Reflection 12 | Stones & Sand

Caught
John 8:1-11 | The Center

Who will stand
between me and my trauma?
Trapped between pulling poles
of fear and revenge,
who would save the worthless
from what is deserved?

A man,

who finds worth in every grain of sand,
who writes, “love” into the very earth.
He called me into being,
He calls me to be again.
Killing stones fall
and become a place to stand.

John 8:1-11 is sometimes labeled as, ‘the woman caught in adultery.’  While I’m not a fan of this label, the wordplay of ‘caught’ reveals the juxtaposition of this powerful story. We can be ‘caught’ by authorities, but we can also be ‘caught” and rescued from danger. The current trend in my church tradition is to question whether this story even belongs in John. The story is missing in some manuscripts, and some feel this story doesn’t fit the flow of John’s narrative. Is the story missing in some places because it wasn’t originally intended to be there;  or was it just considered, “too hot to handle” by some early collaborators?

When following the pattern we’re outlining in this series of reflections, we find this story perfectly fit into the very center of John’s book. When we start at the point of this story and map the book, we find on either side perfectly balanced segments reflecting each other thematically and building to these moments on the Temple Mount - at the feast of Sukkot.  This story itself is a thematic crescendo.  Jesus standing between a woman and her accusers, defending an individual from misled religion, putting his own life between hers and those who want to take it from her.  

As one point of evidence for this being the center of John’s book, Use your imagination and think about this verse from the Hallel prayers (which likely, all the characters in this story had sung that morning).

”I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.”
Psalm 118:17-18 ESV

Imagine what may have been going through the woman’s mind as she sung this prayer again the next day. What was Jesus thinking about each time he sang this prayer? What might the people who had been holding stones be thinking the next time they sang these lines? Now take this exercise and read all the Hallel, Psalm 113-118. Look for the woman mentioned throughout these songs. Look for light and water mentioned too. Look for “their help” and “their shield.” Reading these Psalms in light of John 7 and 8 is fascinating.

Now, at the very center of this central story, Jesus mysteriously writes in the sand as the climax of this confrontation. Is this also the climax of the entire book of John? What did he write in the sand, and why?

As one possible answer, consider these quotes from Jeremiah:

”for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
Jeremiah 2:13 ESV

”O LORD, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.”
Jeremiah 17:13 ESV
(emphasis added)

Passages like this lend more evidence to this story being intentionally placed at the very center of John. Jesus has just, a few verses earlier, equated himself as the fountain of living water. Is this current religious test, which winds-up victimizing this woman, the last straw for Jesus? By silently writing in the earth, is he saying something like, “okay, if you want to keep drawing water from the dry cistern of you own digging, go ahead, I’ll leave you to it. If you would rather have your names written in the earth rather than written in Heaven, I can do that for you.” Is Jesus writing in the sand a specific hyperlink back to this judgement in Jeremiah? Is this why the accusers walk away with more to think about than they bargained for? If the goal is simply to have our names remembered, engraved on a stone statue or monument (which is made of earth and really just sand on a different time-scale), Jesus can accommodate that for us. But if the desire is for life, he can accommodate that for us too - he will write us into the new story - more life than we ever imagined possible. If this read of the writing is correct, if we can see it as a kind of final judgement for the accusers in the story, we should also notice the same writing saves the woman from her death penalty. She is literally restored to life by the same act that turns the accusers away.

There is more to say about all of this, but for now:

“Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The LORD perserves the simple;
when I was brought low he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.”
Psalm 116 5-7 ESV

Reflection 11 | Fire & Water

Jesus stands on the temple mount during the highest celebration on his cultural calendar, Sukkot, the Feast of Booths celebrating God dwelling with his people. Important water ceremonies are underway in the temple. All of Jerusalem is lit up with giant torches. The Hallel prayers (Psalm 113-118) are being sung. In the very center of all of this celebration, Jesus declares openly to all who can hear that he, personally, is both the source of “rivers of living water” and “the light of the world.” Water and Light are the central pattern in John’s book, the first section or “wing” is drenched with images of water; the second “wing” is filled with images of light and fire ( all light in John’s day had heat - Sun, campfires, lamps). Of course, there is no life at all without these two elements; but when mixed correctly, things come to a boil.

