some couples wait so long to ask for help for their faltering relationships that, when they do ask, it is often too late to save the marriage.

Of course, many people eventually come to see that there is nothing weak or cowardly in asking for help. Even the hero of the Beatles' song acknowledged that the time came when he was "not so self-assured".

Many of the psalms were first sung by the heroes of Israel. They were penned by warriors, priests, and kings. We don't picture them as eager to acknowledge their need for help. We tend to see them as independent and self-reliant.  If we do see them that way, aren't we guilty of imposing our faulty thinking upon them?

The psalmist who testified "My help comes from the Lord" was unashamed the admit his need for help.

We should be too. 

After all, isn't it the mature person who is willing to admit a need for help?  We need help to grow spiritually. In the New Testament, spiritual growth is compared to the growth of plants, but what plants? Not weeds which grow without any help from us and, sometimes, despite our best efforts to eradicate them. Spiritual growth is likened to the growth of fruit trees or grape vines, plants which require nurture and care. In short, help.

There is the crisis of change. The change may be as predictable as one year yielding to the next; or the change may come upon us suddenly.

The change may involve the end of a cherished relationship. Some change brings a minimum of pain--some leaves us crying out for help.

What does the psalmist say about this help'?

àVerse 1 sets the tone for the entire psalm.

--It should be seen as a question.  The psalmist is reviewing sources of help.  “The hills” may represent earthly sources of help, materialistic resources.  The psalmist may have had in mind a rejection of the false gods of the non-Jewish nations. The Living Bible: "Shall I look to the mountain gods for my help? No! My help is from Jehovah who made the mountains...”

The psalmist, then, becomes a model for every believer who needs some kind of help to face life. By God's word preached in Israel and by an intuition born of experience, the psalmist knows that his help comes from God.

àThe psalmist grounds his hope for help in the very nature and character of God.

--No situation need ever overwhelm him for he has a resource in the God who created "the heavens and the earth". (v2) --This confidence is bolstered by the history God's faithfulness to his people. God is "the Guardian of Israel [who) never slumbers, never sleeps." (4)   Some of the pagan peoples actually believe their gods needed sleep.  In one story a tribal god decided to destroy the earth because the humans were so noisy at night, they kept him awake.

à We can marvel with the psalmist at the breadth of God's help. (5-6)

-- These words were written in a land where the relentless sun can cause the traveler to long for shade, for relief. God provides that shelter.  But there’s more.

-- In the desert country, the sun may be life-threatening during the day.  At night, when the moon is visible, the temperatures may drop to dangerous levels. The underlying idea is that of God's faithfulness to provide help is apparent day and night.  Whenever whatever dangers come our way, God can help.

à With the psalmist, we need to recall that the intent of God's help is the preservation of our souls.(7)

-- That which may imperil the soul is that which is most dangerous.

Why do we become alarmed at false teachings, at despair, or at pornography? They may destroy the soul. With God's help we can escape--the peril.

à In the promise of God's ongoing help, we found an assurance for facing the present and the future. (8)

--What kind of worrier are you? Are you one who worries about today? Are you one who worries about tomorrow?  Do you worry today because you aren’t more worried about tomorrow?

--God will be there to help for all your todays and all your tomorrows.

How does God provide his help?

God helps us...

Through Heavenly Agencies

I move with caution into this area because I don't want to fall into the trap of speculation. Still, the Bible does tell us that God sometimes intervenes in our lives in marvelous, almost miraculous, ways, ways which we couldn't predict.

1.      The Bible speaks of help coming from angels. (Ps. 91:11 ‘For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”)

--As we enter Advent we will hear more about angels;  we need to remind ourselves of the Biblical perspective.

--Hollywood and even “Christian” novels have sometimes misled us about angels.  I once met a man who thought Roman Catholics believe in angels and Protestants don’t.  We have to avoid being overly fascinated with the subject and the tendency to believe anyone who mentions angels is delusional.

-- Our goal is to be biblical.  When dealing with angels, it's probably best to follow the advice of the old diagnostician who advised doctors, "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras."  god helps through angels but we shouldn't expe ct them to be everywhere.

--Andrew Bandstra offers a biblical "job description" for angels:

1. Angels are God's messengers.

2. Angels praise God.

3. Angels exercise God's providential care.

--little scriptural warrant for notion of 'guardian angels' (the idea of an angel assigned to us at birth and who follows us through life).

