Rev. Deacon Allen Batchelder

Trinity Church
Waltham, Massachusetts
March 23, 2014, Lent III

Exodus 17:-1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42

From the Book of Exodus:
Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it that the people may drink.”

From the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans:
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

And from the Gospel of St. John:
Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Let us pray:
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O God, our Rock and our Redeemer, our Strength and our Salvation.
Amen!

I am sure that all of us know the story told in our Gospel reading this morning. We have the Samaritan woman who gradually comes to belief in Jesus. She then spreads the word and many of her townsfolk come to Jesus because of her testimony. I suppose I could just sit down at this point, but I’m not going to let you off that easy.

The key to understanding the Book of John is to realize it is written on two levels simultaneously. Level one, is the level of facts, the natural, physical level. Level two, is the level of interpretation, the supernatural level, open only to believers. “Natural” man interprets reality, but not from and by the light of eternity.

This story is the drama of a person struggling to rise from the “things,” of this world to belief in Jesus. The story is meant to apply to everyone since all must come to recognize who it is who speaks when Jesus speaks through the details of our lives, that is, to recognize the divine voice within the human voices and ask for what we need, ask for what is called in the story ‘living water.”
As water is essential for life on the natural level, living water is essential for supernatural life. The story goes on to show how the woman’s receiving the living water benefited not only her but broadens to benefit, by her witness, an entire town, by her, beginning the same process in each of her neighbors.

Samaria was a region between Galilee and Judea. Before the Assyrians conquered the area in 722BC, these folks were Jewish, but the Assyrians mixed the population with foreign colonists that is, five different races, who subsequently intermarried with Jews. Henceforth, they were considered by “pure bloods,” to be only “half Jews,” thus not real Jews at all. That was problem one.

Problem two developed in the fifth century BC when the returned-from-exile Jews were trying to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem and the Samaritans gave them a hard time.

Problem three was the straw that broke the camel’s back. At the time of the Maccabean revolt in the second century BC, when the Jews rose up against the tyranny of Syria, the Samaritans sided with Syria. The rebel leader, John Hyrcanus, destroyed Schechem, the capital of Samaria, and their Temple on Mt. Gerizim which was built to rival the Jerusalem Temple, in retaliation for their treachery. There was so much bad blood between Samaritans and Jews that Jews would not pass through their country. They would go miles out of their way rather than be caught dead in Samaria. No self-respecting Jew would even talk to a Samaritan.

So Jesus and His disciples had left Judea on their way to Galilee. They decided to pass through Samaria. Jesus was weary, hungry, and thirsty so He stopped at Jacob’s well to rest while the disciples continued into town to buy food. At about 6 o’clock in the evening, a Samaritan woman came by to draw some water from the well. Jesus asked the woman for a drink. Now, this Samaritan woman thought it odd for a Jewish man to be talking to her, let alone, asking her for a drink of water. In fact, she told Jesus as much. Jesus responded, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

The woman does not know who Jesus is, but she is interested enough, Jesus has gotten her attention and piqued her curiosity – enough that she stays with him. She points out that Jesus does not have a bucket to give her water; she is dealing with only the physical natural water. This well was sacred to her, besides having the best water in town. For Jesus to be offering something better was hard to believe. Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.” The water that Jesus was offering was inexhaustible, no bucket needed, leading to eternal life.

So the woman says to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” It was this woman’s job to fetch the water. She could physically benefit from not having to do this chore. She was still on the human level, but getting closer to the spiritual level. However, even though this is a gift from God, it requires a change of life.

Next Jesus tells her to bring her husband. Now at first, one might think this is to bring others to Christ, but that’s not what’s happening here. He is pointing out that she has had five “husbands,” men whom she has lived with. He is bringing up her sins, her past, and gently informing her that she will have to change her lifestyle. First, she must resolve on her own to change, then the drinking of the living water will see to it, that she does. She must decide. Then, God will provide. That is the process.

Because of Jesus’ insight into her past, she figures that he must, at least, be a prophet; a spokesperson for God himself, giving the divine interpretation to her situation. However, she’s still does not know who Jesus is. The woman has deepened in her insight into who is addressing her. Already the “reward,” is emerging. She “sees,” with a different set of eyes than the physical. She is in the process of conversion.

She erroneously thinks that Jesus expects her to become a Jew and worship in Jerusalem the place and manner of worship being a major disagreement between Samaritans and Jews. The Samaritans’ “Messiah,” would be only a great teacher who would interpret for them what God wants, not a king like the Jews thought, and certainly, not a Suffering Servant or Lamb of God, like Isaiah taught. Well, it appears that she is willing to become a Jew and believe what the Jews believe, but Jesus, in the next exchange, will take her even further.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit; and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Thus the conversion shifts from talk about the physical place of worship to the manner, spirit, of worship. Neither the Temple of the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim nor the Temple of the Jews on Mt. Zion matter when it comes to true, spiritual worship. The Samaritan Temple has already been destroyed and the Jerusalem Temple’s destruction is soon to follow.

Even though the Jews for the most part ignored the prophecies of Isaiah, especially those concerning the Suffering Servant, the revelation was there. The Samaritans had a very meager notion of the Messiah or their equivalent of Messiah in their belief in the return of a Prophet-like-Moses. The incarnation could only take place and be understood in a Jewish setting, even if it transcends it. God’s promises were given to the Jews and through the Jews to the rest of the world.

