"Meeting Jesus"
by The Rev. Mrs. Laura Stellmon
July 30, 2006

The Old Testament Lesson: Exodus 17: 1 - 7
The New Testament Lesson: John 4: 5 - 30, 39 - 42

          What a strange conversation Jesus had with a woman at the well outside her city.  She met Jesus right in the middle of her daily chores—which were not always the easiest nor most pleasant of tasks.  Every day she carried a heavy jug down to the well, filled it with water, and carried it all the way home again.  Actually, she probably did this several times each day!!  The well, you see, was the only source of water, and there always seemed to be clothing to be washed, food to be prepared, and faces and feet which needed scrubbing.  It was in the midst of this very routine water-gathering task that Jesus confronted her with a demand.  “Give me a drink.”

          You see, the well was deep, and there was no bucket and rope.  It was the custom of these villages that everyone brought their own jug, and their own rope with which to lower the vessel deep into the well.  Evidently Jesus had neither a jug nor a rope, so he couldn’t get a drink for himself.

          The woman had these tools which Jesus lacked, so Jesus asked her to draw up a little water for him.  It was a simple request, but the poor woman didn’t quite know what to make of it.  Maybe she was tired and didn’t feel like drawing up water for another man who was perfectly capable himself, but considered this to be woman’s work.  Perhaps the bread was about to be finished in her brick oven at home, and she didn’t want to spend the extra time and risk burning it.  Perhaps she was just taken aback by this rather forward request from a man who was obviously not a part of her people.  Perhaps she distrusted Jesus—perhaps she questioned his intentions.

          Whatever the reason, she makes an excuse by calling upon the centuries-old mutual dislike between Samaritans and Jews,  “How is it” she said, “that you, a JEW, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?!”

          It was a retreat into bigotry and prejudice, and it is one of the oldest dodges in the history of humankind.  People use it to avoid the sometimes painful encounter of individual personalities.  It is often a way to avoid offering the common courtesies of life without feeling guilty about it.  It is also a way of drawing attention away from the state of one’s soul to the academic sterility of generalizations.

          Jesus ignored the question.  He brought the question back to the real issue—the spiritual status of the woman.  “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 proper response to the demands that Christ makes upon us is to recognize our deficiencies and ask for his grace.  But this poor woman was unable to see that Jesus was talking about something far more important than her daily water hauling chore.   He explained that what he meant went beyond the material desires of the moment, but the woman was not able to see beyond the material desires of the moment.  All she could see in the Lord’s magnificent offer was a chance to be relieved of a bothersome duty.  “Sir,” she said, “Give me this water that I may not thirst,  nor come here to draw.” –At least now she began to address him with an appropriate label of respect.  Now she has begun to call him “sir” instead of “Jew.”

          Though the story of this woman is centuries old, she presents a portrait very similar to any one of us sitting in the pew this morning.  Most Americans, I dare guess, are accustomed to thinking of blessings which come our way as MATERIAL blessings.  This woman was so wrapped up in herself and her chores that she simply could not see beyond them to matters of deep spiritual importance.  The only kind of salvation she was looking for was salvation from her daily tasks.

          So Jesus takes a direct approach with her… “Go call your husband.”   “I have no husband,” she says.  “You are right in saying you have no husband, for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband,” Replies Jesus.

          Jesus has drawn the woman into conversation, and called her attention to her own spiritual condition, and what her real needs are.  This woman did not need to be relieved of her daily water-drawing chore nearly so much as she needed the ability to sustain a meaningful and long-standing relationship with another person.  Jesus had recognized her losses, and also pointed out to her that with God’s help she could work out her difficulties.

          Nobody likes that.  Nobody likes criticism.  Nobody likes to admit that there is anything wrong with themselves.  We all try to bury our sin and deficiencies deeply in our minds, and when we are suddenly confronted with the reality and extent of them, we will do almost anything to avoid facing up to them.  So it was with this woman.  She took refuge in the niceties of institutional religion.  “Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, and you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

          The rivalry between Jews and Samaritans was many generations old.  The Samaritans claimed that the temple of worship should be in “their territory”, Mount Gerazim.  And, of course, the Jews would settle for no other place than Mount Zion in Jerusalem.  It was a favorite debate topic among scholars in Jesus’ day.

          Jesus was not about to be led aside by that issue, however.  He brushed that question aside by asserting that every individual soul needs to relate to God in a genuine and significant way, and that kind of true worship can take place anywhere.  “God is spirit” he said, “and those who worship God must worship in spirit and truth.”

          Perhaps wanting to have the last word in the discussion, the woman asserts, “When the Messiah comes, he will show us all things.”  In other words, we can’t settle this matter now.  God will take care of everything at some point in the future.  Perhaps the woman was trying to say, “Leave me alone, Jew, and let me carry on with my business.”

          The woman appears to consider that the conversation is over.  She had somewhat tactfully said, “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”  But Jesus was not finished yet.  Just as I would imagine the woman is getting ready to turn on her heel and return home with her jug of water—conversations with Jews did not require the politeness of saying “goodbye”----Jesus looked her in the eye and said, “I who speak to you am he.”

          Here at last is the moment we’ve all been waiting for—the moment of truth, the moment of revelation, and in the split-second it takes to blink our eyes, the moment is gone.  The disciples have returned and interrupted the conversation, “Jesus, what on earth were you doing talking to that Samaritan woman?!!”

          How typical of Jesus disciples in every age.  Too often we talk when we should be silent.  Scripture tells us that the woman left her jug at the well and RAN back to the city to tell everyone what had happened.  Obviously she talked at an APPROPRIATE time, because the story continues on to say that “Many Samaritans from that city believed because of the woman’s testimony.”

          But today it doesn’t matter nearly so much to us what the woman’s decision was.  The important thing for us today is what will our decision be---what do we believe about this Jesus—is he the Messiah or not—and who will we choose to tell about him?  Or will we remain silent?  Almost anyone who is willing to look can see himself or herself represented in the Samaritan woman.  Her attitudes are our attitudes.  Her feelings are our feelings.  Her responses are our responses.

          Christ confronts us every day, as we go about our tasks, with a multitude of simple demands.  We do not always recognize him because we are not looking for him while we drive to work, or when we file a report, or when we wash the dishes or push a cart down the supermarket aisle.  Yet, if we listen carefully in such moments, we can sometimes hear the demands Jesus is making upon us.  If we recognize who it is that is making those demands, we will ask him, and he will give us grace to do his will.  We will acknowledge our true condition and our need for repentance.  We will ask him for that living water which brings salvation.

          God does not wait for worshippers to come to him.  God comes looking for us.  Verse 23 says, “these true worshippers the Father SEEKS to worship him.”  We can take refuge, if we choose, in bigotry or institutional religion, or in self pity; but ultimately we cannot avoid the decision of what we are going to do about our lives, and especially about our relationship with the one who offers us living water, and life eternal.   Amen.