--warrant for the affirmation that God's help is sometimes mediated through the angels.

4. Angels encourage Christian obedience.

5. Angels carry out God's justice.

6. Angels never accept worship or adoration.

--Remember how Elisha's servant could not see the angels waiting to help God's people. The prophet had to pray for God to open the young man's eyes so he could see the angelic army. Perhaps we are sometimes just as much in need for someone to pray, "Open their eyes."

2. The Bible speaks of help coming from the Holy Spirit.

--Believers have the privilege of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

--Romans 8:26: "the Spirit also helps ..." with prayer, witness, decision making, guidance, understanding the Scripture, living for Christ.

-- The NT doctrine of the Holy Spirit reminds us that we have not been left to fend for ourselves. Verse based on Jesus' words in John 14:

We 're not left as orphans,

Alone and afraid:

The Spirit is with us,

To give us His aid.

Sometimes God's help is mediated Through Human Agencies

1. Such agencies include our sympathetic companions.

--Soiomon declares, “two are better than one.... If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up/" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

--Sometimes that close companion comes from our family. The story of the creation of the woman in Genesis 2:18 begins with the recognition that Adam needed a "suitable helper". Some people get nervous when we talk about "helpmeets" or "suitable helpers" but the words imply a mutual companionship of support and encouragement.

Is this kind of helping-relationship limited to husbands and wives?  No, it is a characteristic which marks the healthy family. Parents help children, children help parents, brothers and sisters help one another.

Should we be surprised if God chooses to mediate his help through one of our family members? Do we appreciate that help as much as we should?

--Sometimes that help comes through other near companions, our friends.  One of the concerns about my generation has been both the friendliness of American men and the growing friendlessness of American women.  Fortunately, the so-called generation X has recovered the appreciation for friendships;  members of that generation seem more inclined to try to develop healthy relationships.

“As iron sharpens iron," says the Proverbs, "so one friend sharpens another.

Aren't  you glad you've had friends who were there to help?

2. Such agencies include our spiritual community.

--Many of you know the help this church give in times of trouble because there have been times been you've been in trouble.

-- The church helps us with its teachings, its prayers, its moral guidance, its encouragement, its steadiness in a world of shakiness.

CONCLUSION

You may need help today. You may need help tomorrow.

Whenever you need help, ask the Helper.

May you have the faith and wisdom of the psalmist who said, “My help comes from the Lord .” 

Flood of Blessing--a message about what Jesus will do through us.

    Jesus said some remarkable things about himself.  But he also said some remarkable things about those who would follow him.  This message reminds us of that.

Flood of Blessing

John 7:37-39

           

The people to whom Jesus spoke were aware of the devastating power of a draught and the life-giving blessing of abundant rain—especially as the time of harvest approached.  This gives added meaning to Jesus’ promise.

Jesus gave this promise during a significant holiday for the people of Israel.

The Feast of Tabernacles took place during what would be our September.  It was a week-long feast to celebrate the end of the harvest and to recall God’s blessings during Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness.  Jews would gather around Jerusalem where they would build little shelters out of tree branches to recall the nomadic life they had in the wilderness.  Sometime during their history an eighth day was added to the festivities which allowed the people additional time to celebrate as they took apart the little shelters they had lived in for a week. 

Since the eighth day was not technically part of the feast, it isn’t clear if John’s reference to “the last great day of the feast” means the seventh or the eighth day.  It really doesn’t matter because Jesus’ words remain just as beautiful whichever day it was.

His words reflect a tradition which had become part of the festivities.  Each morning the priest would carry a golden pitcher to the pool of Siloam, fill it with water, and return to the temple where that priest joined another priest carrying a pitcher of wine.  Then they poured the water and the wine into funnels which would carry the liquids to the base of the altar.  As t hey did so, the people chanted, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

This water reminded the people of how God gave them water from the rock at Horeb.  Phillip Hughes describes the events of the seventh day:

“On the seventh day, the priest would circle the altar seven times in succession--as the people of Israel had encircled the walls of Jericho.  When he came around for the sixth time, he’d be joined by another priest carrying the wine.  They would ascend the ramp to the altar of holocaust where they were together to pour out the water and the wine on the altar.  When they were in place, there would come a pause as the priest raised up his pitcher.  Always the crowd shouted for him to hold it higher and he would do so.  It was considered to be the height of joy in a person’s life if he could see the water being poured out onto the altar.”

