Living Water 7-22-12

The Reading— Psalm 78: 12-16
God did miracles in the sight of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
God divided the sea and led them through; God made the water stand up like a wall.
God guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night.
God split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
God brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers.

The Gospel Reading: John 4: 1-26
Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship God neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers God seeks. God is spirit, and worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
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Living Water 7-22-12

God, fill our hearts with love and compassion for all the people in our lives who are lonely and thirsting for living water. Move us beyond self-centeredness to radical hospitality in every aspect of our lives. Make us a blessing in this world to bring honor and glory to you. Amen

Today, I’m going to tell you a story—it’s a story that is common to all of us. We all know at least one Samaritan woman in the circles of our lives. I hope you will listen to her story, told from her perspective, and gain a new understanding of who she really was. Far beyond a useful prop or backdrop for Jesus’ teaching, she was a living, breathing, hurting, thirsting woman and we have much to learn from her.

There was nothing in that morning that told me this would be a day different from any other. I got up at my usual time and bid my live-in companion goodbye for the day. No, we’re not married, been there, done that—just didn’t seem to make sense to actually get married—this one’s not likely to last either. I don’t know what I do wrong; I just can’t seem to find a man who loves me for who I am, or cares, for that matter whether I live or die as long as I’m available to serve him, feed him, and well, you know, love him the way he wants to be loved. My mother always told me that I just couldn’t pick ‘em—maybe she is right—sure seems that way. I was busy that morning, had clothes to wash in the river and the house needed sweeping, a hard job that is—our house is bigger than I wanted, seems like it should be filled with children or maybe, by now, even grandchildren. So, living there depresses me—never stayed with one man long enough to raise a family. Oh, I got kids, all right, but when they were little, I just couldn’t seem to get it together, so my aunt and mother raised them. Now, they don’t even give me the time of day. Guess I shouldn’t blame them—wasn’t much of a mother. At least that way, they didn’t see the beatings every one of those men gave me—probably would have beaten them, too. But, I must get back to my story.
So, I worked hard all morning and left at noon to go to the well—the well that was Jacob’s. Water was good in that well—seemed you could almost taste the blood, sweat and tears of all the people who had drunk from the well through all those years—kinda made me feel a little less alone. No one in my village speaks to me or has anything to do with me—so I avoid the dirty looks by going out when everybody else is inside trying to stay cool. It’s just easier that way, but what I wouldn’t give for a friend or two to pass the time of day with or have over for lunch when the husbands are all out in the fields. You should see the looks, breaks my heart right down to the bone to be treated like that. But, I’m resigned now—made my bed, as my mother would say, and now I’m really lying in it.
That day seemed particularly hot—made you thirsty just to step outside your door. Off I went carrying my jug for the water. As I approached the well, I saw a man—a Jewish man, I could tell immediately by the way he was dressed and just the way he looked. I was going to turn around and come back later, but he called me over. I first thought that he might be crazy, no Jewish person and certainly not a man, should speak to me—it’s not right, it’s not allowed. But, he called me again. I looked around to make sure that no one was watching and stepped up to where he was. Pretty bold he was, said to me, “Will you give me a drink?” I told him that I thought it was a bad idea—what with him being a Jew and me a Samaritan woman—get that? W-O-M-A-N—so I asked him how he could ask me for a drink.
This guy was more than a little weird, but there was something about him. He looked right at me, didn’t roll his eyes, or spit at my feet. He just said, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would ask for living water.” I told him that the well was deep and he had nothing to use to get water—what is all this talk about living water, and, by the way, this well belonged to Jacob who gave it to us and drank from it himself. Did he think he was better than Jacob?
This man didn’t take offense. He just said, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” Now, I wanted this living water, never to be thirsty again seems like a good idea to me. I am sick to death of having to come here to draw water. So, I asked him for this water he was talking about. Then the hammer fell—I knew it was too good to be true. He told me to go get my husband. I didn’t try to lie, something about him told me not to. I said, “I have no husband,” He didn’t condemn me, he just said, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
I got more than a little uncomfortable. How could he know about my life? But, he didn’t seem to care that I’ve had 5 husbands. He must be special—how else would he know? I didn’t know what to say, so I just blurted out, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Wow, I thought for sure I had put my foot in it now. But, he just replied, “Woman, believe me, a time is coming when where you worship won’t matter. The time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship God in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers that God seeks. God is spirit, and worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
He called me ‘woman’. Most people call me trash, or whore, or something worse. He called me ‘woman’. I lifted my head just a little bit higher. I was struggling to understand all that he was saying to me. It was complicated—something about worshipping God in the Spirit and in truth—I had to think hard about that. So I answered him, “I know that Messiah—the one called Christ—is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” And then this man, this good and kind man said, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” And I knew in that instant that it was so.
It all made sense to me now—only the Messiah could have known all these things and spoken all these things. And, suddenly, I knew that I belonged to him. This man was kind and seemed to honestly care about me. I wondered why—why me—why did God pick me to encounter the Messiah. Perhaps, just perhaps, I am not despised and condemned by God because of all that I have done. Perhaps, just perhaps, I can find out more about this Spirit. To worship in truth—surely that means I can worship God right here and right now?
I felt like a new person—renewed somehow, like the past was forgiven and washed away. I was eager to share what I have found—about this man, this good and kind man—who knew all about me and didn’t care. For once, I was happy to run back to the village—I didn’t dread the stares, the name-calling, and wonder of wonders, it didn’t happen this time. My face was changed—I could feel it. My hopelessness was replaced by joy—I had experienced a miracle. And they listened—they listened to me—the woman they had hated just hours ago. They listened and they ran after him, too. They wanted what I had and, that was a first, I tell you. But my heart was changed and my love for everyone in the villages took the place of all my resentment, dread and doubt. The way they used to treat me—judging and despising—that wasn’t from God. I know that now, I heard God’s voice for myself.
I marked well this miracle in my life and I still tell the good news to any who will hear and I welcome them to this man called Christ. Unwanted no longer, I am accepted by Him. Hated no longer, I am loved by Him. Rejected no longer, I am cherished by Him and today I have living water to share. And I offer it to you—to heal your pain, to bring hope to your hopelessness, and love to your fear. If God can love me, once so despised that I had to sneak through my village for water, God can love you. No past too great, no wrong decision too big—come see for yourself, He sits at the well of forgiveness and peace waiting for you. Waiting for you… amen and amen.