And Christianity in the United States would probably be a lot better off if the loudest mouthpieces for the faith weren't the ones who have mistaken the flag for the cross.
I don't dive into all of that in this sermon. However I couldn't help but delight in the realization that the Gospel story of the Samaritan woman at the well happened to fall on International Women's Day this year. And that the multiple symbolic elements in this story spoke to a story of how women are at the center of reconciliation.
See what you think.
Text: John 4: 5-42
It’s not every time that the Gospel
assigned for a given Sunday pairs so nicely with the celebrations happening in
the secular world.
But this is one time where all things
fell into alignment so that we in the church experience this long dialogue
between Jesus and the Samaritan woman on the same day that people throughout
the world are marking International Women’s Day.
And wouldn’t you know the theme of this
year’s International Women’s Day…Give to Gain… is about “sustainability.”
And we just heard about “living water.”
Isn’t that an amazing occurrence?!
God never seems to waste a moment to remind
us that the spiritual and the secular live in the same world.
Time to prick up our ears and pay
attention.
And we have a lot to think about here in
this reading.
As
I told the people in the Midrash class the other night…this exchange between
Jesus and the Samaritan woman is the longest…and deepest…conversations Jesus
has with anyone in all of the Gospels.
That it happens between Jesus…a Jew of
the Jerusalem Temple sect…and this Samaritan Jew adds a whole other layer to
what John is wanting us to see.
The Jews and the Samaritans are not
friends.
The bitter rift happened centuries
earlier with the conquest of the Assyrians…the various exiles…and disagreements
over the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple.
When Assyria took over an area…they were
known for bringing a bunch of other tribes into it.
As a result…Samaria had a mix of various
pagan groups who then became enmeshed with the remnant of Jews who were not carried
off to foreign lands.
Because of this syncretism…they adopted
a type of Judaism that was foreign to the Jews who returned to Jerusalem…and tensions
frequently stayed at the boiling point between the two groups.
Jesus and the disciples had been out in
the Judean countryside and were going north toward Galilee.
Now…they could have taken a longer route
around…but the direct path to Galilee went through Samaria…so off they went.
This trek was tiresome…and Jesus decides
to send the disciples off to find food while he takes a break in the middle of
the day at Jacob’s well.
Along comes this woman with her water
jug.
Most women would have gone to the well
earlier when it wasn’t so hot…but she’s by herself.
She sees Jesus…not one of her
kinfolk…sitting there without a bucket.
I want to take a pause here…because even
this small detail of the story is an interesting set up…for what’s going to
happen.
When I pray our Eucharistic Prayer C…I intentionally…and
with the bishop’s permission…I expand the language in the Prayer Book to not
just list the God of our Fathers…as written in the Prayer Book…but I say the
names of the God of our Mothers.
And when I do…I note that Jacob has two
women who were his wives….and technically also had two more women.
And where did he first meet his wife
Rachel?
At a well.
And this well…. out in the Samarian
countryside…. is on land that holds special meaning for those who first heard John’s
Gospel.
Because this is the land where Jacob…who
had stolen his twin brother Esau’s birthright…came in great fear and worry to meet
his brother…the big red-headed hunter… after so many years of separation.
Jacob was ready for the worst.
But Esau surprised him with a hug and a
kiss.
And the two men were reconciled at this
spot where Jacob would then place this well.
So here we are again….this time…a Jewish
man and a Samaritan woman…two people from opposing sides…meeting in this place
of forgiveness.
Jesus looks at her.
Sweat is dripping from his brow…and he’s
feeling his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth.
“Give me a drink?”
We can imagine the shock on her face.
First…he’s a Jew.
Second…he just talked to her like he knew
her.
And third…where’s his bucket?
She probably looked at him with
suspicion.
But soon suspicion turns to curiosity as
this conversation goes from, “Give me a drink from this well water” to “Let’s
talk about living water.”
Now…just like Nicodemus last week…this
Samaritan woman is thinking Jesus is talking about living water…as in… flowing
water…y’know…like what’s in the well.
She could have walked away…but instead…she
wants to know what he’s talking about?
“Living water?
This is our ancestor Jacob’s well here.
What living water are you talking
about?”
“Oh, my dear woman. This
water only quenches the thirst of the mouth. But there’s a much deeper well…a
stream of living water…that once you drink from it…you’ll have water that will
change your life forever!”
The way Jesus presents this living
water…that idea of a never-ending spring that bubbles and flows so abundantly
that one never thinks about thirst again…this was intriguing.
Of course she wants some of this water.
“Go, call your husband,” says Jesus.
Ahem.
Here the truth comes out.
She doesn’t have a husband.
In fact…she’s had five husbands.
And right now…the one she’s hanging
with…isn’t even really her husband.
We might imagine that this is why she’s
not joining other women to fetch water in the morning.
Perhaps she’s one that others whisper
and gossip about.
But Jesus isn’t hung up on her personal
life…and most scholars agree that the reason we learn this factoid about her is
to highlight his prophetic wisdom.
But for her…the fact that he knows
this…and doesn’t shame her…but remains in conversation and community opens her
up.
She is now even more curious about this
Jewish man.
For centuries…her people and his people
haven’t seen eye to eye on anything…even though they both have religious roots
that sprung from the same tree.
And yet…he has said things to her that
clearly means he sees her…he knows her…he accepts her.
Is this the Messiah?
Is this guy really him?
The barriers between these two cultures have
crumbled.
Ancient hatreds no longer matter.
This man has met her…in her perfect
imperfection…and she has met him in his tired yet unconditional love.
And this conversation has filled them both
up so much that neither Jesus nor this Samaritan woman have any need for water
out of the well…or that food brought back by the disciples.
In fact…she’s so over this need
for well water that she left her water jar behind!
She rushes back to her people…her fellow
Samaritans…her mind and her heart overflowing with amazement at this
stranger…this Jew…that she met at Jacob’s well.
She wants others to know what just
happened to her.
This Samaritan woman is telling her
people “Come and see!”
“Come and see this man, this man who met
me at our well…and met me as I am without harsh judgment. This man whose words
are like living water.”
The Samaritan woman is as much an
apostle to this group as Mary Magdalene will be later in the story to the
disciples.
Both of these women…having had an
experience of Jesus…are moved to share this incredible encounter with others.
Both having met… and been
met by Jesus in their own circumstances…these women have been
changed in profound and invisible ways to help sustain them through their difficulties.
He has given them a taste of that drink
of wisdom that will never leave them thirsty again.
Through their testimony… that wisdom of
God…the living water…begins to spread.
Seems women might be important players
in shaping and moving the world toward mercy…compassion…and justice.
Both Mary Magdalene and this Samaritan
woman have brought many others…both then and now…to taste and see that there is
something nourishing and sustaining…loving…life-giving and liberating in this One
who was sent to teach us to care for ourselves and each other and the resources
all around us.
Come and see.
Go and share.
In the name of Our One Holy and
Undivided Trinity.
No comments:
Post a Comment