Water
John 7 | Water Wing 11 

The well I dug is dry.
Turn this thirsty stone to water,
this water to wine, 
fill these lungs with Spirit,
these viens with Christ.
Let me drink from your Spring
And be alive. 

Light
John 8:12-58 | Fire Wing 11

I am the Light, pillar fire, 
guiding through the night.
Follow life, be free.

Words to rival the sunrise.
From bright rays we hide our eyes,
but still feel the heat.

If he is, what are we?

Reflection 10 | Eating

The signs closest to the center of John’s story, continue to expand the water and light themes - reflecting a Christ sourcing every level of creation and concerned about the most basic elements of our lives; food, shelter, community. On the Water Wing, Jesus feeds, and walks on water. On the fire wing, he lets a man see light and describes himself as the Good Shepherd. To make bread, you need heat; and both grain and pasture grass only grow at all where water and light are abundant. While all the signs John writes about explore Christ’s authority over nature, the teachings after this inner set explore our ability to “see” Christ as the source and provision of all we need. Today’s reflections focus on the teaching which follows the signs on each wing, rather than the signs themselves.

Bread of Life
John 6 | Water Wing 10

Feed me, Lord. 
You know what I need.
All I give up to you
is less than I receive.
Heat for the baking, 
time for the breaking,
the breath that I breathe. 

Pasture
John 9-10 | Fire Wing 10

Following wolves and trusting thieves
Leaves us scattered, fragmented, alone.
We feed on dust and thistle.
Lost among this dark, blind stampede,
We run hard to nowhere
trapped in greed.
But above this clamor
I hear the clean ring
of my name on my shepherd’s voice.
He has laid himself in the gap.
He has risen up with rod and staff.
Let us flock to him!
Out through this prison gate!
He has opened wide a pasture green.

Reflection 9 | Get Up

In the first set of ‘signs,’ John tells of the official’s son healed long distance, and the paralyzed man healed while sitting by a pool of water. (There’s a lot of water imagery in both stories). One character seeks Jesus, and Jesus finds the other, but they both are willing to trade their notions of propriety for trust. After these healings, Jesus has an interesting conversation about his authority to supply life and things that might keep people from recognizing the opportunity - namely, the blindness we choose in order to protect our own legacy. The choice between having one’s name written in the earth or written in Christ is presented in many places in John but will come to an even sharper point in upcoming stories. Jesus states here, “a time is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice” which is exactly what happens when Lazarus, in the mirrored passage, rises from the dead. By the end of the Lazarus story, Jesus is preparing for his own burial. Trading places with Jesus is a vivid reflection between all these scenes.

Signs of Life
John 4:26-5 | Water Wing 9

Carving oneself into memory is crawling 
toward water that will never stir.
What well-groomed epitaph ever held healing? 
Engraved in stone, statues can’t run.
Wake, rise up, abandon your grave, on living legs
cross open fields, calling for life by name.
Trade the vain glory never beheld and be held.

A Good Cry
John 11:1-54 | Fire Wing 9

Hard stone won’t hold 
the ones I call free. 
Join the day. Be warm,
live again. Yes, feel the tear’s sting,
but watch the new blood flow.
Trade your grave clothes with me.
Rise, and find your form. 

Map of chiasm in John - highlighting the first 'signs' group.

Reflection 8 | Fields

So now the time has come. Fields are ready for harvest and the King is ready to be enthroned, neither happen quite like we expect. Of course, a good king, with a productive kingdom, is able to feed his people and the invitation to participate in that healthy production cycle is clear. The ripe fields sequence is often treated as just an extension of the “well” story. While continuity exists between the two, I think John uses the disciples’ return as a transition marker and takes a new step toward the center of his book’s theme by reflecting these Samaritan fields with the Jerusalem entry story. Both the Samaria and Jerusalem stories are set on worship mountains. In both, we see crowds of people that look like ripe fields. In Jerusalem, they are actually waving physical branches. In both stories, “outsiders,” Samaritans and Greeks, have been made ready for the harvest. Sowing and reaping imagery feature heavily in both scenes. In fact, with the statement, “so that the sower and reaper may rejoice together,” John reflects passages in Joel 3 and Amos 9 which both include images of mountains dripping sweet wine - a good harvest image. Also an image John has in mind through his entire book as he carefully describes the process of how Jesus as King provides life-giving bread and wine to his people. In the course of his story, sweet wine certainly drips from the mountain of Jerusalem.

