Hello my friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood Monk-in-Docs,
Welcoming you to this Lectio Divina contemplation and meditation audio,
Where today we'll be reflecting on the words of Jesus in two different places in John's Gospel,
One from chapter 4 verses 13 and 14 and one from John chapter 7 verses 37 and 38,
But both having to do with what it means to be truly quenched with living water.
A question of the ages is what's the point of it all,
What's the point of everything,
What is the purpose of life?
And what's interesting is that a repeating theme of the Bible is that God wants us to live in the abundant life we were created to live in,
By embracing the purpose and potential that God created us for,
So that we can be a blessing to other people.
And this in turn helps others to discover how they can live the abundant life they were created to live,
By embracing the purpose and potential God created them for,
So that they can be a blessing to others,
And so it goes on and on and on.
And when I say that this is a repeating theme,
I mean it is everywhere throughout both the Hebrew Scriptures and in the Christian Testament.
Right up front,
Abraham gets told by God,
I will bless you and you will be a blessing.
That's in the very first book of the Bible,
It's in Genesis.
By the time you get to Zechariah,
God is still saying to the people of Israel,
The people of God,
I will save you and you will be a blessing.
In the Gospels,
We see Jesus saying that whoever believes in me,
Streams of living water will flow out of them.
And then,
You've also got right at the very end of the Christian Testament,
John writing in the first letter,
Since God loved us,
So we ought to love one another.
And at those extremes and everywhere in between them is this ongoing message of you have been blessed,
So that you can be a blessing to other people.
And so,
While we live thirsty a lot of the time,
What we're called to do is to allow God to quench our thirst.
But not just so we can sit there satisfied,
But so that then we can share that thirst quenching that we've received with other people.
Through the gifts and talents and abilities and opportunities and resources and circumstances and places that God has us be.
And in sharing those things,
May others discover who they truly are,
Drink and find their thirst quenched as well,
And then realise there's so much living water that it's flying out of them,
That they can share that with other people.
And so,
As you reflect on these words of Jesus recorded by John today,
May you hear something beyond your thirst being quenched.
May you hear not just here is your source and supply,
But may you also hear where can you be a source and supply to others.
And so,
May our ears be open to what the Spirit speaks to us today.
May our minds be open to contemplate and reflect on what the Spirit says to our hearts.
May our hearts be open and be good soil to receive the seed of these words,
That they might be planted deep and bring forth beautiful fruit in our lives,
Not just for ourselves,
But fruit that we can share with those around us.
And so,
I invite you,
Friend,
To sit,
Be still,
To breathe in,
To breathe out,
To listen and receive,
And be ready to share.
Let's begin.
Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.
Indeed,
The water I give them will become in them a spring of water,
Welling up to eternal life.
Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
As the Scripture has said,
Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.
Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.
Indeed,
The water I give them will become in them a spring of water,
Welling up to eternal life.
Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
As the Scripture has said,
Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.
Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.
Indeed,
The water I give them will become in them a spring of water,
Welling up to eternal life.
Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
As the Scripture has said,
Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.
As you reflected on the words of Jesus today,
I pray that you have heard the truth that your purpose is to be a blessing to others.
And may you know deep down,
My friend,
That you are equipped to be able to bring life in some way to someone else.
And that in bringing that life,
Bring the love that gives someone a glimpse of who God is and what God is like.
And as you bring that love,
You bring hope that forever helps them to know that God is for them.
And that in bringing that hope,
You bring life that comes when someone becomes everything that they were created to be.
And so as we rise from this time of contemplation today,
I leave you with the question,
My friend,
Where are your thirsty people?
Because you have a stream of living water to offer someone today.
May you find those thirsty people and share the abundance that you have.
And may grace,
Peace and love go with you this day and every day.
Amen.
Go in peace to love and serve the God whose name is love.
Grace and peace,
Friends.
Until next time,
God bless you.
Bye for now.
