Preached October 19, 2014
St. Paul’s United Church of Christ
Gerald, TX
Pray
with me.
God
our Creator and Sustainer
As
we reflect on your Word this morning
May
we have ears to hear and eyes to see
May
we open ourselves to all that You are
And
may the words of my mouth
And
the meditations of my heart
Be
good and pleasing to You
Amen.
Thank
you for welcoming me back to your church family this morning
It is wonderful to be with you
again.
I give thanks to God for
your hospitality
And for this
opportunity
To
study God’s word together.
Our text today is Jesus’ longest
recorded conversation.
Typically
in John, Jesus is doing the talking.
Some
might have found it hard to get a word in edgewise with Jesus,
But
with this woman at the well,
They
are talking back and forth,
And
this conversation is not with who we would expect.
This woman is a Samaritan.
You
may know that Jews and Samaritans did not exactly get along
Samaritans
were seen as “half-breeds” because they had intermarried during exile
Samaritans
would be like the mulattos (or mudbloods) of the Jews.
Jews saw Samaritans as unclean,
Those
who had compromised their holiness when the going got rough,
Those
whose children were an abomination.
We don’t know much about this woman,
Except
that she is a Samaritan.
The
text does not give her a name,
And
throughout church history,
We
have identified her as “The Samaritan Woman at the Well.”
I am struck by the contrast between this
woman
And
Nicodemus in the chapter before
They
are mirror opposites almost,
On
opposite ends of the social, political, and religious spectrum
Nicodemus
is
Named
Male
A
distinguished religious leader
Comes
by night.
His
story quickly becomes a Jesus monologue,
And
the encounter is kept very secret.
This
woman at the well
Has
no name
Is
a despised foreigner with a past,
And
meets Jesus at noon, in the fullest light of day.
She
has a dialogue with Jesus
And
gives a strong public witness of her encounter.
So here is our scene
Jesus
is by Jacob’s well
At the hottest time of day
His disciples have gone
off for food
And
he is waiting by the well
A Samaritan woman comes to the well
And
Jesus asks her for a drink.
This is actually a common scenario in
the Bible
Boy
meets girl at a well.
Isaac
and Rebecca,
Jacob
and Rachel,
Moses
and Zipporah.
Think about it.
Boy
goes to foreign land
And
meets a girl at a well.
One
of them draws water.
The
girl rushes home to tell about it.
The
boy is invited to a meal.
And
before long, they’re betrothed.
Our story is a little bit different.
Boy
goes to a foreign land
And
meets girl at a well.
She’s
not single, and he’s not looking
The
girl draws water
And
then rushes home to tell about it.
Jesus’
meal is the work of God who sent him
Though
he does accept the hospitality
Of
the Samaritan community.
Our
story doesn’t end in a betrothal,
But
rather with the conversion of the Samaritan community
And
Jesus as Savior of the world.
Our sister of the text, this Samaritan
woman,
Immediately asked him about their
racial differences.
Why he would want a drink from her?
Jesus doesn’t really answer her question.
He
just tells her that if she really knew,
She
would be asking for a drink from him.
If you knew the gift of God,
You
would have asked me for living water.
She was puzzled
Jesus
didn’t have a bucket.
How
could he give her a drink
Without
the proper equipment?
And
was this man daring enough
To
claim superiority to Jacob?
(Note
that her Jewish ancestry shows here
As
a Samaritan, she was very aware of Jacob.
And
though Samaritan worship was different,
They
were a religious people without a doubt.)
The way she asked him about not having a
bucket
Had
a bit of an edge.
Did
you catch it?
He told her that if she knew,
She
would have asked him for living water,
And
she asks him
“How
are you going to get that living water without a bucket?”
Their conversation becomes more probing
He
is clearly unconcerned that she is a Samaritan
Or
that she is a woman,
And
they keep talking.
Jesus explains to her that
All
who drink of living water
Will
never be thirsty again.
She wants some!
If she has some of this living water,
She would not have to
keep coming to the well for water.
And then Jesus does something
unexpected.
He
asks her to get her husband.
He
knows that she does not have one.
In
fact he knows her whole story.
He
is continuing to reveal his divinity to her.
She answers him,
she doesn’t have a husband.
He knew that already,
He
knows her.
Some preachers like to emphasize her
relational history
We
do know that she has had five husbands
And
is living with a sixth man
But
we don’t know any of the circumstances
We
don’t know if she was widowed,
Perhaps
compelled to marry brother kinsmen redeemers.
We
don’t know if she was divorced,
And
recall that as a woman, she would have not initiated any of them.