Supply for the Feasting
John 4:31-45 | Water Wing 8

Fields stand ready for the reaping.
What labor brings in these sheaves?
Not the hand that plowed to bleeding,
scattered seed, and held back beast. 
But now is the time for breaking, and baking,
Pressing and staining, for joining 
together in the world’s re-making. 

His Commandment is Eternal Life
John 12:12-50 | Fire Wing 8

Now is the time to see. 
In rides the Root
drawing all to the tree.
A king not seated
but seeded.
Creation lays down branches
the dirt is ready to receive.

Reflection 7 | Wells & Mountains

John’s Gospel is mythopoeic literature.  A true story, but a very well crafted one that invites us to see new things each time we visit. It can transform us as we think through the implications of the story.  For example, the stories of the woman at the well and the long conversation in the upper room are familiar to many readers and each have valuable things to say on their own; but when reflected against each other, we see new facets of the light - a wider spectrum. That brighter range of light can be useful to us in dark places.

The place where Jesus meets the Samaritan woman is an important setting. Her own story has so much to offer, but remember the place, the well itself, has its own story. It represents the establishment of God’s people. It is land Jacob gave to his son Joseph. It is the mountain where Joshua made the famous, “Choose this day whom you will serve” speech.  It’s a deeply symbolic place where God fulfilled promises to his people and his people renewed their promises to him. A new stone monument was raised there near an important tree - so nature itself has a role to play in these stories. It is a place of worship. The upper room becomes a kind of well too, a place where Jesus discusses how to draw life giving wine from the vine. By placing these two scenes in reflection, John paints Jesus, himself, as the new place to worship, the place where Heaven and Earth meet.

I intentionally limit myself to seven lines for the entire Upper Room discourse,  because I only want to invite you to go read the actual story.  A long, quiet reflection on John 13-17 will reward every minute you spend - might just be the new place of rest we need. 

Jacobs’ Well Revisited
John 4:1-30 | Water Wing 7

I come to the well thirsty again.
This mountain will hear my promises again.
But promises are hard to keep.

All the digging, 
dragging desire
is never quenched.

I would trade all my dry religion
for one wet taste of life.
Where is that bubbling Spring?

The Rock and the Tree know. 
Say the word
And I will be well.

The New Place
John 13-17 | Fire Wing 7

And now, my hour has come.
This is where heat needs to run. 
I wash all who are mine.
I will press out new wine. 
Abide, deep in Love’s Spring.
Ask, I will bring your peace.
And now, we will all be one.

Reflection 6 | Questions

John the writer sprinkles several little episodes of John the Baptist through the first half of the book. John the Baptist’s confidence seems to inform the doubts raised in the second half of the story In today’s scenes we get two conversations about the nature of truth, John the Baptist gets questioned. Jesus gets questioned. People in power have a knack for raising questions as a means of protecting themselves. Yet, John the writer’s use of chiasm allows John the Baptist to offer a very clear answer to Pilate’s question. I like to imagine that as Christ stood alone during his trials he was able to draw some comfort from the Baptist’s early statements. In the any case, the writer draws some interesting contrasts between morning courage and evening cowardice as he builds his story..

God is True
John 3:23-36 | Water Wing 6

What do I rule?
What can I hold?
All things
given to the Giver.
Joy’s empire unmasked.
Life springs unbound
when clutching only truth.

What is True?
John 18:19-16

Where have they all gone?
Who remains true?
Aligned to the sword,
Warmed by fearful fire,
holy sacrificed for safety.
Joy must decrease
as empire’s questions increase.

