John 7:37-39

Pentecost | Sunday, May 29 2023 | John 7:37-39 | Evan McClanahan |

I want to tell you about your pet dog. He is a wonderful dog. He’s sweet. He loves to cuddle. When he nudges your feet in the morning to get you out of bed for his morning walk, you find it a little irritating, but hopelessly adorable at the same time. He is smart. So smart you have taught him six commands! He is obedient; he doesn’t even need a leash for his walk. And when he looks at you with those big brown eyes, it is hard to deny him the pets or the treats you know he wants. He is gentle with children, but ferocious when you are in danger. Other than the generic name you gave him – Spot – he is the perfect companion. 

Me describing for you a dog that you don’t have is a little like Jesus describing the Spirit that you don’t have. But that is exactly what we see in our Gospel lesson today.

Now, perhaps I described Spot in a way that makes it almost sad that you don’t have him. For who wouldn’t want a dog that did all of the “dog things” well? But you don’t have him. You have a Spot-shaped hole in your heart.

Still, Spot is not real. Let me tell you about my dog, my real dog, Hank. Some of you have met Hank. He is a lot like Spot, actually. He is the sweetest, most gentle dog I have ever had. He will listen and obey any command, though we haven’t taught him any tricks, per se. He’ll lean against you, on top of you, get on his back feet and hug you if he has to, but there is a certain number of pets Hank must get every day.

We take Hank for granted have had him for a few years now. But we know, as every dog owner knows, that there is an inevitable day when Hank won’t be with us any more. Because he really is innocent, and he really puts all of us before himself, it will be a sad day. Tears will be shed. But if you are a dog person, you’ve probably been through it.

Well, why this talk about dogs? On Pentecost Sunday, no less? I was struck by the difference of having – or not having – the Spirit in our texts today. I’ll admit, I have always used the same texts for Pentecost Sunday, and the usual Gospel lesson is from John 20, when Jesus breathes on the disciples and says to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” But I noticed this week that there is an alternative text, one I have surely read before, but, if I’m honest, have never thought much about. It is not a text commonly preached about or used in apologetic circles. It’s, if I’m being honest, kind of a throwaway line, I suppose in part because it is describing a dog that you don’t have. That is, it is describing a life that the followers of Jesus cannot yet explain.

Let’s go back and look at what Jesus says in John 7 and then we can ask what the difference is between John 7 and Acts 2.  “‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

So listen to what Jesus is describing as the difference between having the Spirit and not having the Spirit. He is, as he is wont to do, using his immediate context and events to make a point. The feast that John is describing is Sukkot, or the Harvesting Festival. It is one of the three festivals that required annual pilgrimage to the Temple. The first two were passover (which is fulfilled in Easter), Shavuot (which is fulfilled on Pentecost), and Sukkot, which is called the Festival of Booths or Tents because the focus is on trusting in God’s provision and living with less. This festival comes at the end of the harvest period, a time when trust in God is needed as the prospect of more food growing is now months away. This festival lasts for 7 or 8 days (depending on whether the Hebrew people were in Israel or in exile) and Jesus’ actions take place on the last day of the Festival.

 One of the commemorative actions done during the festival week was the ritual pouring of water from a golden pitcher at the altar. This is a symbolic reminder of God’s provision of water to the thirsty Israelites when they had left Egypt and were in the wilderness. That is why Jesus speaks of being thirsty and how out of the heart of the believer, “rivers of living water” will flow. John adds his commentary that Jesus is looking forward to the outpouring of the Spirit.

 What is so interesting is the way Jesus describes the effects of the Spirit. What difference will the Spirit make? We often focus on the extraordinary events of the Spirit and I’m sure you are away of the many divisions in the Church over these gifts. We think of tongues and healing and prophecy. And as we do see those gifts in the New Testament, that is understandable, even if for most of the past 1,900 years, those gifts were exceedingly scarce, and many of those who have claimed them had dubious track records.

 But what does Jesus say: “out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Now, if that phrase, “living water” is familiar, it’s because Jesus also uses it in John 4 when speaking to the “woman at the well”. He says to her: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Well, it seems clear that Jesus here is not talking about a sign gift, like speaking in tongues.

 So…what is it? What is the living water? Well, it is life itself. It is life in and with God, life that has meaning and purpose. It is life above and beyond our mere biology, our lusts, our desires, our distractions. It is life that is lived with our eternal realities and ends in mind. It is life lived for others. It is not just eating and drinking, following one fleeting passion after another. But waking up every day with a variety of jobs to do because God calls us to do them, because they bring us joy, because we find fulfillment in them. It is having dominion and building civilization. It is bringing order to the world. It is not always easy, comfortable, or thrilling. But the joy of knowing God and being known by God is enough, for the Spirit never leaves us wanting.

 We may take for granted that we have the Spirit of God. We don’t know what it is like to not have the Spirit of God. Or we aren’t content with the plain joys of having the Spirit of God, so we go looking, like religious consumers, for extraordinary experiences as proof of having the Spirit. But not having the Spirit manifests itself in many, ordinary ways, just as having the Spirit manifests in many, ordinary ways.

 A person who has the Spirit of God

– Is content with what they have.

– Does not need drugs or drink.

– Does not manipulate others.

– Tells the truth.

– More than anything, is satisfied with what God gives and the promises he Has made.

 We live in a world that is chasing material possessions all the time. Our eyes are glued to screens. Our hearts are filled with anxiety. We chase food, drink, houses, cars, money, notoriety, popularity, and influence. We are never satisfied. If that is you, you do not have the living water of God’s Spirit.

 So on Pentecost Sunday, if you find yourself joyful, hopeful, glad to be alive, grateful for your friends, recognizing and noticing the many joys we have, you have the Spirit. And the test of all tests, as Paul makes so clear in 1 Corinthians 12, if you confess Christ as Lord, you have the Spirit.

 Perhaps you have had the Spirit for so long, you don’t even notice anymore. You take the order in your life, the joy in your life, the grace in your life for granted. But if I have managed to describe a certain kind of goodness that you don’t have in your life, then perhaps you are resisting the Spirit. Perhaps you have not yet experienced these living waters that Jesus describes. If you desire them, call out to God, surrender to Him and He will give them to you. On the day we recall the pouring out of the Spirit, know that God is always willing to pour His Spirit out onto you. Amen.

First Lutheran, Houston

Pastor Evan McClanahan