I read this verse this morning and it grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go.  I love the plural of “streams” or “rivers” used here.  What a vivid picture of the gift of Jesus!   I opened my notebook, jotted the verse down and then started writing words that came to mind as I considered this promise of Jesus:

Generosity

Lavish

Overflow(ing)

Pouring

Saturated

Flooded

Life

Rich

Oasis

Life-source

Abundant life

replenish

renew

refresh

Psalm 63:1 came to mind as well.

(A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.)

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”

Jesus and the Spirit He pours out are what I need. Right. Now.

Many a one thinks that he has God and everything in abundance when he has money and, possessions; he trusts in them and boasts of them with such firmness and assurance as to care for no one.  Lo, such a man also has a god, Mammon by name, i.e., money and possessions, on which he sets all his heart, and which is also the most common idol on earth.  He who has money and possessions feels secure, and is joyful and undismayed as though he were sitting in the midst of Paradise.  On the other hand, he who has none doubts and is despondent, as though he knew of no God.  For very few are to be found who are of good cheer, and who neither mourn nor complain if they have not Mammon. This [care and desire for money] sticks and clings to our nature, even to the grave.
So, too, whoever trusts and boasts that he possesses great skill, prudence, power, favor, friendship, and honor has also a god, but not this true and only God. This appears again when you notice how presumptuous, secure, and proud people are because of such possessions, and how despondent when they no longer exist or are withdrawn. Therefore I repeat that the chief explanation of this point is that to have a god is to have something in which the heart entirely trusts.

The Church’s  remembrance of the night on which Jesus celebrated His Last Supper with His disciples, agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane, and was betrayed by Judas Iscariot derives its name from the Latin word “mandatum,” meaning “command.”

On that night, Jesus said to His disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  (John 13:34)  Jesus gave this command after demonstrating His love and service when He washed the feet of His disciples.

Maundy Thursday is a night to gather with believers to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and to reflect on the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Special emphasis is often given to the ties between the Old Testament celebration of the Passover Meal and the Lord’s Supper.  It is also a time to reflect on the unity we have in the Body of Christ and to recommit ourselves to “love one another” even as Jesus has loved us.