Skip to main content

54. HER?


Isaiah 55:1-5, John 4:1-30
Key verse: "Come see a man who told me everything I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"
John 4:29

He knew it all, and yet He talked with her.  He knew of her reputation, yet He asked her to serve Him.  He knew of her marriages, the adultery.  He knew that her, being seen with yet another man, and that one a Jew, might start the tongues of gossip wagging anew with fresh tidbits of delight.  Isn't that why she was at the well in the middle of the day in the first place, instead the usual morning time, to avoid such chatter?  Yet, He pursued her, the half breed Samaritan woman, because He knew that she needed what He had to offer and He loved her and had come for even the likes of "HER!". 

He was not concerned about His reputation if He were seen with her.  He wasn't impressed with the foolish divisions that humanity is so good at creating.  He had created her and He loved her, and now He was calling out to her soul. 

"Indeed, the water I give will become, in you, a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (4:14B)
At first, the woman was practical.  Could it be true that she might never have to come to this well again and face the people of the village?  Then, Jesus addresses the source of her shame, not to condemn her, but to let her know that He knows and He understands. 

Next, this woman is concerned about barriers.  Jews considered Samaritans to be only half Jewish and the other half was Gentile.  This came from the fall of the ten northern tribes of Israel seven centuries earlier, into Assyrian hands, because these tribes had wandered away from worship of the one true God. 

Jesus assures her, however, that the time has come for barriers to be removed.  The barriers will come down as people learn to worship God the way He was meant to be worshiped.  "God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (4:24) There are no divisions in the Holy Spirit.  As we will see in later events, Jesus believed that the Jews had much to learn about worship as well.  They weren't right either. 

"Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.  Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live." (Isaiah 55:2B-3A) As we worship, and our souls are nourished by Him, our petty differences fall away, and, like the woman at the well, we can be satisfied.  For He knows us all, for He has created us, yet He loves us and cares for our souls.  This woman found an openness and acceptance from Jesus that she may have never known before, not even from her own towns people.  He was not put off by her sin.  That doesn't mean that He approved of her lifestyle or ignored it.  He demonstrated to her that He was very aware of who she was and how she was living, but just by acknowledging her, talking with her and even requesting some water from her, He also demonstrated that she had worth in His eyes.  By doing so, she was ready and willing to listen to Him. 

Prayer: Lord, may I be of Your Mind toward the outcasts in my life. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Hymn: "Fill My Cup Lord"
& "All Who Are Thirsty" by Kutless

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Faithful Through the Ages

Luke 2:22-38 Listen Link:  http://www.firstcovenantcadillac.org/#!this-weeks-sermon/c20mw Forgive the buzz on this one. I had a cold and my voice was way down. One of the odd little quirky things that Kathy and I like to do from time to time is walk through old cemeteries and read the tombstones. Sometimes there are interesting little tidbits of information or a verse of Scripture that give a hint to what kind of person lies beneath our feet. Often, however, there is just the name, the date born and the date of death with just a dash between. The dash represents the whole life lived between the two dates, so it would contain most of the interesting information, but it is hidden from us. All we can do is pick up little clues that can be gleaned from the names, dates and from the other tombstones around the one we are looking at. If there are a cluster of stones all containing the same last name, then we may be able to figure out the family relationships; who was the parent, wh
Post a Comment
Read more

August 28 A Non-anxious Presence

The purposes of the heart are deep waters, but a person with understanding can draw them out. ~Proverbs 20:5   How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with You. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. ~Psalm 139:18 & 23-24  People take time. In chaplaincy work, when so often, the person before me is facing a crisis, and or a difficult decision, it is common for me to practice the art of being a non-anxious presence for them. This simply means being present just for them. I’m not distracted by phone calls or texts or paperwork or my to do list or my next appointment.  Time is suspended for the moment while I just sit with them; available to pray, if that’s what they want; available to talk, available to be what they need from another human being while I
Post a Comment
Read more

312. Burial Plot!

Matthew 27:62-66 Key Verse: So, they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard." Matthew 27:66 "The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming." Psalm 37:12-13 You have to wonder if, by now, Pilate is beginning to question the sanity of the Jewish leaders themselves. It wasn't enough that they were jealous of this quiet dreamer, Jesus, now they were afraid of His disciples. From Pilate's perspective, this last must have been almost ludicrous.  After all, only one of Jesus' followers had stuck around for the trials and crucifixion. For the most part, as soon as Jesus had been taken, they had all scattered and were probably in hiding. The idea of this rag tag group of unlearned fishermen sticking their necks out now to steal a body and then start a rumor that no one would believe anyway, was ridiculous.
Post a Comment
Read more