The well-digger at Gerizim
Source: John 4:24The Spirit of truth, you say?
Let me tell you three things about the Spirit of truth.
Listen, I'm the one who dug this well. It's not just any well. Ten thousand years from now, people will still be talking about this well. First of all because it's so deep; it's the deepest well I know of. Nearly 83 cubits; that's exactly 46 of your metres. I spent years digging this sharp grey limestone, but eventually I reached water.
But because such a deep well quickly became famous, people had to come and see for themselves. A lot of them would take a stone and toss it into the well, to see how long it would take to reach the bottom. So many people would toss in a stone that several hundred years later the well wasn't as deep as it once was. By the time it was a little more than 41 cubits deep, or exactly 23 of your metres, there hadn't been water in it for a long time, so the locals — Jacob's descendants — decided to cap it.
See, when you ask the Spirit of truth for proof, the Spirit produces that evidence from inside itself. And where else would that evidence come from but inside the Spirit?
That means that every time the Spirit provides you with proof, a bit of truth is used up, just the way stones gradually fill up space in the well. So if you want to keep the Spirit of truth all in one piece, you gotta stop asking the Spirit for proof. Look at it this way: you need to have proof, but having to produce evidence alters the Spirit. That's one thing.
And here's the second thing: wanna know why producing evidence alters the Spirit but doesn't bother you?
The answer's pretty simple: it's about infinity. Truth is related to infinity because it's in everything.
Listen, I'm not saying there's only one truth. That would be stupid. I'm saying there's only one source that speaks truth.
That's how the Spirit of truth is infinite: it's in everything.
The deeper the truth, the closer it gets to God, at the bottom of this well. But you think the bottom is all there is to this well. In other words, you don't have access to infinity.
That's how your stone harms the Spirit of truth: it puts distance between the Spirit and the bottom.
That's how having to produce evidence alters the Spirit, by putting distance between it and the spring that feeds it.
You can't hold something infinite in your hands, so a stone suits you just fine as a way of asking for proof, but when you toss that stone it hits the Spirit. I'm telling you that as a welldigger.
But you don't have to toss that stone. Believe me, I'm the one who dug that rock so this well could exist. I know what hitting bottom means, and I know there's more than one way to get there. A long time ago, a fellow came here and explained that people who are thirsty can toss their thirstiness in, too.
What does that mean, tossing your thirstiness into a well?
It doesn't mean getting rid of it. It means bringing the Spirit of truth something that doesn't alter it.
Know what?
Here's the third thing I wanted to tell you. Look into the well, sniff the humidity, feel the coolness, hear the echo of your breathing bouncing back and forth inside. The Spirit of truth is there, somewhere, breathing the same air you breathe, and paying as much attention as you can.
If you get used to the Spirit being there and don't ask it for anything, eventually you'll recognize the Spirit. Something the way a thirsty animal senses the presence of water, even a long way away.
When you recognize the Spirit, the Spirit will recognize you, too.
And from then on, you'll never be thirsty again.
