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On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, \u201cIf any one thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, \u2018Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.\u2019\u201d Now this He said about the Spirit, which those who believed in Him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. When they heard these words, some of the people said, \u201cThis is really the prophet.\u201d Others said, \u201cThis is the Christ.\u201d But some said, \u201cIs the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said that the Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?\u201d So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him. The officers then went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, \u201cWhy did you not bring Him?\u201d The officers answered, \u201cNo man ever spoke like this Man!\u201d The Pharisees answered them, \u201cAre you led astray, you also? Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, who do not know the law, are accursed.\u201d Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, \u201cDoes our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?\u201d They replied, \u201cAre you from Galilee too? Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee.\u201d\u00a0Again Jesus spoke to them saying, \u201cI am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n John 7:37-52; 8:12\u00a0(Gospel of Pentecost)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOut of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Think about this statement for a minute.\u00a0How would you conclude this statement, \u201cout of my heart flow rivers of________.\u201d (anger, filth, joy, disappointment)\u00a0And if you have a hard time with this statement, try this one \u201cout of my\u00a0mouth<\/em>\u00a0flow rivers of_______.\u201d (encouragement, discouragement, praise, condescending words, curse words)<\/p>\n We\u2019ve all seen the beer commercial where they advertise that it is made using, \u201cpure, Rocky Mountain water.\u201d\u00a0We see the cleanest stream, which seems alive with natural beauty and purity.\u00a0We\u2019ve all seen, probably with our own eyes, pollution in a harbor.\u00a0I went on a cruise years ago and where the ship was moored to the dock, there was pollution, litter, and oil marks on the surface of the water.\u00a0Nothing \u201cpure\u201d and \u201cnatural\u201d there.<\/p>\n What kind of \u201cwater\u201d flows in your heart?\u00a0What kind comes out of your mouth?\u00a0Two difficult questions.\u00a0I know that all the \u201cwater\u201d in my heart is not pure.\u00a0Certainly all the words of my mouth are not either.\u00a0And yes, Jesus tells us that\u00a0\u201cif anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink.\u00a0He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, \u2018out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.\u2019\u201d<\/em>\u00a0So, what makes the difference between living water and filthy water flowing from our hearts and our mouths?\u00a0It\u2019s the same thing that makes the difference between the pure, Rocky Mountain water and the filthy water in the harbor.\u00a0Human effort.<\/p>\n Human effort, in the form of conservation, keeps the mountain stream pure.\u00a0Human negligence, in the form of commerce, or greed, or laziness, allows the harbor to become a place of pollution. Human effort plays a big part in the disposition of the human heart.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t make the harbor at the Port of Tampa clean all by myself.\u00a0I can decide that I am not going to make it worse by not putting more garbage in there.\u00a0I can even decide to pick up litter that I encounter.<\/p>\n I CAN control the cleanliness of my heart.\u00a0I can have a heart that flows with living water.\u00a0And how is that possible?\u00a0Well, I can\u2019t do it all by myself, that is for sure.\u00a0My own personal discipline will play a role.\u00a0The encouragement of others will play a role.\u00a0And Christ Himself will play a role.\u00a0I have to open my heart and let Him in.\u00a0I have to ask Him to make my heart pure.\u00a0I have to desire to walk in His light, to\u00a0\u201cnot walk in darkness\u201d<\/em>\u00a0but to accept His\u00a0\u201clight of life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Holy Spirit plays a role in this.\u00a0For the Holy Spirit leads us to Christ by softening the heart with grace.\u00a0The Holy Spirit heals the infirmities of our soul and heart so that our heart is ready to accept Christ and to be filled with the living water.<\/p>\n Think for a few moments today about what flows from your heart and your mouth, and whether they look like a Rocky Mountain stream or a polluted harbor.\u00a0As you hear once again the prayers of Pentecost today, let them flow into your heart like an injection of life, living water, and light, and then get up from prayer with a renewed commitment to having living water flowing out of your heart and mouth and walking in the Light of Christ.<\/p>\n Create in me a clean heart, o God and renew a right Spirit within me. Let living water flow from your heart and mouth!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Now the Spirit, the Comforter, is poured out on all flesh.\u00a0It started with the host of the Apostles, and from them It spread out the grace to the believers by participation.\u00a0It\u2019s mighty coming is confirmed by distributing the tongues in the form of fire to the Disciples, to extol and glorify God.\u00a0So, now that our hearts are noetically illumined, and we are fortified in faith by the Holy Spirit, let us earnestly pray for the salvation of our souls. (From the Aposticha of the Vespers of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, Trans. by Fr. Seraphim Dedes)<\/em><\/p>\n