Reflection 5 | Temple

By putting the story of temple cleansing at the front of his book, John might seem like he is just playing fast and loose with timelines. While the flow of time is very interesting in John, we trust by now that he doesn’t do things accidentally. When considering the structure of John in the way we have been, we find both the temple cleansing and Nicodemus stories placed together carefully - in order to reflect and expand the story of the crucifixion itself. “Destroy this temple and in three days...” When John explicitly states the connection between temple and Christ’s own body, he gives us a key for seeing the overall structure of his book; however for now, let our attention turn to the overturning of our own tables.
There are five poems in this reflection with a Tree at the center.

Temple
John 2:13-24 | Water Wing 5a

You offer me a place to meet.
How quickly I make it a show
and sell tickets.
Drive out my commerce.
Replace it with communion.
Only you can make my living. 
Put real fruit on this tree.

Night
John 3:1-21 | Water Wing 5b

Nicodemus wants light.
He hides in the dark.
Don’t we all?
Afraid to let people see
what we know we need.
Teachers with nothing to say.
Afraid to leave the stage,
and silence our own show.
We need more.
We’re still hungry.
Power has not warmed us.
The night is still cold.
Let all false fires fade.
Bury me. 

Tree
John 19:17-42 | Fire Wing 5a

And what if the ark doesn’t float?
Or, the sea doesn’t part?
What if the sling misses?
Or, the walls don’t fall?
What if lion mouths are not shut
but they come, bearing tooth and claw?
What If all our ability to trespass
gathers in one place,
pours itself out onto one head?
Will he remain faithful?
If this sparrow falls will he be seen?
The light goes dark. The water thirsts.
Blood covers the doorpost.
He has done it. 

Gardeners
John 19:38-42 | Fire Wing 5a and b

Come down out of shadow,
dear Nicodemus,
troubled teacher, unborn wrestler,
your expectations scattered to the wind.
And come dear, fearful Jospeh,
bring your secrets out of the dark.
bring your cup. bring your spice. 
What use are they now?
Pull down what religion lifted. 
What light do these eyes see now?
Cross these arms, drain these wounds,
Wrap your dreams around these bones.
Carry the weight of descent.
Let it fill your own tomb. 

Ground

But a seed needs the dark.
A hole in the ground.
A place to be broken open.
Burial in the womb.
Night’s husk will slip.
Morning will spark.

Reflection 4 | New Days

I find a great deal of personal joy in the fact John holds up the mirror of a wedding to reflect the resurrection itself. A wedding is a new beginning, a new reality. In both stories, we find a man and woman meeting and Jesus “saving the day” by having poured out his own wine.

On the Third Day
John 2:1-12 | Water Wing 4

Time is right to join two lovers
held apart for so long. 
Time now to see and taste.
Let the celebration be strong. 
Let no one settle for an empty glass,
all we have waited and washed for
is here, in full, at last. 

Morning
John 20:1-18 | Fire Wing 4

In the dark of mourning,
when even the empty jar is stolen,
turn to find the gardener still tending to his branches.
The gift of light we buried, has born bread and wine.
Come, enjoy the day.
Every familiar thing waits to be seen
in the light of morning. 

Reflection 3 | First Branches

In the third position, John reflects two stories of Jesus finding his friends. These friends will eventually grow out from himself as the Vine and bear fruit in every corner of the Earth - in us, But for now, in both of these stories, John honestly paints the transition from doubt to belief. It is true morning never dawns in an instant. The sun rises slowly. Perhaps, in the long arc of history, the mist is just beginning to rise.

Under a Tree
John 1:35-51 | Water Wave 3

Come and be seen. 
There is light enough now
to find what you are seeking. 
Let me show you the rock. 
Let me show you the tree.
I will be the bright ladder 
between you and everything. 

Behind a Door
John 20:18-31 | Fire Wing 3

Dawn breaking gradually 
warms my hiding.
Morning light pours 
through locked doors. 
Night’s terrors linger.
I need to hear, “Peace.”
I need to hear, “Peace” again.
What new light am I seeing?
What new air, I am breathing.
God has holes to climb through.
Finger of belief.
Heaven is open.
Shadows shorten. 

