7.4 - The Heart’s Cry: A Call to Inner Revolution
“Outcomes can differ from my expectations but still be OK.” That's a random thought! It just popped up early one morning during contemplation and brought back a memory from the Christmas before my 6th birthday.
The Anticipation Builds
As a bright-eyed boy, I lived in a small town with a wild imagination and a heart full of dreams. For weeks, I talked nonstop about wanting a "pick-up" truck for Christmas. Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I would spread my arms wide, mimicking the lifting motion of a crane, and say, "You know, a “pick-up” truck!”
Finally, Christmas morning arrived. I raced into the living room, tore open the wrapping paper, and gasped when I saw the pickup truck. My face fell.
"This isn't a pick-up truck. This is just a truck with a bed. I wanted a truck that picks things up, like a crane.” My parents said, ”We're sorry. We thought this was what you wanted.” "It's okay," I said softly.
Handling the Unexpected
Over the next few days, I half-heartedly played with my new “pick-up” truck. It wasn’t what I had imagined, and I missed the idea of having a crane. Over time, playing with the truck in the dirt, I noticed how its bed could be used to carry things. I started loading it with small rocks, twigs, and even some of my other toys. I drove it around, making engine noises and pretending it was on important missions. I had transformed it into a multi-purpose rescue vehicle.
"This pick-up truck is actually pretty cool. It can do a lot of things,” I thought.
A Valuable Lesson
I didn't realize it then, but I had learned an important lesson—that outcomes could be different from expectations and still be okay, and sometimes the best gifts are the ones we never expected. Did I ever get a crane? I don't really remember.
Outcomes can differ from my expectations but still be OK.
Thanks for the memory!
Following Jesus During the Feast of Tabernacles
In our last two segments, we've been with Jesus in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles, a seven-day Jewish festival held every autumn. We've witnessed him following the guidance of his spirit, heard his teachings about oneness with God, and seen him demonstrate how God exists between people.
In this segment, we join the crowd as they gather for the festival's final day, known as the "great day" of the festival. It's like the Olympics' closing ceremony but with a religious fervor. At this climactic event, Jesus takes his life in his hands and screams his rallying cry, similar to Braveheart's call for freedom or Patrick Henry's demand for "liberty or Death.”
Interestingly, the other gospel writers omitted this story, but not John, one of the quick-tempered Sons of Thunder, understands its importance and puts it front and center. However, comprehending the situation fully requires more context.
A Historical and Familiar Rallying Cry
Five hundred years before this great day, another man had cried out to the ancestors of the current crowd. Their neighboring tribe had destroyed their previous temple, exiled their king, killed many of their people, and enslaved the rest. That was followed by one captivity after another; now, they found themselves under the control of the Romans. They had learned in school how generations of their ancestors had been born, lived, and died in slavery - in the thirst for freedom. I can't fathom how much their dehydrated hearts long for a drop of hope.
The majority, if not all, of the people in the crowd on this important day had committed to memory the chant of their great ancestor, who was believed to be speaking with the voice of a god. They could repeat it exactly, just as we can recite The Lord’s Prayer or the 23rd Psalm.
“For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my spirit upon your descendants
and my blessing on your offspring.
Hear, everyone who thirsts;
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
The Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your needs in parched places
and make your bones strong,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never fail.”
Jesus Climactic Moment
Against that backdrop, with generations of expectancy tightly wound in the people’s hearts, let's join Jesus.
37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 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.’ ” Remember, this rallying cry worked well in Samaria. It led the woman at the well and hundreds of Samaritans to believe in him, changing their lives forever and their world. But what about here in the heart of Judaism, so near the “Holy of Holies,” and among the religious Inteligencia and this crowd of overthinkers?
40 When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? 42 Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?” 43 So there was a division in the crowd because of him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
Confusion Among the Authorities
There is more confusion over external labels. Let's continue.
45 Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?” 46 The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” 47 Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? 48 Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before and who was one of them, asked, 51 “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” 52 They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” 53 Then each of them went home,Jesus’ Cry Diminished
Jesus’ rallying cry, once filtered through the crowd’s confusion, became a whimper. And for the authorities, it was time to "Pee on the fire and go home.”
