John 7:25-44 · Is Jesus the Christ?
The Ultimate Thirst Quencher (Alternate Addition to the "I Am" series: Living water)
John 7:25-44
Sermon
by Eric Ritz
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Have you ever been extremely hot and extremely thirsty? Go with me in your imagination to South America, to the country of Chile. There is a desert there, the Atacama Desert. In the Atacama Desert it does not rain for centuries at a time. This forsaken, narrow strip of land lies along the western coast of South America. It is protected from clouds by the Andes Mountains, the world''s second highest mountain range.

Some parts of the Atacama Desert have not seen rain in 400 years. Although the desert is located right next to the Pacific Ocean, the prevailing winds come down from the lofty mountains and sweep out to sea.

But as dry as it is, even the Atacama supports life. There are tiny pockets where fog from the sea creates enough moisture for plants and even some animals.

As we open the seventh chapter of John''s gospel we find a religious ceremony in progress. Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Tabernacles. This was a religious ceremony that every Jewish male was required to attend if he lived within a fifteen-mile radius of the Temple. However, devout Jews from far beyond the fifteen-mile radius also went to the Holy City. The celebration usually fell near the end of September or early October. It lasted eight days. It was a great feast observed every year. It reminded Israel of how God led their ancestors through the wilderness to the Promised Land. It was a feast that reminded them of their days as pilgrims and sojourners. It reminded them that they had been homeless, without a roof over their heads. In honor of this occasion they built temporary shelters with coverings--but the coverings were constructed in such a way that you could see the stars. 

Another very important part of this observance took place on each day of the feast. In this portion of the celebration, they celebrated the occasion when the children of Israel were without water and Moses struck a rock in the desert and streams of water poured forth, saving them from death. They celebrated that day when their thirst as a people was quenched by God. And so, each day a procession went to the fountain at Gihon which supplied water to the pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. There the priest filled a golden pitcher with water and the crowd repeated the words of Isaiah: "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." (12:3). The procession then proceeded up to the Temple, where the priest poured the water into a silver funnel which then poured the water onto the ground. And they were reminded that God had delivered them through the gift of water in the wilderness.

In the midst of this celebration we find our Lord Jesus teaching and preaching. On the last day of this celebration he cuts to the chase--gets to the bottom line--to the heart of the matter--and declares: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living waters will flow within him." It was at this moment that Jesus turned human thoughts to the thirst for God and the eternal. He was pointing beyond the physical thirst of the body to the eternal needs of the soul and spirit. Jesus took a very basic human survival need--water--and used it to point to a deeper spiritual truth and need.

People who live in places on this earth where water is in short supply understand the value of water. It is precious.

Friends and colleagues who have gone to the Holy Lands tell me that the water salesperson is a common sight in the marketplace. I notice even in our own land at football games--concerts--airports--that the sale of bottled water is big business. Water is basic to life. We''re told that the body needs about 3 quarts of water a day to operate efficiently. Water helps break up and soften food. "The blood, which is 90 percent H2O, carries nutrients to the cells. As a cooling agent, water regulates our temperature through perspiration. And without its lubricating properties, our joints and muscles would grind and creak like unused parts of some old rusty machinery."

In the First Crusade, when the Turks besieged the Crusaders in a castle at Nicaea and cut off their water supply, the beleaguered Christians suffered terrible hardships, eventually drinking their horses'' blood and each other''s urine, and burying themselves in damp earth in hope of absorbing the moisture. After eight days without water, the Christians surrendered, and were killed or sold as slaves.

Water is essential to life. However, we take it for granted. We just go to a faucet and turn it on. The problem arises when we think we can do that in our spiritual life. Our circumstances are different from the people who lived in the hot and arid land of first century Palestine, but Jesus could easily use the same language and make the same claim today that he made to the people at the Feast of the Tabernacles. The point of the passage is powerful; it gets to the purpose of life. What is it that we thirst for? What are those passions which govern our thoughts and saturate our existence? What fruits do they produce in our lives?

You and I know that even the best of life''s celebrations do not necessarily satisfy our deepest needs. Jesus knew as he walked around and met the people at this great feast that despite all the ceremonial water being poured out, many would go home thirsty and parched. And it is still true today--even in an affluent land like ours--perhaps even more so. Jesus has a way of coming to us in our worldly endeavors, when we think we have made it to the top--and whispering in our ears, "Are you still thirsty? Is there something more that you yearn for that nothing on earth can supply?"

It was Erik Erikson, the great psychologist who said every person is forced to deal with three crises in his or her life''s journey:

Identity--"Who am I?"

Influence--"Whose am I?"

Integrity--"How am I?"

I would add two more critical issues that must be addressed: Inspiration-- "What is living inside of me and directing my destiny?" and Intention--"What am I thirsting for?"

Is the object of my thirsting worthy of worship, honor, and glory? Will it give back to me or destroy me and consume me? Will my thirst ever be satisfied and quenched?

Jesus knew as the body thirsts for water, so the soul thirsts for God. Jesus knew from his own wrestling match with Satan in the wilderness that the questions of identity, integrity, influence and inspiration and intention are of the utmost importance. They demand an answer. Jesus is saying because your soul hungers and thirsts for meaning and purpose in life--be very, very careful what you allow to come into your life.

