March 12, 2023: May God’s words be spoken, may God’s words be heard. Amen.
One thing we can say after last week and today – the authors of this forth gospel are not lost for words. The narratives are long discourses that make the stories in the synoptics of Mark, Matthew, and Luke look like Tweets compared to the mini-series we get in John.
So, let’s just recap, but before we do, let’s also set the scene. Now, you’all know I love Hallmark movies, particularly the Christmas ones. And as you likely know, Hallmark movies pretty much go along the same plot line – you know, where maybe a big town CEO travels back to her small hometown, meets a handsome guy, falls in love, and decides to stay to pursue her lifelong dream of being a shop owner. Not a Hallmark fan? Well, the same is true of everything in Hollywood – boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back for the Rom Com set. Or in Westerns, we all know that when the Sheriff and the gun slinger meet in the street – they aren’t there to kiss and make up. A gun fight is gonna happen, and the good guy always wins.
Well, that’s what is happening here in this story too. No, not a gun fight, but more like a Hallmark movie. The thing is, we are so very far removed from the experience of those who first heard our scriptural stories that we forget what it was like for them to listen or read it themselves.
So first, this meeting of Jesus and the woman at the well is what is called a “type scene” – the original listeners or readers were being set up to expect something. Those who heard it told in the first century would have looked at this like we do when a man and woman meet in a romantic movie. They would have thought that – man in foreign country encounters woman at a well… they will get married and have many children. Why? See, this scene had happened before in sacred scripture – something these first listeners would have known.
Just to name a few: Moses goes to a foreign land and meets Zipporah at a well, Jacob goes to a foreign land and meets Rachel at a well, and Isaac sends his servant to his hometown to find him a wife from his people, and where does the servant encounter the potential mate? You guessed it – at a well. So what do you think listeners were expecting something when Jesus goes to this well in a foreign country and meets a woman there? Knowing the context is really important, right?
But there is one more thing we need to know, and we didn’t even hear it this week. The verse just before what we heard today says that Jesus “ …left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria.” Sounds okay – we all have to go through other places to get to where we want to end up, right?
Here’s the thing though – that wasn’t true. Sure, it is a more direct path to take from Jerusalem to Galilee, but any Jew would never have taken it. The hatred between these two peoples was renown, so they would gone by a more circuitous route to avoid traveling through Samaria. Why then did Jesus have to go this way, as the text says? Good question. To answer it, let’s remember how we left off last week, or in scriptural terms – a few verses before this story – where we are told that “God so loved the world…” As one commentator noted “Jesus is saying to his disciples, “You want to know what the world looks like? Well, I’ll show you – we’re going to Samaria.”[1]
This was a theological, not a geographical, necessity. Jesus goes to Samaria and speaks with this woman to make it clear that God loves all the world, not just the part of it we live in ourselves, or the people we happen to like. Not only that, but when invited to stay…he does! For two whole days with these folks. Lordy, the disciples and those first hearing this story where probably rocked back on their heels like someone watching an action packed adventure movie just at that suspenseful climatic reveal that, you know, Darth Vardar is actually Luke’s dad – something like that.
So, with all that in mind, let’s go back to the dialog we heard, and try to imagine what it was like to hear this story in that context. First…let’s give this woman a name. I always like to call her Sophia, because she is full of wisdom. So, here we go – and of course, I will paraphrase a bit, as you know I do:
Jesus is tired as he travels through Samaria and goes to sit by a well, the infamous well of Jacob no less, for a bit of rest (his disciples had gone to the local Stop & Shop in town for some food). Just then, a woman comes to draw water from the well. Jesus says to her “Give me a drink” (let’s just add a “please” in there – I mean really, you may be the savior of the world, but still let’s be polite). So “Give me a drink, please.” Sophia says “Are you talkin’ to me? You do know I am a Samaritan, right? What on earth are you doing here? Don’t you want to run off so you don’t get cooties or something?” Jesus smiled and said “Now, you might think this is funny, but if you knew who I really am, you would be asking me for a drink.” Sophia looks him up and down thinking the hot sun got to this guy…“Say what? I’m the one with a jar, how possibly are you going to draw water from that deep well without one?” Jesus answered “If you drink water from this well, you will have your thirst quenched…for awhile, but then you will be thirsty again, right?” “Yeah, okay, go on…” “But the water I give quenches for all time the thirst you have, because once you drink of this water, you yourself become a well that springs forth water for all time.” Sophia thinks for a moment and says “Sir, give me a drink of your water.”
Now, this is where it takes an interesting turn. See, Jesus says “Go get your husband and come back.” But Sophia says “I don’t have a husband.” This is when Jesus affirms her, “What you have said is true – you’ve had five, but the man you have now isn’t your husband.” And here is where the misogyny of the world interjects meaning where it should not be.
So, before we continue, let’s just set the record straight. First, it may not really be about men at all, for that matter, this woman might also not have existed – all of them may be a metaphor for nations or the gods the Samaritans worshipped. As some scholars point out, it is possible this was a theological metaphor for the alliances of Samaria with surrounding nations, or of the people with other faith traditions. But even if these were actual people, none of it seems to matter to Jesus – he doesn’t care about any of that, because in that day there were many reasons this might be so – none of which would reflect poorly on the woman, especially given that women did not have full agency over their lives when it came to marriage. So, now that we cleared up the sexism of past church interpretation, let’s get back to the dialog.
