John 7:37-41a
By: Mary Catherine Young
A triptych, a three-paneled icon, was recently installed at St. John’s in the Village Episcopal Church in New York City. It shows a scene of Noah’s ark on the left, Ezekiel’s vision of water flowing from the Temple on the right, and a scene of the baptism of Jesus in the center.
The flowing water from the Temple grows deeper and deeper the further it goes, from the ankle, to the knee, to the waist, to a depth that is impassible; water that the prophet proclaims will revive, renew, refresh everything on its banks. Water that will produce fish, and nourish fruit trees, symbolic of God’s holy, healing persistence and presence.
The water that surrounds the ark provides a different kind of renewal: waters of a flood that first wiped out all who scoffed at the idea that God would ever destroy all but a small fraction of God’s creation. In these waters the ark is a lifeboat, an opportunity for salvation to those who said yes to God’s saving promise. The receding waters, painted with death below the surface, show land visible in the background, a sign of washing away the old so that something new, something sustainable and hopeful, might be ushered in.
Life and death – made known to us in the same element, the same image, the most basic symbol: water.
In the center image of the triptych, life and death come together in what must have been an overwhelming moment, revealed to those gathered at the river that day: A vision of the Holy Spirit, the audible words “my son, my beloved,” God revealing Godself as being truly with us in a new way. This Jesus has come to quench our thirst, to lead us forward into a new day, a new way. A flood of emotions: excitement, fear, hope, incredulousness, surely flowed over all who were there at that day. Not unlike, I am sure, the thoughts that people like you and I have experienced in our own faith journeys from time to time.
The icon is a window into that inaugural moment in the life and ministry of Jesus. This is the moment of Jesus embarking on the mission of his adult life on earth. This is the moment, the collision of life and death, and a foreshadowing to the end of the gospels where life and death will collide once again – resulting in the birth of resurrection, reveling to us the fulfillment of the promise that death is not the ultimate end.
Life and death – made known to us in the same element, the same image, the most basic symbol: water.
“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’” (John 7:37-38).
Gracious God, may your faithful, and incredulous people hear Jesus’ invitation to be a bearers of this living water to the world, the embodiment of your own baptismal water. Embark with us on this new way, not only in our Lenten prayers and practices, but as bearers of the story, and companions in the mission and ministry of God in Christ. May the river of water carry us in our call to serve in Jesus’ name. Amen.