Even Me?

John 4:1-26

Do you ever wonder if God really loves you? Do you have some big mistakes or grievous sins in your past that keep nagging you with an unresolved guilt, or a fear that all your sins aren’t really forgiven? Or perhaps you are here in church trying your best to make up for past sins and still haven’t really grasped the fact that forgiveness is a gift, and justice is satisfied at the cross. It’s even possible that you don’t really believe God could or would do that for you and you are in church for religious reasons, or trying to pretend that you are better than what you know to be true inside.

Or if you don’t worry about that, do you ever wonder if you really love other people the way God wants you to? How do you respond to the guy on the corner with the cardboard sign that asks for money? Some of them even say “Will work for food.” Do you believe that? I think a lot of people just give him money anyway, because that’s easier than helping him find a job. I think some of those beggars actually count on that.

But do you wonder what would happen if you stopped to talk to one of those people and said, “I’ll pay you to come and rake my lawn, or shovel the walk.” Or do you think you already know what would happen. What does Jesus want us to do with such people? Can you think of anyone near you, a neighbor perhaps, who would find it hard to believe that you would love them? Not because they think you are an unloving person, but because they actually live in fear that no one at all would ever want to love them. Imagine the blessing you could be.

What about the woman at the well? What if she were your neighbor? Would you be the one to go with her to draw water in the afternoon, and be friends with her, even her, no matter what the other neighbors think?

In today’s encounter with Jesus, we meet him with the woman at the well. He was being the blessing she needed. That is what he was there for. He knew everything about her, and yet He talked with her anyway. 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, to avoid such chatter? Yet, He pursued her, this half breed Samaritan woman, because He knew that she needed what He had to offer and He loved her and had come to tell her so, even “HER!”

Let’s use our imaginations again today and get into the heart of this story. Listen to the woman’s thoughts. “Phew it’s hot! Oh well, I might as well get this over with. After all, I’ve been doing it this way for years. There’s no use complaining about it now. It’s just easier than putting up with the silent treatment from all those busy bodies from the village.

I used to get my water like everybody else, morning and evening. At least it’s cooler then, but well, a few bad decisions, or maybe some would say, “stupid ones,” and well, it doesn’t take much to get tongues wagging around here, that’s for sure.

“Ugh, I’ve made it! There’s the well, just up ahead. But I’ve got to put down this heavy jar for just a moment and wipe my brow and look around to make sure no one else is here. And take just a moment to rest a bit. This water jar can be so tiresome, especially in the heat of the day. I swear, if there’s one thing I wish we could do without, it’s water.

It seems like you need water for everything! Cooking, cleaning, drinking! Every day it’s the same thing, come here, fill my jar, lug it home, use it up and bring it here again the next day to just do it all over again. It has to be one of the most tedious chores there is, hauling water, and for what? If you clean with it, everything just gets dirty again. If you cook with it, you eat the food and then you get hungry again. Even if you drink it, you’ll just need more later, especially in this heat! Oh well, I’m not getting anywhere thinking about these things again and just complaining. I should just get my water and get home while the coast is clear. Here we go, just a few more steps and, oh my goodness! Who is that?

Why didn’t I see him before? Perhaps it was because he was sitting so still, he just blended in with the stillness around Him. But now, I can see by how he is dressed that he’s a Jew. What was he doing here? This is Samaritan land. Jews don’t come here. They usually walk as far around our boundaries as they possibly can. And, he’s alone! Oh great! Wouldn’t the gossips love this tasty morsel, as if I haven’t given them enough to talk about already. What should I do? Well, I need water. The gossips would just have to deal with it. Besides, I’ll just ignore him as I am supposed to, take care of business and be gone. So, I’ll just pick up my jar and here we go, down into the well with you.

Jesus said, “Excuse me, since you are about to draw water anyway, would you please give me a drink also?”

What!? Was he joking? I stared hard at Him, looking Him over carefully. No, he looked sincere, and tired. He must be pretty desperate, I thought. “You, a Jew, are asking me for water?”

“Yes, I am.” His gaze never wavered.

“Ah,” I said, “you know I’m a Samaritan, right? You’re not supposed to associate with me.

“Yes,” He responded, “I suppose that that is the custom.”

“And you want me to give you water?” Shock does not even begin to describe what I was feeling inside. Something very odd was happening here, but I couldn’t run. After all, I still needed water!

“Yes, and thank you,” He said, and that was all.

“Well, okay.” So I did it. I went right up to the well, with Him sitting there, attached the jar to the hook and lowered it into the well. He just sat and patiently waited. I pulled the jar up full, then, using the ladle that was also hanging from the well, I gave him some of the water that I had drawn. He actually seemed grateful for it. Well, as I said before, it was pretty hot. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.  Then, He handed the dipper back to me and said the strangest thing.

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

What an odd thing to say. He had nothing in his hands. He just continued to sit there, by the well, tired and hot and dirty and sweaty and, at peace. It was a miracle that he had said anything to me at all. My curiosity got the better of me.

“Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this, what did you call it, “Living water?” I had to smile a bit in spite of myself. This was certainly turning into an interesting day that’s for sure. “I mean, are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well in the first place? He gave it to his son Joseph and actually he and all his sons drank from it themselves!” I liked this bit of history because it proved that Samaritans had some claim to Jewish heritage as well.

He did not drop his gaze as he spoke. “You know, everyone who drinks from this well will be thirsty again, and will have to draw water again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst again. Indeed, the water I give will become, in whoever drinks it, a spring of water welling up to eternal life!” Was He smiling a little when He said this? I’m not sure.