“Sir,” she says to Jesus, “I see that you are a prophet, so let me ask you a question. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain – I mean, we are standing at Jacob’s well – a place that is sacred to Samaritans and to your people, the Jews. Why is it then that they abandon this place, and say that everybody has to worship in Jerusalem? What’s up with that?” Jesus replies “There is going to be a time when none of that matters, because what is important is not where you worship, but that you worship in spirit and truth – that your worship is genuine.” Sophia says “I know that there is one who is coming, the Christ, that will proclaim truth to us…are you…” “I am”
Now, let’s stop right there. He just uttered the words “I am.” I know the text we read in church has Jesus saying “I am he,” but that “he” is added by later translations into English to complete the grammatical sentence. The Greek is ἐγώ εἰμι – period. Jesus just used the divine name given to Moses – that he is “I AM.” Only God would say this.
And after hearing this amazing pronouncement by Jesus, Sophia leaves her water jar at the well and runs to tell the people in town everything, inviting them to go see for themselves. They do, and invite Jesus to stay with them, and get this…he does! He stays with them, or really, the Greek is even better – it is μένω, or abide. Jesus abides with these Samaritans.
So, now that we have heard it all again, with our understanding of the context, it is clear that this back and forth of Jesus and Sophia is a powerful theological dialog. But what is it saying to us now?
First and foremost is that God really does love the world – the entire world – not just our little corner of it. Jesus goes to Sychar, to a Samaritan woman – an outsider on two counts – because Jesus came into the world for everyone. Hate some group of people – guess what…God loves them. God goes to them. God abides with them.
And part of how we love others is doing as Jesus and Sophia, did – listen, really listen – deeply and without judgement. This was a dialog between a Jew and a Samaritan, a man and a woman. When she asks questions, he doesn’t respond with indignation, condemnation, anger, or impatience. It is easy for us to bypass the significance of this, but let’s reframe it so we don’t miss the heart of what is happening. We don’t have to even leave our country to do it.
From school boards to libraries, city hall to congressional office buildings, across social media platforms of all kinds, shouting and condemning one another has become the norm. Hate speech is now righteous in some minds because “they deserve it” – and “they” being any group we believe, rightly or wrongly, has harmed us – MAGA, Woke, TERF, Trans, Nazi, Socialist, Union, Management, Drag, immigrants, Jews, Muslims…Good Lord, the list of who many hate sadly goes on and on and on.
So, let’s be absolutely clear about it – hating anyone is never okay – and we must not be a part of it, and call it out where ever it may manifest in the world.
Violence against another person – no matter what they believe, how they vote, who they love, what language they speak, what color is their skin, no matter if they are male or female, rich or poor, and any other way we divide ourselves from one another, is unacceptable. God loves them, and so must we. Love does no harm to another – in word or in deed. Because even if hate is in the heart of those who stand opposite wherever we are, then we know by our faith that the only way to overcome that is not by hate, but by love. That is the power of the cross and empty tomb – light overcomes darkness, life overcomes death, love overcomes hate.
That is what Jesus is making clear in going to this place and having this conversation. And just as shocking as that was to those who witnessed it in his time, our life in Christ, loving as he loved, loving all the world – that is just as counter-cultural now. And, it doesn’t take much to know that anything that goes against the grain – that seeks peace amidst war, or love in the face of hate – well, that is going to not only be exhausting, but sometimes even dangerous. Jesus went to that well, it says, because even he was tired, and we also know the cross that lay ahead.
How then, are we to ever be the people we are called to be?
How possibly can we love all the world as God does?
The thing is, our faith is rooted in the water of life we receive when we are baptized into Christ. And it is here, at this well of life – this altar – where we are nourished by our encounter with the real presence of Jesus who abides with us in the Eucharist. It is here where we are healed, renewed, and restored in Christ, and by our fellowship with one another too. And from here, we are given strength for the journey to love all the world as God does – unconditionally.
None of that means that our lives in Christ will be easy, but Jesus was right – it will nourish us in ways unimaginable.
And finally, there is another take away from this gospel – and it is found in what the woman does. She leaves her jar at the well to share the good news with everyone she knows, that they may come and encounter Christ too.
So, as much as we need to be like Jesus – loving all of the world – we also need to be like Sophia – inviting others to meet him too.
We aren’t meant to stay at the proverbial well, but going into our towns and cities to proclaim the good news that all may come to know the unconditional love and grace of God.
So, come to this well and encounter Christ in one another, and abide in the real presence of Him in the Eucharist.
Come to be nourished, to be healed, to be loved.
Come to worship in spirit and in truth.
And then leave your water jars at the door to proclaim the good news. To say “come and see” – inviting others here to experience the life giving grace and love of Christ for themselves.
Leave your water jars at the door and go to the places others will not travel – to the ones others despise – and love them. Love all the world.
For God seeks such as these most especially – the ones who do not know they are loved. The ones who cannot see how marvelously they are made. The ones whom we and others have cast aside.
Jesus is meeting you here today.
Listen to him as he abides with you.
Invite others here to come and see – to encounter him themselves.
Walk as Jesus did to the places others will not go, to the people others will not talk to, and love them – unconditionally.
For God so loved the world.
All the world.
And so must we.
Amen.
For the audio, click below, or subscribe to our iTunes Sermon Podcast by clicking here (also available on Audible):
[1] Karoline Lewis, Sermon Brainwave, 2023.
The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox
Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge
March 12, 2023
Lent 3
1st Reading – Exodus 17:1-7
2nd Reading – Romans 5:1-11
Gospel – John 4:5-42