If the events John describes took place on the eighth day, the day when no water was poured out, Jesus’ words take on an additional significance.

Again and again throughout the week, the people were reminded of water.  Now, Jesus was claiming to be the source of water for the thirsty.  John, reminding us he was there, tells us that Jesus stood up.  In that day most teachers sat while they taught, the fact that Jesus stood lets us know how much he wanted the crowd to hear his words.  He shouted:

“If you are thirsty, come to me and drink! 

Have faith in me,

and you will have life-giving water

flowing from deep inside you….”

John gives his readers a hint to help them understand what Jesus was talking about.  He says, “By this He referred to the Spirit that those believing in Him were going to receive -- for the Spirit had not yet come, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.”  John was referring to the great event which would take place after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

When we understand that Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit, we can better understand what Jesus was saying to those he was inviting them to place their faith in him. 

Through the activity of the Holy Spirit, the believer in Christ is blessed to become a blessing.

To understand this we need to ask some questions.

What is Jesus saying about himself?  He is saying he is…

The Rock Who Refreshes

Several years ago I had a friend named Geoffrey Coleman.  Geoffrey was from Australia and had worked on some of the “stations” or ranches in the outback.  He once told me of an experience he had while working on a road in that desert land.  They had not taken enough water with them and ran out well before it was time to return home.  As the crew continued working in the unrelenting sun, the men became thirstier and thirstier.  Finally, to a man, they were overcome with such a powerful desire for something to drink that they all jumped into the truck and drove at breakneck speed to a small stream which was a few miles away.  Without pausing to pull off so much as their boots, they plunged into the water.

On one occasion, the people of Israel felt they were going to die from thirst in the desert.  The story is found in Exodus 17.

At the Lord's command, the people of Israel left the Sin* Desert and moved from place to place. Eventually they came to Rephidim, but there was no water to be found there.

So once more the people grumbled and complained to Moses. "Give us water to drink!" they demanded.

"Quiet!" Moses replied. "Why are you arguing with me? And why are you testing the Lord?"

But tormented by thirst, they continued to complain, "Why did you ever take us out of Egypt? Why did you bring us here? We, our children, and our livestock will all die!"

Then Moses pleaded with the Lord, "What should I do with these people? They are about to stone me!"

 The Lord said to Moses, "Take your shepherd's staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile. Then call some of the leaders of Israel and walk on ahead of the people.

  I will meet you by the rock at Mount Sinai.* Strike the rock, and water will come pouring out. Then the people will be able to drink." Moses did just as he was told; and as the leaders looked on, water gushed out.

In part, the Feast of Tabernacles recalled this event, God’s providing water for his people. 

Now he tells them he is like that Rock.  He provides spiritual water to satisfy those who are spiritually thirsty.  In I Corinthians Paul suggested that the water provided by that Rock could be compared to the salvation Christ provides.

Just as that Rock in the desert provided water to the thirsty people, Christ would provide refreshing water to those who believe in him.  The stress on belief in this statement is important.  This chapter allows us to eavesdrop on the debates raging about Jesus.  The crowds were divided.  Some people asserted he was the Messiah, others insisted he couldn’t be.

This was important but all the talking about Jesus meant nothing if these people weren’t willing to believe in him, make him the object of their trust.  As Jesus put it, those who really were spiritually thirsty needed to “drink”. 

This brings us to other questions:

What happens when a person “drink” from the water this Rock provides?  What happens when we place our faith in him?

There is a twofold result.

The Believer Is Blessed.

Again, John is looking ahead to that time after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, when Christ would begin to pour out blessings on those who had trusted him.  Jesus would fully satisfy those who were spiritually thirsty, if only they would come to him.  Again, he is the one who will meet our needs--thirst, hunger, etc.

One of the repeated themes mentioned during the Feast of the Tabernacles was joy.  In fact, it was the most joyous of the Jewish feasts.  That joy was linked to the promise of the Spirit. 

The New Testament teaches that the Spirit brings joy into the life of the believer.  Paul writes that “the fruit of the Spirit is…joy.”  It is the joy of spiritual satisfaction, the joy of knowing our sins are forgiven and we have an abiding relationship with God. 

That joy was at the heart of the gospel, which one writer defined as, “good news which makes a person sing, leap, and dance for joy.”  This is the blessing Jesus promises to those who trust him.