Reflection 2 | Confessions

As we move one step from the outer edges, John reflects two stories of confession. First, John the Baptist confesses Jesus three times. Then, in the chiastic position, Peter confess his love for Christ three times and Peter is commissioned to new vocation three times. This scene also reflects Peters healing after his three recent failures. (BTW, this scene marks Christ’s third appearance since the resurrection - counting things in John is fun).

A Lamb 
John 1:19-34 | Water Wing 2

Who am I?
Not the center.
Not a pretender. 
I am a sign.
I point to the Lamb.
I point to the Water
where we breath the Light.

Sheep by the Fire
John 20:30-21:23 | Fire Wing 2

Now it is morning, eat all you can.
Remember how freely fish and loaves flow from my hand.
Remember how your hunger drove you to the sea.
Let your craving now always be me. 

Being fed, now feed the sheep of the Lamb.
Follow your love; and from your dust,
I will make a man. 

Outline of major reflections (chiasmus) in John.

Reflection 1 | Words and Worlds

John opens his book with the Word coming into the world. He ends his book with an admission he has carefully chosen these specific episodes for a reason. He wants us to be “in” the Story. He sighs, “the world itself could not contain” all the words that could be written about the Word. He implies this story is still unfolding and invites us to take part. John holds up his closing look at books and words as a mirror to his opening look at the Word being present in Genesis. Both edges of his book touch the Cosmos.

Without Him Was Not Any Thing
John 1:1-18 | Water Wing 1

So bright this word,
shape with no shadow,
touching with no taking.
Wide-eyed light, seen and seeing.
Maker inside his own making.
Overflow we can hold.
Life to be heard. 

An Author’s Plea
John 21:24-25 | John 20: 30-31 | Fire Wing 1

I can’t write it all down
just come and see.
The Word won’t fit
into one simple plea.
The world is full and spilling over.
There is light now
and room to breath.

Come and heal the hurt,
come and hear the rhyme,
taste this bread,
drink this wine.
Stand still, let the Spirit hover.
Fingers in the dirt
will open your eyes.

See who turns to listen,
see who finds a feast,
morning is now warming,
river now runs free.
Watch, and you will find your lover.
All this is written
so you might believe.

Why Does John Interrupt Luke?

Or, Why is John the Fourth Gospel?

Supper At Emmaus by Caravaggio

I’ve always loved the story at the end of Luke’s gospel about an unrecognized Jesus traveling with a couple of confused, heartbroken disciples. As they walked, he patiently unfolds mysteries, answering questions about the meaning of recent events in light of ancient ones, “…beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:27 ESV) How great would it be to overhear that conversation? Jesus outlining world history, demonstrating where he had been in the overall story. What a delight!

Supper in Eammaus is a story inviting us into the space of a meal where we too can almost sit with Jesus and wrestle out the recent climatic events of the cross. But Luke’s story does not end in Emmaus. He wrote two volumes of history. In the book of Acts, he continues on from the life of Christ to the the lives of the apostles and the early church. Why then, would the folks organizing all of these early books place John’s Gospel between Luke and Acts? John has such an unexpected, non-linear structure. Maybe they weren’t sure what to do with the unusual account and decided to group the three similar gospels: Mathew, Mark, and Luke together and just tuck John in at the end of the Jesus stories before moving on to the later history of Acts.

Or maybe, they recognized John’s Gospel is in many ways like the conversation Jesus must have had during that long walk to Emmaus. Maybe, it is in itself the answer to the question, “ I wonder what Jesus said about his role in Moses and all the Prophets?” John constantly reflects Jesus back into the patterns and expectations of Moses, the Prophets and the Scriptures. He opens his book with Jesus in Genesis, “In the beginning was the Word…”; structures his book along the pattern of the week of creation; offers the start of a new creation, “On the first day of the week…”; and is constantly quoting the Prophets and Psalms, summarizing major themes of Scripture into phrases spoken by Jesus and the carefully chosen accounts of his actions. in John 5, Jesus explicitly tells an audience that they should be able recognize him from their reading in Moses. In fact, it is hard to find a theme in Moses, the Prophets, or the Psalms, which is not also explicitly reflected in John.