The Father can only be worshiped as “Father,” through the Son and by those who have his “Spirit,” given at Baptism. Spirit and Truth spell out the meaning of “living water,” the Son’s revelation of the Father enlivened, made present and interpreted by the Spirit. Jesus then reveals to her that He is the Messiah!

At this point the disciples return and the woman takes leave of them and travels into town and witnesses to the townsfolk of Jesus. The process of conversion, repentance, change of heart, begins with believing someone’s testimony about what happened to him or her, testimony or witness about Christ. Then, the truth is confirmed in the believer’s own personal experience. Hearing about Jesus caused the townsfolk to go to Jesus and hear for themselves and come to know Jesus personally.

This process can happen in an instant or take a while, but faith from beginning to end and cannot be easily delineated. It is one and the same Lord throughout the process. The difference is on the human awareness side, not the Lord’s presence side. Jesus was using the woman as an example for the observing disciples as to how they are to approach their ministry. Their missionary work is not over until people reach personal faith in the Lord, and come to know the Lord and not simply about the Lord. Testimony and teaching only begin the process. All must grow, gradually, into an awareness of who Jesus is, the Savior of the world.

Only a Christian, one who has experienced “grace,” that is, experienced Jesus himself, would believe this outrageous story! A Samaritan woman, who had lived with five men off and on, no saint by anyone’s definition, who had a conversation with a Jew, an intruder into her neighborhood and, more, into her life, and she went and told people who knew her and would not be inclined to listen to her about the conversation and they not only believed her but changed their own lives as well. Now, that is GRACE!

Our experience in and of this world teaches us that things do not work this way. There is no earthly explanation for it, only acceptance of it. If something like what happened to the woman did not also happen to us this story would be classified as a “fairy tale.” But, it is true, true whether it happened just the way it is told or never really happened at all.

The process, the general steps describe every experience of conversion. Like the woman we are all called, addressed by the Lord, in the context of carrying out our daily duties, chores, tasks. The woman went to fetch water and came away with the water of life, “living water.” All she had to do is not run away, but stay there and listen. Listening to Jesus, the voice from the other side, from eternity, and caused her not merely to see herself as she really was, but to accept herself as she was accepted.

Jesus did not shame her with the truth about herself, saying, “You have had five husbands,” but none really.” He simply stated the facts non-judgmentally. In hearing her life read back to her by someone who accepted her, after all, she was both a woman and a Samaritan, yet this Jew treated her like a person, she could finally accept herself, ever while disapproving of her own behavior.

She could admit doing wrong and not be rejected. Because of that simple fact, that outrageous, unexpected, undeserved acceptance, she could change and be changed. Gradually, as she listened more, she deepened in her awareness of who was talking to her with such acceptance and love. His qualities were getting into her. Now, she could do the same thing and could say to people, “He told me everything I have done.”
And he still loved her. Could it be that there is a real person, just one, in this whole world who could accept a person, even while not approving of that person’s behavior? Yes, we can believe that. So, the townsfolk believed her, an act of grace itself! Then they went to see for themselves. They not only saw, they experienced the very same grace.

The Christian church works like this story. First, a person is changed by an encounter with Jesus, grace. Then that person tells the story, spreads the word, witnesses; testifies to that truth, not an abstract truth but a real event. Then, others, not all, believe the story; believe on the word of the teller. Then, they experience the same truth-event in their own lives and come to know on their own experience who did it, who continues to do it, Jesus, the one who does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, who saves us from ourselves, our shame, our past.

The missionary work of the church is not completed until people reach personal faith in the Lord. There are stages to faith. It may take only a matter of minutes or take months or years. Christians grow ever sharper in their ability to perceive the divine meaning and dimension in the human, earthbound events, things and people they encounter in the daily living of their lives. It starts and ends with listening to Jesus, speaking to and through every moment, every experience. The Lord speaks to us in our “language,” all the while teaching us his language, a language that gives the true meaning to all things, people and events.

Conversion is a process, never-ending, of rooting deeper and deeper in the “soil” of God’s kingdom. Baptism is a process whereby one’s “roots” are constantly watered in order to grow and flourish. The “water,” grace, of Baptism cannot be contained within a well or a bucket, but needs to be shared with others through preaching, telling the story, and changing one’s life.

Everyone knows that water is essential for life. It also has other uses like cleansing, mixing with other things to liquefy them or dilute them, even for recreation. However, its essential use is for quenching thirst and sustaining life. It is not surprising that Jesus would use water as a metaphor for the life he offers us. Besides washing away our sins once and for all, the waters of Baptism cleanse our spiritual ears, preventing wax buildup and making us hard of hearing God’s word.

It’s very easy for us to concentrate on our earthly needs: air, water, light and food. To concentrate not only on our needs but also on our family’s needs. Some of these needs we take for granted; some we work hard and struggle to obtain. May God have patience with us, as we come to realize what is really important and receive His Living Water of eternal life!

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, pour out on us your living water. Have patience with us, as we struggle to understand your Word and your will. Help us to minimize the material things of this world and by faith, maximize on the spiritual. May the only thirst we have, be for You. We thank you and praise you, God, for all you have done for us. Embolden us with excitement and desire to be a witness for you. For you are the Way, the Truth, and the Light. Because of your sacrifice on the cross; grace freely given; you have given us a spring of living water welling up to eternal life. We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

Amen. †