Here’s another question:  Do we  understand that this promise has an even more remarkable implication?

It’s one thing for Jesus to say he is a source of blessing, it’s quite another for him to say that he will make us a source of blessing.  Though Spirit…

The Believer Becomes a Blessing

The word-picture is vivid.  Williams’ translation captures the nuances of the verbs Jesus used, “Whoever continues to believe in me will have… rivers of living water continuously flowing from within him."

Christ bestows the gift of the Holy Spirit, not simply so we may constantly receive his blessings, but so we may become a blessing. 

The people of Israel, who drank from the rock which Moses struck, had been blessed to become a blessing.  But many of them forgot that.  As a consequence much of their religion became spiritually stagnant.  Now, Jesus promised them they could become a source of “living water.”

He makes the same promise to us because the Christian life involves more than receiving, it involves giving.

Something marvelous happens when Christians allow themselves to be used in such a way.  Lenski speaks of the sheer abundance of water implied by Jesus’ words and observes that  “[the word] ‘rivers’  pictures the fact that the believer will resemble Jesus himself in that he will help to quench the thirst of many others.”

You see, living water was also “life-giving water.” (CEV)  The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the harvest.  Every farmer knew how much that harvest depended upon the life-giving water.  If you’ve ever seen a drought-stricken land, you know how the lack of water leaves only death and despair.

But how do Christians serve as this “conduit of life?”  There are two ways.

First, believers can provide this life-giving water through the church.

The Book of Acts pictures the church bringing this blessing to a spiritually thirsty world ready to hear the story of God’s love and grace.

One older writer suggests this when he asks:  “What is the apostolic Word itself through which we believe;  what are the confessions of the church, in harmony with which we believe;  what are her hymns, her prayers, her sermons, all the testimonies of the faith and love in saving word and sacred conversation--what are they but rivers of living water flowing from the body of the church?”

I know too much about the history of the church to deny that there have been times when the church—forgetting her need to be vitally united to her Lord—has brought shame to the Name of Christ.  But, when the church has been spiritually healthy, the world has been blessed.  There have been social blessings in the form of hospitals, orphanages, and schools or laws to protect children, women, and society’s poorest.  But, above all, there have been spiritual blessings as the gospel of grace has touched the lives of men and women of every race.

At the same time, individual believers may be the channel of that live-giving water.

The “Streams of living water…” which flow from the Christian who has a vital faith in Christ will give refreshment to the hot, weary people we encounter. 

How many of us can make that claim?  Do we bring “refreshment” to our society and culture?  Too often, instead of being refreshing we are tepid.  I know too much about myself to make any claim to be a blessing wherever I show up. 

Only rarely do we encounter that Christian whose very presence leaves us refreshed.  Jesus tells us that we can be that kind of person if we trust him and allow the Spirit to work in and through us.

We need to keep this in mind when we consider the enormous task of reaching out to our culture on behalf of Christ.

The interesting thing about flood waters is that they’re hard to keep out.  They can go pretty much wherever they want to go.  In the same way, you can’t seal out the “living water” which comes from the life of a believer who is open to the Spirit.

If you’ve been around a church very long, you’ve heard someone talk about the fruit of the Spirit.  You might even be able to quote from Galatians where Paul says, “The fruit (or outcome of letting the Spirit shape your life) is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  But do you remember the wry remark Paul makes as he concludes the list?  He says, “against such things there is no law.” 

The law may say you can’t tell someone about the love of Christ, no law can keep you from showing the love of Christ.

In many places around the world, the only witness believers may make is the witness which comes from the overflow of God’s love in their hearts.

Yet, men and women have responded to that witness and have come to enquire about Jesus.

Conclusion

John Bennett describes how this promise applies to the life of the believer by pointing to an irrigation system like that found on some farms.

Water is stored in a reservoir, waiting to do its work.  A gate is opened and the water rushes into a canal.  That canal is first washed clean of any thing which doesn’t belong.  Then, when the canal is full, its water begins to flow into sluices which carry the life-giving water to the crops.

In the same way, when you and I are connected by faith to Jesus Christ, we can carry God’s blessings to those around us.

We need to ask ourselves if we are somehow damning up that stream…with our fears, our doubts, our prejudices, our self-centeredness.  We need to put aside our pride and admit Jesus alone can quench our thirst.  Let him fill us.  And let him bless the world through us.

---

* Preached on 14 November 2010