As just one example, take Psalm 36:9,

“For with you is the fountain of life, in your light do we see light.”

At the thematic center of John’s Gospel, Jesus stands in the cultural center of his heritage - the place where Heaven and Earth overlap - the Temple. He stands there during the highest celebration on his cultural calendar, Sukkot, the Feast of Booths which celebrates God dwelling with his people. Important water ceremonies are taking place recreating a river flowing from the Temple Mount and symbolically into all the world. All of Jerusalem is lit up with giant torches set-up at the corners of the Temple Mount. The Hallel prayers (Psalm 113-118) are being sung. In the very center of all of this celebration, Jesus declares openly to all who can hear that he, personally, is both the source of “rivers of living water” and “the light of the world.” Which is, of course, the exact pattern reflected from Psalm 36:9. (and the pattern from Psalm 113-118, and from Isaiah 58 and other places too). This language of rivers and light wasn’t lost on Christ’s original audience. Some thought him mad or worse, but they could not ignore the claim he was making. John brilliantly provides well - lit connections between us as readers and the earlier stories. He invites us to see these patterns and use them as a path into the entire story of world history and its climax in Christ.

Outline of major reflections in John’ Gospel

Those who shaped the books and letters about Jesus perhaps placed John where they did because they saw John as providing the details of that Emmaus conversation as he patiently unpacks the meaning of Scripture for his readers. I was always told John was the “easy” gospel. The approachable one. The one Bible novices could use to acclimate to the Jesus’ stories. John is in fact approachable and accessible; but the longer, more carefully one looks, the more the book reveals. Patterns and reflections throughout the text expand the story, inviting you to join Jesus at the Emmaus table. Reading John is like breaking bread with Jesus. As he opens our eyes in recognition, our hearts burn within us.

Introduction - Mirrors & Wings

When something is beautiful we want to look at it from every possible angle. 

When trying to see more angles of a beautiful thing, a mirror might be useful. A mirror pointed at other mirrors might show us many angles of a beautiful thing all at once. A well polished mirror lets us see clearly; and when carefully positioned, a mirror bounces light into the dark. In literature, we call this kind of mirrored reflection between words and ideas Chiasm - a series of ideas presented in a pattern and then presented again in reverse order. As we read, these patterns and their reflections help us remember the text; but also offer new lines of sight, new angles, new perception, an opportunity to see things we may otherwise overlook. This technique offers an opportunity to engage our own imaginations as we consider the structure of a story. The repetition of specific words, or the placement of entire scenes, invites us to consider symbols or objects in light of where they appear in the pattern.  For example, instead of simply saying, “Water is like wine, and wine is like blood,” an artist of John’s caliber offers whole scenes considering the nature of water and wine and blood. He then positions these scenes within his story in ways that allow you, the reader, to consider the connections between these elements. 

John as an eagle from the Book of Kells

John’s Gospel is beautiful. It is a a story where every word is purposefully placed, and it is full of chiasmus.  Repetitions and patterns at every level encourage us to reflect on the beauty of the whole. You find chiasmus in individual sentences, you find it within individual scenes or speeches, and in the structure of the book itself.  When mapping these patterns, they begin to appear as a feathered layering from smaller to larger concepts - similar to the ways small patterns of bird’s feathers work to build up the overall shape of their wings. Two large halves of John’s book give it flight, and the patterns draw us to the point of a very sharp beak at the center. The story pattern literally draws the reader from great heights - the creation of the Cosmos on the one wing and the rebirth of the Cosmos on the other - down to the sharpened point of a man’s finger drawing in the sand.  I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the fact our church fathers and mothers used an eagle to symbolize John was for this very reason - the shape of the story itself.  

Outline of the top level of reflections (chiasm) in John

St.Cuthbert’s Gospel of John

St. Cuthbert’s Gospel of St. John’s cover is engraved with interlocking patterns and a raised relief of a grapevine. This grapvine is crafted as two symmetrically curved branches circling four fruits on either side of a central vine.