With gentleness today can I ask you--What are you thirsting for today? What is the one thirst that supersedes all other pursuits? Thirst is a powerful human drive that insists on being satisfied.

A recent article in Newsweek about religious pursuits of today said that people are trying to fill the empty hole in their lives with meaning. People without embarrassment are asking questions like: Why are we here? What is the purpose of our existence? One man said: If all life is--is a paycheck--a bed partner whose name I don''t even know--an ego trip, and an empty shot glass--then life is a cruel hoax. The authors of this article in Newsweek bring it to a close by stating: "The answers change in each generation, but the questions are eternal." I think the editor should be congratulated for the article, but they are only half right. The questions are eternal, but so is the answer--Jesus! Hebrews 13:8 reminds us, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow."

If you travel to South Dakota, you might visit two parts of the western territory. The first region is known as the Badlands. It is a most appropriate name. There is little water there. The ground is literally cracked and baked by the sun. It thirsts for clean, refreshing water. Just about 60 miles away are the Black Hills which feature some of the most beautiful land in all of God''s creation. Here we see running brooks and streams--good fishing--great wildlife--marvelous trees--the hills are alive with life and music. You can observe that same difference in people''s spiritual lives. I have known that difference in my own spiritual life. We can see the difference in the world in which we live.

The landscape of human history is cluttered with those who have thirsted for the wrong thing. Do the names of Hitler and Stalin ring any bells?

Did not former President Bill Clinton thirst after the wrong things when he forever stained his presidency with his affair with Monica Lewinsky?

Is not the problem in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics--and in the Holy Lands between the Jews and Palestinians--the result of a misguided thirst? Think of the death, destruction and hatred that have resulted from the thirst for power and domination. God has one sketch for human life and evil has another. How many pastors and religious leaders in the 1980s and 1990s alone have fallen because of the wrong thirsts? How many Wall Street gurus and corporate leaders of the 1980s and 1990s succumbed to greed and immorality.

We need to be reminded how seductive and sophisticated some of the claims for quenching our thirst can be. The Apostle Paul reminded us more than once that we are wrestling against something greater than flesh and blood. To take the road less traveled requires commitment, courage and an informed consciousness about life.

So in the midst of all this, the cry is, "What can we do?"

The first thing is to admit we need help.

There is one group in our society that is honest enough to admit its need. They are honest enough to admit they have thirsted for the wrong thing--the wrong beverage. That group is, of course, Alcoholics Anonymous. I have thought that we should have similar groups for the greedy, the slothful, the cynical, the selfish, the materialistic and the narcissistic. More things than alcohol and drugs are used to intoxicate the human spirit.

The second thing to recognize is that this thirst was put there by God.

When you feel an emptiness in your spirit, it is a warning that you are dry and parched when it comes to the things that really matter. Nothing else can slake this thirst but God. Remember St. Augustine. He tried all that this world could offer him as a young man in a futile attempt to satisfy a yearning of his soul. It was one trivial pursuit after another. It was out of that experience that St. Augustine eventually said, "Lord, our hearts are restless until they find rest in thee." It was out of that experience of deep-felt spiritual need that Augustine would conclude that each person has a heart with a God-shaped void--a space which only God himself can fill. Each of us has a thirst which only God can ultimately quench. We are created in the image of God. We are designed for a relationship that no other living creature on the face of the earth is privileged to have. There is a call and claim upon our lives which was placed in us before our birth.

I have from time to time mentioned the spiritual writings of the late Roman Catholic priest Henri J. M. Nouwen. Nouwen, in the eyes of the world, had achieved great fame serving at prestigious universities where he taught about the spiritual life. However, from time to time, he would leave these places of comfort and prestige behind and serve God in the most barren and difficult of circumstances. He realized that human recognition was okay, but divine approval was better and more important. He would often say that one of the greatest mistakes of the 20th century was what he termed, "The Un-Called Life." Instead of being called to a vocation for the purposes of serving God and humanity--many of us are driven by the thirst of the unholy trinity--money--sex--power. However these selections do not produce the "Good Life" they claim. Instead of freedom they produce a fatalism that causes the soul to be malnourished and sick.

Finally, we need to see that Christ can quench the thirsting in our soul. Baseball pitcher Dan Quisenberry discovered that in his life.

 Quisenberry was a three-time All-Star reliever in the 1980s. In the winter of ''96-''97, however, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. Even so, he always emphasized the goodness of God. Following surgery to remove a tumor, Mr. Quisenberry spoke of his gratitude: "Every day I find things to be thankful for . . . Sometimes it''s just seeing a little boy on a bicycle. Sometimes it''s the taste of water. It''s hard to explain." He died in the fall of 1997 at age 45.

His minister, Ted Nissen of Colonial Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, recalled a post-surgery visit. "He was on such a high, talking about how good God had been to him," he told the Kansas City Star. "He blessed me on that visit."

Jesus is the source of living water. He is the bread that came down from heaven. He is everything you and I will ever need.

Dynamic Preaching, The Ritz Collection, by Eric Ritz