You
may have heard it preached
That
she came to the well at noon,
The
hottest time of day,
Because
that was when it would be least crowded,
A
good time for “someone like her” to go.
Fred
Craddock said that
“Evangelists
aplenty have assumed that
The
brighter her nails
The
darker her mascara
And
the shorter her skirt
The
greater the testimony to the
Power
of the converting word.”
Early
Christian scholars painted this woman in a positive light.
It
wasn’t until the Protestant Reformation
That
we start to see a focus on her sexual history.
This comes from
the Reformation’s emphasis
On self-knowledge and election.
And really, the worse
the sin,
The better
grace sounds.
But this also
comes from a tendency in literature and theology
To equate women with sexuality with
sin.
Feminist
scholars have tried to bring this woman into a more positive light,
To not assume that she is sexually
wayward,
Or that Jesus is only
interested in making her sexually pure,
Or that
Jesus is only interested in male disciples and missionaries.
Even if her
marital history is literally true,
It’s not the focus of this passage.
Jesus seems little
concerned with it.
And
certainly, we all like a great conversion story,
A
character who has lost their way until they are utterly broken
And
whose life is made whole again by God.
Maybe
you know someone with that story.
Maybe
that is your story.
But
to be true to the text,
I
don’t think that this woman’s relationship history
Is
the point.
It
functions as evidence of Jesus’ divinity
Rather
than a crucial character detail.
This
part of the story is telling us something about Jesus
Not
about the woman.
Recognizing that there is something
different about Jesus
She
asks him about worship.
Samaritans
and Jews had several deep theological disagreements,
And
the location of worship was one of the most significant.
Jews
said that worship should take place in Jerusalem
And
Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim.
This
was a long battle between the two people groups
And
I don’t know if you caught this, but the gospel of John
Paints
Jesus as coming through Samaria intentionally.
Remember
the parable of the Good Samaritan,
The
road was known to be dangerous; people avoided it.
Jesus
could have avoided going into Samaria
And
likely would have.
But
on this day, he has chosen to come into Samaria.
And he answers her question about
worship
With
a surprising answer.
Which
is it?
Jerusalem
or Mt. Gerizim?
Neither,
he says.
There
will be a day when you will worship
in
spirit and in truth.
Worship,
he says,
Is
bigger than a place
Or
a people’s history.
Worship
must be in spirit and in truth.
He
is also hinting that worship will no longer be limited to the Temple.
God
does not dwell only in the Temple,
For
Jesus is God, dwelling among the people,
And
the Holy Spirit will also dwell with the people,
And
worship happens when the people are with God.
She knows that a Messiah is coming,
But
she did not know that she was with him.
Jesus
answers her, I am he.
I
am he.
No
doubt she would have recalled hearing this before.
When
Moses asked God who he should say had sent him to Egypt,
God
told him,
“Tell
them, I am who I am, has sent you.”
In
the gospel of John, there are over half a dozen of these I Am statements,
Always
to people on the margins.
Jesus’
biggest theological revelations of himself
Are
to women and sinners and outcasts…
And
the first one is to this Samaritan woman at the well.
He
is the Messiah.
Jesus’ disciples come back and do not
understand
Why
Jesus would talk with this Samaritan woman.
She
was unclean, of ill-repute,
And
didn’t he care at all about holiness,
Or at least appearances?
She suddenly doesn’t need water anymore.
She
flees the scene,
leaves
her jar at the well,
Doesn’t take it with her.
This abandoned water jar fascinates me
Does
she no longer need it?
Maybe
now she’s the vessel for the gospel,
Or
this is the feminine counterpart to
When
the disciples leave their fish and nets behind?
Or
maybe it’s just a signal that she’s coming back?
And in classic gospel pattern,
She
leaves her stuff behind
Without
having to be asked to leave them behind.
She
acts as a disciple instinctively.
While
the marginal character seems to understand,
The
disciples are the ragtag usual suspects
Who
just don’t get it.
They offer him food,
But
Jesus doesn’t live on bread alone.
He
tells them that doing the work of God
Is
his bread.
Later
in John, Jesus will tell us that
He
is the bread of life.
Jesus,
the Messiah, living water and bread of life.
Jesus continues to explain to his
disciples,
That
what is happening is like sowing and reaping.
She
has sown the seeds,
And
they will reap the benefits of her work.
He
is vindicating the woman,
Whom
they so quickly dismissed.
The mission of the Kingdom
Is
shared.
It’s
not just with Jesus and the disciples.
It’s
not just with men.
And
it’s not just with Jews.
