March 23, 2014
Is the Lord Among Us?
- John 4:5-42
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Every story worth telling begins with something out of place,
with some kind of conflict,
or with obstacles to overcome.
A good story is made up of details and gaps.
Details highlight what is important to the author
and so guide our understanding.
Gaps invite us to use our imagination
and fill in the blanks so we become invested in the story.
Let’s look at the story we hear this morning in John's Gospel.
Jesus is in Samaria. He's out of place.
Jews and Samaritans do not get along- conflict.
A woman comes to the well where Jesus is resting- She is out of place.
You don’t draw water in the middle of the day, too darn hot.
Next thing we know Jesus says, Give me a drink.
He has no bucket- obstacle.
And actually, his request is out of place.
Men don’t speak to women in public.
Jews don’t speak to Samaritans.
This is all so out of place and wrought with difficulty
that the woman even points it out to Jesus.
You should not be here- on so many levels this is wrong.
He has broken every rule in the book.
But they begin the longest conversation recorded in the Gospels.
They talk of thirst and water,
living water and buckets,
and eternal life.
The conversation shifts to the woman.
She’s had five husbands.
Whatever else this may mean,
it means her life had been hard and full of pain.
The story doesn’t tell us all the details.
It leave gaps for us to fill in.
Maybe she buried five husbands.
Maybe she was hard to live with and they left her.
(She could not divorce them, not allowed)
We don’t know why or how it happened
but she went through heart break five times.
and now she is likely dependent on someone else for subsistence.
So she traveled to the well alone.
More out of place…
Jesus knew all this about her before she told him.
He told her he was the Messiah.
He told her the promises made to the Jews were also for her,
a Samaritan.
Out of place, conflict, obstacle.
What transpires between these two is nothing short of miraculous.
These strangers, these enemies—
Two people whose worlds would ordinarily never connect—
discover at the well that they need each other.
Indeed, this is a story worth telling
even the woman can't keep it to herself
her faith is reformed
her life is changed
her self-esteem is altered
her understanding of God is transformed
and she couldn't keep this story to herself
she told the story of Jesus all over town.
The man who told her everything she ever did
AND LOVED HER ANYWAY…saved her.
She came to the well to get water, but she met Jesus.
She leaves her jar – a symbol her old life- a piece of her past, a reminder of her difficulties.
She leaves it behind to go tell others everything has changed.
It's a story worth telling. And it is a story we all tell in one way or another when we share the power of Jesus in our own lives.
Your story and mine many look and sound nothing at all like this woman.
Except that Jesus meets us, in the middle of the day or in the middle of the night,
or 3:00 at Starbucks.
Or maybe it is when we find ourselves outcast
or we have isolated ourselves in our misery and our grief.
Jesus meets us, and offers us gifts which do not end.
Jesus meets us, and sees us and knows us, too.
And so we tell our stories
the conflicts experienced
the obstacles overcome
whatever it was that led us to know the very same love and acceptance.
Reflect on your own journey of faith.
What obstacles did God overcome in you or in your world?
What rules did he break or what line did he cross to speak with you about your life?
In what way can you identify with the woman at the well?
What token of your difficult life would you leave behind?
Share a piece of your story with someone near you.
On another day, also about noon,
Jesus’ story will again include conflict and obstacles.
He will once more confess his thirst.
On that day, only vinegar will be offered—in mockery.
The gift of his living water will not be apparent
to the one holding that sour sponge
or the one pounding the nails into his cross.
But today, when Jesus and the Samaritan woman meet,
they conspire to bring life out of death.
The water they offer each other,
water that quenches the thirst of body and soul,
holds the gift of life for all,
the gift of life for you.
Run to the village and tell your story.
Thanks be to God.