And the curtain has been torn asunder.

Arise, O Lord, and go to Your resting place,

    You and the ark of Your might.
Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,
    and let Your saints shout for joy. Psalm 132:8-9

And really this is the Big Deal. When Jesus declared, “It is finished,” the curtain ripped in two and His rest and His might and His righteous clothing became mine. Let me shout for joy.

And this morning I prayed with Matteo. And what came to mind was the fresh bubbling spring that He offered to the woman who was weary and alone and a little sad with her empty jars. I always love the Isaiah invitation: Come, ho! Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

And on the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

And the park this morning was drenched, and pools of water reflected from every sidewalk. And the scent of green rose up welcoming me and all others to share in her beauty. And well, I must admit that recycled sewage water that makes for a pretty poor analogy with the Living Water. But even so, there was a fresh beauty hanging from every trembling-in-the-faint-breeze leaf.

And thus, may I leave my broken cisterns, cracked and empty and step into the Holy of Holies, And like Moses, whose face glowed with light when he had been with the LORD, may people say when they see me, She has been with Jesus.

And as I rode my little circuit, I sang Come Lord Jesus, Come. And I thought about the wandering son and His loving Father. And he turned and headed home. And when he was a long way off, His Father saw him and ran to him with great joy.

And my baby steps towards Him are greeted with big huge bounds of delight.

Blessed are those who thirst, for they shall be satisfied.

Come drink.

Come unto Me all who thirst. Come.

On the last day, the great day of the festival, Jesus stood and cried out: ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me! Let anyone who believes in me come and drink! As Scripture says, “From his heart shall flow streams of living water.”’ John 7:37

photo by Dylan Martin

I love you, O LORD my strength, O LORD my stronghold, my crag, and my haven. My God, my rock in whom I put my trust and my refuge; you are worthy of praise. Psalm 18:1-2

Come to the waters

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6

I am putting together ninth grade lesson plans for Steinbeck’s The Pearl, and what was done in the past is a little sketchy.  I am one of those spell-it-all-out sort of planning teachers, and pretty much have inherited one or two word bullet points for curriculum, one of which is “compare to The pearl of great price parable.”  Which gives me lots of opportunity to mull things through and make it my own.

So I am working through breaking down, scaffolding for us teacher-types, what does it mean to “hunger and thirst” for something. Really hunger and thirst.  Above all else.  Willing to sell all that he had to obtain it hungry and thirsty.  Because in Steinbeck’s book this unexpected pearl that is found not only takes possession of Kino’s plans and dreams, it becomes his very soul.

This pearl has become my soul... If I give it up, I shall lose my soul. -Kino

Hungry and thirsty.  All that matters. 

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

Well, it certainly doesn’t work, seeking blessed happiness elsewhere.  Life is just one long stream of moments that do not satisfy.  That evaporate in the morning sun, leaving not a trace.  And lots of uneasy moments that tie my stomach up in knots and take away my appetite for what is good.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

John 7:37-38

Believe.  That is the question.  Do I really believe?  Is He my only option, or do I drag my foot along looking for another shelf to stand on?  Is He my only hunger and thirst?  He who became sin so that I might become the righteousness of God?  Can I join Simon Peter in his confession: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.

If I give You up, I shall lose my soul.

Oh, to be satisfied.  A belly full of fat goodness and an overflowing stream of living water.