From the Daily Lectionary for Tuesday in the Third Week of Lent
John 7:37-52
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”
Our religion, that is to say, Christianity, its iconography, its very mythology, comes from a desert culture. There are two things worth mentioning about desert culture: Water is important. Water is life. Jesus calls himself “living water,” a metaphor that would not have been lost on anyone in its hearing. The second rule of the desert is that hospitality is vital. It is ingrained in the people of the desert to always offer a stranger food and water and shelter. But having said that, nurture and hospitality are at the heart of every faith tradition on the planet.
Again, Jesus is challenging the authority of the Temple and the Temple authorities. The care of the people, for both soul and body, was under the aegis of the Temple. So were religious festivals. But because the Temple and its powerful leadership have submitted to the authority of Rome the occupier of Palestine, they have in effect abdicated their responsibilities. The writer of John is making the point that God is not limited to the precincts of the institution, but is alive in the collective heart of the people.
One may detect a bit of class struggle in this passage, a conflict between the so-called common people and the powerful elite. The Temple authorities aver that a prophet must have a pedigree… “no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” All theological and scriptural argument aside, this conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees is about social class. The Jesus movement was a populist enterprise, and the ruling elite are in no small way threatened by it. Ultimately, it is this perceived threat that would cost Jesus his life. To challenge one’s social standing, their power and influence, is serious business.
God does not reside among the powerful. That is John’s point. God takes God’s place among the oppressed and the shamed, the ones left out. The Temple in this Gospel ironically becomes the place where God is not. God will not serve among the powerful, or amid the self-interested corruption power engenders. God is among the people in their struggle; God is about the business of liberation. God is, dare I say, partisan towards the powerless. God is about bringing economic and social equilibrium, that is to say, justice, among all people, institutions notwithstanding.
We hear from the powerful today, “All lives matter!” But God’s answer is that all lives won’t matter until the poor and the disenfranchised are raised to well-being and dignity. God’s energy, God’s focus, as it were, is toward those whose lives matter least in our world.
We are to be, good people, living water for those who matter least in our world, those in the desert of despair. Out of our heart, the heart of the raised body of Christ, flows life and life abundant. Our sacrifice, no matter how seemingly insignificant, no matter how small, is a profound privilege that shapes our world in ways we can’t imagine. Keep awake for the opportunity that comes unexpected. Trust me. It will come.
A Prayer for the Church (BCP p. 816)
Gracious God, we pray for your holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt purify it; where in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.
2021-03-11