As another interesting piece of evidence that the shape of John’s story has been recognized for a long time, take the illustration on the cover of the St. Cuthbert’s Gospel of St. John, an early medieval manuscript treasure. The book’s cover is engraved with interlocking patterns that have their own meanings and connotations, but in the center of the cover is a raised relief of a grapevine - a very important image for John. This grapvine is crafted as two symmetrically curved branches circling four fruits on either side of a central vine. The central vine comes to a sharp point. Two large, layered wings emerging from a central point is the pattern or structure of John’s Gospel itself. Perhaps this illustrator was intrigued with the story structure and found a way to encourage readers to look for a similar pattern in the text.

Leading up to Easter 2022, I’m posting personal reflections on this pattern of reflection (chaisim) in John’s gospel. These reflections are in a simple poetic structure because poems help us recognize patterns and John’s book is full of interesting patterns. I intentionally keep most of the poems short - most are only seven lines (or groups of seven - or three). The poetry is only an invitation to come be “in” John’s story. My hope is we’ll spend some time together reflecting on John’s patterns and look at the truth they reflect from fresh angles.

A Note On Gospel Hyperlinks

Scripture is full of hyperlinks. Recognizing references to earlier stories expands the current story and seeds future ones. The stories together build an interlocking structure between events, people, and Christ himself as the architect, the cornerstone, the builder and the temple itself where we all come to worship.

One example is Christ calling from the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Yes, this is a real cry of anguish in the physical moment; but it is also a quote from Psalm 22. A Psalm Jesus knew (and helped write). Of course, as Mark records this cry from the cross, he and Jesus are both ‘hyperlinking’ their audiences back to the entire song. Jesus is shaping the meaning of what is happening in this moment on the cross by placing himself and everyone around him into the story within the song of Psalm 22.

Jesus, his family, his friends, his enemies, his culture were all immersed in the Psalms. This was the water where their imaginations swam. Quoting a specific passage was to bring-up resonance from the past into the present. We do the same thing with pop-culture references all the time. To be with friends in conversation and say, “My kingdom for a horse, “ or “Call me, Ishmael,” or “what’s up, Doc?";” we are not just quoting, but expanding the moment by calling on the shared experiences of our audience with Shakespeare, Melville, or Warner Bos. We’re inviting them to bring their memories into the conversation, to being new layers of meaning to the topic at hand. If timed well, and the audience is actually familiar with the sources in the ways we assume, then we create a resonance that vibrates between the experience of the audience, the original content’s role in culture, and the present conversation. We connect past experiences across the audience into a new shared experience between ourselves and those who ‘get it’ - those who ‘catch’ or understand the reference. A few simple words say far more than just the dictionary definition of the words themselves.

When Jesus quotes Psalm 22 or any passage of scripture, it is worth going back to the sources and read the entire sequence; knowing the gospel writers had limited physical room on scroll nd may be asking us to bring a larger experience to the current moment where Jesus is speaking and we are reading.

When we take the hyperlinks into mind as we read, interesting insights and patterns begin to emerge. For example: compare light, water, and wind between Isaiah and John. As another emample, consider how Mark quotes Jesus reciting the first part of Psalm 22; but John quotes Jesus reciting later parts of Psalm 22. John leaves out the ‘foresaken’ cry, but highlights the ‘thirst’ and the ‘finishing - he has done it’ ideas - also both from the same Psalm. is John trying to expand Mark’s scene for us? is it possible that Jesus recited the whole Psalm from the cross and each author was led to choose the quotes that best represented the themes developing in their own work? Did they both expect their audiences to ‘get’ the reference and bring all of Psalm 22 to bear on this moment in their narratives?

Whatever the case, bringing our whole selves to our reading and using our imaginagtions to consider the whole selves of the people were are reading may help us recognize more of the depth and scope between these familiar stories. We infer from these quotations, these ‘hyperlinks, ‘ that Christ found all of Psalm 22 meaningful and worth contemplating. Quotations like these build resonances for us between the gospels and the prophets and the Psalms - as they all mirror each other.