What
an important reminder for us,
Even
as we understand the importance of missions
And
humbly serve God in missions.
Let
us remember that the gospel did not originate with us,
And
we do not control it.
And just as Jesus has been explaining,
She goes back to her community
To tell everyone what she has
seen and heard.
There
is still hesitation in her voice,
That
he might be the Messiah,
But
she’s not sure yet.
She
is moved by Jesus
But
still coming to understand.
She
has faith that is full of questions,
Which,
if you ask me,
Is
the best kind.
When
she comes back,
She
has brought many people with her.
She is the most effective missionary
in the gospel of John.
And
Jesus spends two days with the Samaritans.
Many
believed.
Our
story began with the statement that Jews and Samaritans
Don’t play well
together,
And ends with them
sharing hospitality together.
This
fits with the pattern in John
Of
faith being powerful when it is shared
And
faith moving from the witness of others
To
first-hand experience.
And
notice at the end of this passage,
The
woman’s timidity about the passage
Has
been made bold and assertive
Jesus
is the Savior of the World.
Jesus is crossing boundaries
Not
only will he talk with a Samaritan woman
In
the light of day
And
reveal his divinity to her,
But
he will empower her to preach the gospel
And
spend two days with her people
And
let them announce that he is the Savior of the world
Jesus could have avoided Samaria,
But
he chose to go through it.
He
chose to speak with this woman,
To
reveal himself to her,
To
spend time with her people.
Do you see that in our story,
Thirst
and hunger are not really about water and bread
Because
Jesus is the living water and the bread of life.
These
literary elements signal a deeper, spiritual meaning.
That the long-awaited day of the
Messiah’s coming is here.
God
with us.
Emmanuel.
And this Messiah
Is
ushering in a Kingdom
That
doesn’t know racism
Or
sexism
Or
classism
Or
religiosity.
This Kingdom is about genuine
relationship
Salvation
Redemption
New
life
Making
broken things whole.
This Kingdom is about welcoming everybody
Even
the outcasts
Even
those on the margins
Even
the those whose personal histories
Seem
insurmountable
The Kingdom is about mission
Not
colonizing
Or
making others like us
Or
controlling things
But
about humility
And
community
And
love.
About
sharing our experiences
And
welcoming others to encounter God for themselves.
Whether you are like this woman
Heavy
laden with drawing water in the hot sun
Oppressed
by racism and sexism
Waiting
for rescue,
Whether you are like her
community
Hearing
good news from someone
And
hoping with all that you have
That
it’s true,
Whether you are like the
disciples
Sure
you finally understand what you’re supposed to do
And
quick to correct Jesus when he acts otherwise,
Let us look to Jesus,
Let
us see what he is doing,
So
that we, too, can be about the work of God.
Let us have open eyes to those
around us,
To
unvoiced needs
And
silenced places of darkness.
Let our conversations be seasoned
with salt,
Conveying
the love and grace and hospitality of the gospel,
Building
community rather than dividing walls,
Building
up rather than tearing down,
Proclaiming
the year of the Lord’s favor rather than judgment.
Let us recognize that we are part
of a Kingdom
That
is bigger than we are,
That
we are reaping the harvest
Of
seeds we did not plant,
That
we do not own the gospel
Or
decide where it goes
Or
who God calls to proclaim it.
But
by God’s grace, we are saved
And
though our words are foolishness, they proclaim God’s word.
Congregation, are you hungry?
Look
to Jesus
Jesus
is the bread of life
You’ve
never had bread like this before.
Congregation, are you thirsty?
Look
to Jesus
Jesus
is the living water
Once
you’ve had this water,
You
will never be thirsty again.
Congregation, are you weary and
heavy laden?
Cast
your cares upon Jesus,
For
his burden is easy, and his yoke is light.
Are you tossed about in the waves
of life,
Feeling
more like washed up bits of driftwood
Than
anything else?
Are you holding on to hope
Because
that’s all you really have left to hold on to?
Hear the good news in this place
today
That
the Messiah has come
And
the scorching noonday sun
No
longer has the last word
Over your life.
You are not in exile anymore.
And thanks be to God
That
the gospel is big enough and deep enough and wide enough
For
all peoples, for every tribe and tongue.
And thanks be to God
That
our worship is not confined to the temple
Because
we have been called not to worship in a place
But
to worship in spirit and in truth.
The Messiah has come, God with
us, Emmanuel.
I see the Lord seated on the throne
And the train of his robe fills the temple with
glory
And the whole earth is filled
And the whole earth is filled
And the whole earth is filled with his glory.
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