Water and the Spirit

Interesting, Dan.

I talked about that on the retreat in reference to "Ripple", by the Grateful Dead. The song includes the lines "Let it be known, there is a fountain / that was not made by the hands of men". I said, in different words, that this uncreated fountain is the uncreated Life of God, and that Jesus is this uncreated Life - he was "begotten not made". And I read the passage about the woman at the well you mention here. "Believe in me and living water will flow from within you".

I remember that Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth sorts through and reveals all of the symbolism from John's Gospel. I remember him going through the constant symbols of water, bread, wine, and blood.

You say that you discuss in your talk about water as a referent to the Holy Spirit. My question is, why would Jesus say that we need to be baptized of "water and the Holy Spirit"? Why did John the Baptist say "I baptize you only with water, He who will come after me will baptize you wiht the Holy Spirit"? Why does our liturgy make the distinction that water and blood came from Christ's side at the Crucifixion? What is the full significance of the major liquid symbols (water, blood, wine) and what are the distinctions between them?