I can hear them thinking, "We put on another good festival. Everybody seemed to have a good time. Let's get out of here and let the cleanup crew do their work.”
John’s Emphasis on Internal Revolution
But why does John want me to hear this rallying cry? I can't unhear it. I can't unring the bell. Over and over, I hear, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” What do I do with this internal rallying cry? Lao Tzu would respond, “At the center of your being, you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.” Steve Jobs would say, “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
Here's my take on it and my take alone. John understood better than anyone else that Jesus was not talking about religion but revolution—not a military rebellion but an internal insurrection that would upset the order within each individual. Like an expert teacher, Jesus gave them time to reflect on his previous day’s teaching and saved the climax for the festival’s last day. He quoted those familiar words that had been etched in their psyche to show where their focus should be, not on external labels but within “the believer’s heart.”
Re-designing Decision-Making Architecture
He is re-designing their decision-making architecture. It is in the heart that they will hear the words of the Father and choose to act, releasing the living water to quench their spiritual thirst. The “believer’s heart” is an active spiritual center, one’s consciousness, where one can find the same spirit that animated Jesus, offering new life each day like a freshwater spring. John wanted to be crystal clear that, rather than fixating on laws etched in stone, one must look within oneself. Only here can the concept of “I and the Father are one” become a reality.
The Call to Act
We’ve seen these men scratch their heads and search their scripture, ending up confused and walking their thirsty selves home. We should compare this paralysis by analysis to the disciples when Jesus called them to follow him. They responded to their believers' hearts and immediately left their nets behind. John wants us, especially me, to know that one can spend a lifetime seeking answers in their head, the Bible, or other literature, but the proper solution lies within the responsive heart. Only after we abandon our nets and follow will we develop a “believer's heart" and experience the “rivers of living water."
Practicing Silence and Presence
Let me share how this plays out in my life as one of many possible examples. I start by dedicating some time to silence and observing my thoughts, trying to be fully present and open to whatever arises. I'm not figuring things out; I'm watching ideas rise and fall like random thoughts drifting by. If an idea has an exceptional quality, I act on it appropriately. If I draw a blank, I continue the next day. From my experience, I’ve found that this practice can lead to one or more things: some task that day, insight from a new thought, a solution to an old problem, or a new understanding of a spiritual principle. Sometimes, these ideas take a few days to take full shape, but I trust my believer’s heart to guide me in the right direction. Either way, I rest in peace, knowing I will know my next move.
I sometimes deal not with a lack of ideas but with an excess of them. In these situations, my focus shifts to sifting through them and identifying the ones that feel authentic (from the heart) rather than purely intellectual (from the head). As mentioned above, we are searching for what we should do, not what we could do.
The Experience of Spiritual Promptings
You can sense these men's “burning hearts” as some say, “Never has anyone spoken like this!” Then, you can almost feel their hearts cool as they refer to the religious authorities, who are heavily invested in the status quo. Only Nicodemus has any warmth of a deeper understanding. This is a common experience as we learn to navigate our lives using spiritual promptings. We must learn to discern what is genuinely heartfelt versus merely mental gymnastics. Sometimes, we may fail to act on the right things, causing the flame to dwindle. Other times, we may work on just good ideas. Then there are those special times when we get it right and feel the warm approval of our hearts. It's all part of spiritual growth.
Key Takeaways:
Jesus' cry on the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles echoes the words of a prophet from 500 years earlier, invoking deep spiritual and historical significance for the crowd.
Jesus is calling for an internal spiritual revolution rather than external religious observance, urging us to look within our hearts to find the living water of spiritual fulfillment.
John wants us to see the importance of personal reflection and spiritual practice, illustrating how listening to one's inner voice can guide daily life and spiritual growth.
NOTE: As we read the gospel of John, there is much that draws us into the rabbit hole of theological differences and historical Jesus studies. I am not qualified to discuss those differences. My purpose here is not to produce a Bible study but to observe how Jesus operated out of "The Way.” My search is for an "evidence-based faith" that can be employed in daily life, producing peace and acts of love, grace, and mercy.
Insight from meditation: Remember the idea of timing, rhythm, and frequency. A rhythm within our hearts ripples into our lives and the world around us. The Chinese say, ”The flapping of the wings of a butterfly can be felt on the other side of the world."
