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Hello and welcome to the third week of Turn Around -
Take Off, our journey through Lent. And if you're joining us for the first time
just jump in! This week's Bible passage begins with
an encounter in the heat of the day. Jesus meets a Samaritan woman
at the village well and asks for a drink. In so doing he breaks down
all kinds of social norms; Jews don't talk to Samaritans,
men don't talk to women, rabbis don't talk
alone in a public space with a woman who's had
five husbands and is now living with number six without the blessing
marriage. I wonder was she just unlucky or is something more being suggested?
It's just not done, except the Jesus
does it and thus challenges us
to go and do likewise. It's a lived out parable
of inclusiveness and radical hospitality
And it comes as a gift speaking to those times when we ourselves have felt
shunned
and on the outside. unworthy. When we have yearned
for a word of acceptance, respect,
welcome. This story goes to the heart of what it means to be in
Christian community, the inclusive intercultural radically hospitable
congregation
where we give and receive an absolute welcome.
As the Apostle Paul says, there is no longer Jew or
Greek or Samaritan. There is no longer a slave
or free. There is no longer male and female
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
The floating question though is that your experience
in the church? We have here
another story about a seeker not quite
like Nicodemus from last week since the woman doesn't start with any
expectation that her encounter with Jesus
might be life changing. But Jesus turns an ordinary encounter
into a moment of searching. He recognizes
I think the unexpressed hurt, the thirst
so to speak and tries to engage her and us
in conversation. He asks her for a drink
and gets a question in response. "How is it that you
a Jew ask a drink of me a woman of Samaria?"
Watch how this intelligent on the edge woman
keeps asking questions. Questions can take us into the presence of the Holy,
we just have to figure out the right ones to ask.
Though I suspect that God, that Jesus will use
any opening to get to the heart of the matter to
our hearts. Once again what Jesus seems to be
offering is the gift of transformation not through
the Spirit wind this time but through living water.
Living water, it's a powerful metaphor no?
I hear echoes from the book of Psalms, Psalm 22:
"My God, my God why have you forsaken me?
My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws." Or Psalm 42:
"As a deer longs for flowing streams
so my soul longs for you oh God,
my soul thirsts for the living God." We all have these desert moments
when we are desperate for a spring in the middle with the wilderness
water to green are withering spirits. You know what I'm talking about.
But, can you imagine what it would feel like
just simply say, " yes give me a drink",
to accept the gift of living water of
grace of Spirit power? The offer is there
if you only knew the generosity of God says Jesus
you would ask and you would receive. Is it really
that simple? Ours for the asking?
Well, it looks that way. Jesus offers
speaking for God and we are invited to open ourselves
saying yes give me this water.
And I wonder has that ever happened for you?
The ability to ask and to say yes
comes not only because at the woman's thirst her desperation her
marginalization
but also because if the acceptance she's already received
from Jesus. The affirmation of her basic humanity.
When Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink of water
he was sweeping away all the barriers and put-downs that we humans continue to
establish.
Who's up, down, in, out, worthy,
not; it's almost as if he were saying, " I
see you I know you." This becomes even more apparent when the question of how
many husbands the woman has had
comes into the discussion. He knows who she is
what she has done and not done and that's okay.
The offer still stands as it does for you
and me no matter what.
It's a long passage, this and you could stop right here.
But there's another round of conversation worth touching on
where Jesus in the Samaritan woman talk about worship in particular
whether at the temple on Mount Gerizim for Samaritans , or the one at Jerusalem
for Jews? Sounds a little bit like modern-day denominational squabbles and
point-scoring
which Jesus cuts right through. Now
sometimes I find the John can almost overwhelm me with his theological
circles.
So I occasionally find the biblical translation
come paraphrase offered by Eugene Peterson in
The Message. I find it to be really helpful. Just listen to
his take on versus 23 and 24.
This is how he translates it, " it's who you are
and the way you live that count before God
your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit
of truth that's the kind that people the Father is
out looking for. Those who are simply
and honestly themselves before Him
in their worship. God is sheer
being itself ,Spirit and those who worship in
must do it out of their being, their spirits,
their true selves in adoration."
I like that paraphrase and I find myself wondering what it would be like to
worship like that?
To find a faith community that worships like that now
that would be something! That would pour water
all over my parched spirit.
One last comment, I'm caught by the way the story ends
this woman at the well becomes an evangelist.
Did you catch that? She races back to town and before anyone can turn his or
her back on her,
she blurts out some good news about Jesus. David Ewart, a semi-retired
minister in Vancouver
has suggested that a good title for the sermon this coming Sunday would be
"The other Good Samaritan" I like that.