All I do know is that, just for a moment, I dared to hope. Hadn’t I just been thinking about that very thing? What would it be like if I never had to come to this well again, never have to face the jeers and taunts again, never be in need again. If he only knew how I wished that what He said could be true. I thought to myself, “Why not play along. After all, here he was, a Jewish man, talking to me, a low life Samaritan woman. I wouldn’t have believed that were possible a few minutes ago either. Maybe He did have something to say that could help me. “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming back here to draw water anymore.” He had my attention at least; I’ll give Him that.

Now he looked into my eyes. “Tell you what, you go get your husband and come back here and I’ll talk to both of you.”

Oy vey! Of all the things He could have said, He had to say that. With that one sentence, my hopeful feelings vanished and I was plunged into the depths of shame and guilt. See I’m not very good with men. You know those poor decisions that I talked about earlier that got the gossips talking? Well, most of that is because of, well; I’m just not very good at holding a marriage together. I mean well. I start out well, but, for one reason or another, either he is unfaithful to me or I, well, it takes two to tango, as they say. I guess I don’t have the reputation of being the world’s greatest wife.

I looked down at the ground as I spoke. “Sir, I have no husband.”

He continued to look at me. I braced myself for the scorn that was sure to come. Instead, He spoke calmly, “You are right when you say that you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands and the man that you are living with right now isn’t a husband at all. What you have said is quite true.” He spoke gently and openly about my dirty little, not so secret, secret. I mean, I supposed that He figured that something was up because it explains why I came for my water at such an odd time of day, but He knew all the gory details! How could he know that and if he knew that, and he had to have known that before he even asked me for a drink, why was he here? Why was he risking his reputation to take the chance of being seen with me? He had asked me to serve him! He had asked me for water even though he knew! The gossips say, I am the scum of the earth, but he doesn’t treat me like that. He’s still here, talking to me!

I couldn’t help but glance up a little. He was still looking at me with kindness. “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. I can tell from the things that you have been telling me about water, just as I wish it were, and about my personal life, such as it is, that you can see into my soul.”

But inside I was telling myself that I should change the subject from my personal life, and the sooner the better. Perhaps He could explain other mysteries as well. “Tell me, prophet, our Fathers worship on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem. Who is right?” I smiled to myself for changing the subject, as I thought, so deftly. It’s a great coping skill to have when you need it.

Now, a sigh came from him that I didn’t understand. Perhaps it was simply from fatigue, but I wondered if it were more. “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we supposedly do know; for is not salvation from the Jews? Yet, a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers must worship in Spirit and in truth.”

Has come? That was different. I had heard talk about a man named Jesus who was causing a lot of excitement among the Jews. Some of the Jews believed that he was their Messiah. Well, I suppose he would be half my Messiah too. After all, we Samaritans are half Jewish, right? The commoners liked this Jesus and his teachings, but the smart people, the rulers, didn’t like him and were upset by a lot of the things that he said. I was beginning to wonder if, maybe, it was Jesus that I was talking with now. He certainly didn’t act like a normal Jew. He was talking to me, wasn’t he? He knew things, but he wasn’t put off by what he knew. He had talked about hope and spiritual things with me, a woman. No self-respecting Jewish man would do that. And, had He included “ME,” as a worshiper of God?  What if he was Messiah? What if I, a woman with a bad reputation and no morals had actually given Messiah a drink and lived to tell about it!

“I had to ask! I was daring to be hopeful again. “Sir, I know that Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

Now he looked at me in earnest intensity and stated emphatically, “I am He!”

What was I to do with that? He was either lying to me or telling the truth. If He was telling the truth…and I chose to believe he was…Messiah had cared about me, even Me! He was talking to me, and he didn’t hate me!”

This woman found an openness and acceptance from Jesus that she may have never known before, not even from her own town’s 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 He also demonstrated that she had worth in His eyes, just by acknowledging her, talking with her and even requesting service from her. By treating her so, she became ready and willing to listen to Him.

That’s how God loves all of us. Even me? Yes. Even me. No matter how sullied by sin, no matter how rebellious in your past, Jesus is willing to meet you where you are, offer what you need, tell you truth about yourself without condemnation and share his identity with you as Messiah. He has come to save you. Yes even you! And your neighbors too. Even the worst of them.

Now ask yourself, if any of your neighbors have anything in common with the shame and guilt of the woman at the well, would Jesus want to talk with them? If Jesus has loved us so, doesn’t he want us to share his love with our neighbors, even them? We must pray about how it is to be done. The Holy Spirit will help us.

I just have to share a real story. Last month a red car was parked in our parking lot. The first night, the owners of the car explained to me that it was broken down and they politely asked me for permission to leave it there a while until they could get it fixed. I thanked them for asking and gave the nod. The car stayed there for a month. I saw them working on it occasionally. Then our snowplow guy asked me about maybe at least moving the car to a spot where it wouldn’t be in his way. I tried to talk to the owner’s at their house across the street but they didn’t answer the door. I really didn’t want to lay down the ultimatum and tell them that the car had to be moved or towed away at their expense.

Finally one morning last week I saw the other car running in their driveway, so I knew I could talk to someone. I explained about moving the car to a different spot and they apologized that it hadn’t been moved yet and how the situation is complicated. But they next day, the car was gone. So I am glad that I got to be a kind and gracious neighbor. I think that’s the kind of neighbor Jesus wants us to be with all the people who live around each of our own houses. Amen.