 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
February 27, 2005 John 4: 5-42 Why did Jesus go through Samaria? Jews traveling between Judea and Galilee either had to go through Samaria or around it. Since many Jews chose to go around, clearly Jesus route was based on theological imperative rather than a geographical necessity. In the context of the gospel, he went through Samaria to have this encounter. Was it important that he arrived “about noon”. This was an extremely important piece of information. Literally, the 6th hour, noon was a most unusual time for doing such chores as fetching water. Clearly, she came at this hour to avoid the other women of the village. This woman was an outcast in her village. Who were the Samaritans and why did the Jews hate them? The Samaritans were descended from the remnant of those not taken into exile when the northern kingdom Israel fell to Assyria in 722BCE. Other foreigners were sent in by their Assyrian conquerors to repopulate the area. After that, Samaritans were considered a “mixed race” by the Jews. What is this conflict about proper place to worship? The Samaritans refused to worship at Jerusalem as prescribed in the book of Deuteronomy. That book, believed to have been written by Jewish Temple priests, shifted the locus of worship from the many shrines in the north to the one Temple in Jerusalem. The conflict was exacerbated by a series of events. The Samaritans resisted the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Jews returned following their own Babylonian exile. Two centuries later, the Samaritans aided Syria in their war against the Jews. The Jewish high priest had the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim burned in 128BCE. By interpretation of the Jewish Law, the Samaritans were considered ritually unclean. There could be no shared eating or drinking utensils between Jews and Samaritans and any kind of contact was highly suspect. What dynamic was taking place being Jesus and the woman? The Greek word Gk. kyrie means both “sir” & “Lord”. The woman uses this terms three times, in verses 11, 15, and 19. The first time, she means “sir” as a general title for a man. By the third time, she clearly means “Lord”. Her use is increasingly reverential. Where does phrase “living water” come from? This word actually has a double meaning. Jesus talks about “water of life” and refers to the Spirit. The woman hears “flowing” as opposed to “standing” water, as from a cistern or well. The phrase “fountain of water leaping up unto eternal life” is an excellent translation and calls to mind a Palestinian addendum to Genesis 28: 10. According to this, when Jacob lifted the stone of the well of Haran, it overflowed with water for 20 years. What did this story mean? Jesus implies that Jacob’s well, that was originally more of a fountain, is now seen as a cistern. This is in contrast to the living water offered by Jesus that is truly a fountain! Is it significant that the woman was marriage five time? Jewish law allowed up to three marriages. Five was really immoral! There is no doubt about that. What about the woman’s assertion of the Messiah and Jesus acceptance of that role? The Samaritans did not expect a Davidic Messiah who would restore the kingdom of David to Israel. They expected a teaching Messiah who reveals truth. Their Messiah had no royal or nationalistic overtones. Jesus consistently refuses to accept the title Messiah from the Jews, yet he accepts it from this immoral Samaritan woman. What was the woman’s problem? Well, she had to go to the well at noon. She was estranged from her village. The consequence of being shamed is a concept that is hard for us to grasp today. The well was an image of her life -- not flowing, perhaps running dry. She had no hope beyond that of a future Messiah clarifying all things. What was Jesus offering her? He brought a sign of God’s presence and gave her a reason to hope. The result of his presence with her was a reconnection to her community and perhaps a way out of her dilemma. What would that mean for her? It might have meant a change in her circumstance? In that culture, however, it probably did not. It might have brought about a change in her attitude? If so, we have to wonder what good that would do her. Probably the most important “gift” Jesus brought to her, and to us, was a change in the locus of her faith. She was given freedom from the false dichotomy of Jewish truth vs. Samaritan truth. She was given a new perspective on life and the ability to trust radically -- fidelity to the true God. Where is the meaning in this story for us? Let me offer two approaches to finding this meaning. First, I offer my explanation. Then, I invite you to offer yours. In Jesus, as a. reflected by the New Testament, we can perceive the clearest sense of the nature and purpose of God, the Eternal dimension of life, and of God’s creation that is available in a human life. Through the Spirit, the Holy Spirit or the Christ presence, we can experience the true presence of God in each other, in the world, and within ourselves. Together, Christian scripture and our personal and communal experience of the Spirit lead us to a clear sense of the divine nature and purpose through our very human lives. Our task is to take this experience, understanding, and discovery and act on our discernment in cooperation with the divine presence and purpose during our lives. This process is true for us as individuals, as a congregation, and as a human race. This truth applies to our work and our play in conjunction with strangers, family members, church, and our inner life. Rowan Williams (Open to Judgment) writes: Vocation has to do with saving your soul – not by acquiring a secure position of holiness, but by learning to shed the unreality which simply suffocates the very life of the soul…. Vocation is, you could say, what’s left when all the games have stopped.
What meaning do you find in this living parable? The invitation of parables is to find yourself in them. By so doing, you find their truth, their meaning, as it affects your life. The invitation of this parable seems clear: to find the Samaritan woman in yourself and to find yourself in her story. I encourage to pause now in this reading and consider what this story means for you. If an immoral Samaritan woman is embraced by Jesus, is there anyone outside of God’s embrace? Can you name anyone outside God’s embrace? If you answer “yes,” then what is the implication for you and the way you live your life? If you answer “no,” then what is the implication? As a church, Crossroads has repeatedly answered this question “yes”. What does this answer imply concerning our ministry and its direction? Do you struggle with the need to be good enough to deserve to be loved? Many of us do. In what ways is your life more like a cistern than a flowing stream? In what ways do you feel that you’re running dry? Is the idea of having an overflowing inner fountain of Spirit exciting to you? What is it worth to you to have a vital and abundant life? Elizabeth O’Connor (Cry Pain, Cry Hope) understood and experienced abundant life: I have caught a vision of Christ’s new earth and have come to understand that it is every person’s vocation to create that earth. We are to cast out demons, be healers, artists, musicians, the builders of caring institutions. Creativity is not the work of a few. We each carry within us the image of God the Creator. We each have the task of making the earth into a fairer, kinder place. The first step is imaging a better world, and that is most apt to happen when we suffer or look on suffering. The difficulty is that we do not take the next step of creating the world we envision. We lack the courage or somehow feel that this is someone else’s responsibility rather than the work of the one who sees and images something different and higher. We are not powerless in the oppressive situations in which we feel caught. We are not bound to the reality we see. We are creators. We can make the new.”
This is why we are here, here in this life, and here as part of church. This is why we exist as church, to shape the questions that free us to live into the answers, and to share that living. We are here to tell and show people what we are learning. We are here to experience in our own life together, the developing promise of creation, as the new emerges in us. I pray this will continue to be the vision of Crossroads Church for years to come. Because God pastors us our deepest needs are met She gives us rest in the green pastures of Her Word. He leads us beside the still waters of prayerful silence Life itself restores us body and soul The Holy leads us in the paths of wholeness Even when we walk in the shadow of death we need fear no evil, for the Spirit is with us to uphold and guide us Ultimate truth sets Her table before us in the presence of evil The Eternal anoints us with blessing Our cup of joy overflows! We know that God’s goodness and mercy will follow us as long as we live And that we dwell forever in the home of God’s loving presence (The 23rd psalm adapted)
|
Home | The Journey | The Arts | Community | Children and Youth | Worship
|
