Evensong - Epiphany 5 - 2009

YEAR 1, EPIPHANY 5, SUNDAY: EVENSONG & BENEDICTION:
GENESIS 24:50-67, JOHN 7:37-46; MARK 14:12-16,22-26

The Gospel of John is notoriously difficult to translate. The meaning of certain passages changes drastically if a word is translated one way or another. Often a bigger problem is simply where to put the punctuation mark.

When reading the Gospel according to John – or for that matter any part of the Bible – I think that’s its helpful to remember the title of a book by Lynn Truss lamenting the state of written English in the UK and the US. The book is titled: “Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation”

A comma in the phrase Eats, Shoots and Leaves means the difference between a verb and two nouns or three verbs. The comma makes all the difference in the world. With a comma it sounds like a man with a gun, pull out the comma and it sounds like a panda bear eating lunch.

Our passage from John tonight can be translated two different ways depending on how the punctuation is laid out:

“If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” (RSV)

In this case the living water flows from the heart of the person who believes in Jesus.

Or it can be translated: “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.’” (NRSV)

In this second translation, the living water flows from Jesus himself and it Jesus who satisfies the believer.

Which is correct? The answer depends entirely on who you ask and which version of the Bible you own. Any church using the Revised Standard Version – a very popular translation – heard tonight’s passage the way we did, the first way, which interprets the living water pouring out of the believer’s heart. Any church using the New Revised Standard Version – an equally popular translation – heard tonight’s passage the second way, which interprets the living water pouring forth from Jesus and being drunk by the believer.

Again, I think its fair to ask which is correct?

Interestingly, I think that Christian tradition and theology – and perhaps most important, your average faithful Christian – would all be comfortable with either translation.

As believers we know that Jesus himself gives us the living water of eternal life. Living water that mirrors the water that poured forth from the rock in Moses’ day and satisfied the Israelites’ thirst in the desert, but for us does not simply keep us alive, but gives us eternal life. This is the living water that we are immersed in at Baptism into which we die and rise again with Christ.


At the same time, it is from the heart of every believer that this living water pours forth into the world, spreading the good news of Christ. This interpretation makes me think of Ezekiel’s vision of the Temple out of which flows salvation to all people.

I think the two different interpretations help to underscore the reality that the believer, filled by the power of the Holy Spirit doesn’t simply mirror Jesus but becomes Jesus’ very Body in the world. The living water is poured out both by Christ on the believer and by the believer onto other others.

Its certainly true that there are difficult issues that arise when you carefully study any passage of the Bible. Some passages don’t agree with other passages. Some passages can be translated in ways that change their meaning in remarkable and sometimes challenging ways.


Sadly, I think many Christians retreat from these challenges. Once a good translation is found, other translations are often viewed as inferior or even repugnant. Four years ago I was heckled during a sermon when I mentioned that many other translations were as valuable as the 400 year-old King James Version. Last year someone walked out of my weekly Bible Study because we were using the “Saint Mary’s Bible” – commonly referred to as the Revised Standard Version – instead of the “Real Bible” – commonly known as the King James Version.

I’m not sure how helpful it is to insist on one translation or to pretend that there aren’t difficulties in the text. Scholars settle on alternate translations because they recognize that a certain passage can honestly be translated in a variety of ways.


In my study of the Bible, I’ve discovered that such variety is a blessing. I often find new meaning in a passage that I’ve thought I understood for years. My understanding of the text isn’t changed, rather, its deepened.

Tonight’s passage was probably heard by most people here as referring to the believer. But it can also be interpreted as referring to Jesus. I think that’s fantastic because it underscores – in ways I hadn’t even thought about until today – the unity that every Christian has with Christ as well as with every other Christian.

The Scriptures are living texts that continue to spread the Gospel to new people in new ways. I believe that by studying them, interpreting them, and even struggling with them, you and I will open the gates of our hearts wider and wider so that the power of the Spirit can flow forth from each of us in ways that are deeper and more profound that any of us ever expected.