The living waters in us. On John 7:35 and conformity to Christ

The last few days of our stay in England, I prepared myself for my visit to colleagues to reflect with them on Biblical Spirituality. We stayed over in a quaint little village, Bourton-on-the-water. It is a picturesque town, with trees wrapped in soft, shiny autumn colours (see photo) and with a clear stream of water over which little bridges of stone watch and carry those who want to admire the scenic beauty of the surroundings. The beatiful weather makes it even more of an experience. The newspapers have front page reports on the Indian Summer.




But it is the clear water, the quiet stream without any sign of pollution which catches my eye and reminds me of John 7:38. Jesus, in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, calls out on the “last and greatest” day of the feast as the water is thrown on the altar: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Whilst, according to the tradition, the water is thrown out on the altar on the last day of the feast, Jesus calls the faithful to a new experience: those who believe, who recognises God’s word and work in Him, will experience more than a traditional sacrifice. The water will not flow at the altar, but in them. They will feel the water and they will experience how this water flows through them.





Water in the dry land of Palestine was a special image. Water can give life like nothing else. Thus Jesus draws attention to himself as the unique gift of life. The water of life, the water which contains life and gives life, is given to those who believe in Him. He, according to the next verse, thus referred to the Holy Spirit. It is a power which transforms people. It fills them and inspires them to new, greater things.

What strikes me most in my reading of this passage today, however, is the remark of Jesus that the living water will flow from “within” us. It will become part of our innermost being and like a strong well and fountain will stream out.

It is an image which we read without always understanding its impact. In our deepest, innermost being, we often see only darkness, muddy waters. These are poisonous waters which threaten life and bring it to an end. We therefore know much despair, depression and lack of hope.

If we can only look past all the muddy, impure things which prevents us from seeing the water, from recognising this divine gift! So the words of Jesus should inspire us to discover the living water in us. It is something which we should pray for. We need to meditate on this image. The more we reflect on it, the more of a reality it will become in our lives. This is what spirituality is all about: listen to the words of Jesus, appropriating them and allowing them to transform our lives into a new reality – the reality of the Spirit. This is sanctification – the process of becoming what we are in Christ. We have in us the living waters, the Spirit of holiness. We need to overflow with these waters. It should cleanse us from our inner pollution, the dark, muddy waters “within” us should be driven out by the clear, life-giving power of Christ.

So, the last couple of days, I keep this picture before me: this is what I am – a stream of living waters. Here is where I want to be – where the waters of rest is. And this is what I want to feel in my life: the living waters. By thinking and meditating on what I am in Christ and the Spirit, I become part of a new reality. The reality of the Spirit. It is to live in conformity with Christ – a key notion in spirituality. Thus I am liberated from the place of poisonous waters, the Egypt of my slavery. And lead by Christ into the promised land, paradise with its life-giving waters. It is a tortuous journey – fourty years of discipline, many times of failure. The taste of living waters spurs me on.