My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
CHRIST GIVES US THE LIVING WATER
JESUS answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God,
and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would
have asked Him, and He would have given you LIVING WATER"
[John 4:10].
JESUS answered and said to her, ‘Whoever drinks of this water
will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give
him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will
become in him A FOUNTAIN OF WATER SPRINGING UP INTO
EVERLASTING LIFE" [John 4:13-14].
In our Holy Orthodox theology, our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ offers "LIVING WATER" –identified as the Uncreated Grace and presence of the HOLY SPIRIT–TO EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM, transforming the believer into a living source of divine life and communion with God. "Living Water" in the ordinary sense means fresh, flowing water, from a spring rather than a pond or cistern. In the spiritual sense it symbolizes true life from God, Who is the Fountain of Life. The Living Water given by our Lord Jesus Christ is the gift of the Holy Spirit which believers receive (John 7:37-39). And the Holy Spirit becomes "A FOUNTAIN OF WATER" which flows with Eternal Life. That this extraordinary water is "SPRINGING" (or leaping) UP denotes the vigor of True Life from God.
"JESUS stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who BELIEVES IN ME, as he Scripture has said, out of his heart WILL FLOW RIVERS OF LIVING WATER" (John 7:37-38). "Living Water" is indeed the gift of Holy Spirit and the New Life which springs forth by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord God Christ gives the Holy Spirit and the believer’s heart consequently flows with NEW LIFE. Christ does NOT FORCE US, BUT IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE IF WE DESIRE HIM.
As human beings we equate water with life for without water we die. A person may only live 3 to 5 days without water. Dehydration happens quickly, causing extreme thirst, fatigue, ultimately, organ failure and death. However, in Orthodox Christian theology, the "Living Water" of grace received through Holy Baptism and Chrismation is not a passive status, but an active; lifelong responsibility to cooperate with God (Synergeia) and bear spiritual fruit.
In Holy Baptism, the believer is immersed in water, uniting with the death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, leaving behind the old life of sin, and receiving a real, ontological rebirth. But the Christian life does not end with being raised into new life. God also gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit, Who strengthens, sanctifies, and guides us throughout our journey with Christ.
At the Mysterion (Sacrament) of Holy Baptism the priest offers the following prayer:
"O Lord and Master, our God, call Thy servant (name) to Thy holy illumination, and make
him/her worthy of this wondrous grace of Thy Holy Baptism; take from him/her the things
of old, and renew him/her unto the life eternal, and fill him/her with the power of Thy Holy
Spirit unto union with Thy Christ, so that he/she may be no more a child of the body but a
child of Thy Kingdom. Through the favour and grace of Thine Only-Begotten Son with Whom
Thou art blessed, with Thine All-Holy, Righteous, and Life-creating Spirit now and forever
and from all Ages to all Ages. Amen.
Following Holy Baptism follows the Mysterion (Sacrament) of Chrismation. Through anointing with Holy Oil, a newly baptized Christian receives the "Seal and Gift of the Holy Spirit," This Mysterion continues the grace of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Holy Apostles and revealed the fullness of God’s presence among His people. Chrismation reminds us that Pentecost was not only a historical event that happed two thousand years ago. The same Holy Spirit Who came upon the Holy Apostles continues to dwell in the Church and transforms the lives of those who belong to Christ. In this Mysterion, every Christian receives a personal participation in the coming of the Holy Spirit and is called to become a living witness of Christ in the world.
The grace given is the seed of divine life, as Saint Gregory of Nazianzus wrote, the Spirit "divinizes (deifies)" the baptized Christian, clothing them with Christ and inviting them to share in God’s divine nature. The grace received at baptism is a beginning and "end pesent in the beginning" –that must be grown through a deliberate, lifelong spiritual struggle (ascesis). Because the believer has been washed, illumined, and sanctified, they carry the responsibility to keep their heart and body pure from passions, malice, and deliberate sin. Just as the dry tree put forth shoots after partaking fo water (as Saint Cyril of Jerusalem described), the soul must bring forth "clusters," exercising the virtues and gifts given by the Spirit (wisdom, agape, boldness and truth). The responsibility is sustained not by human effort alone, but by returning constantly to the grace of the Church through the Holy Eucharist, Confession/repentance (sometimes called the "second baptism of tears"), and prayer to keep the rivers of Living water flowing within. [Resources: [Resources: The Orthodox Study Bible]
___________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+ Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in Christ’s Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
