Preached by the Rev. Tammy Martens on Sunday, June 20, 2010
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John 4:1-15, 39-41
Basing our lives on the faith that, in Christ, all things are new, and that we, and all people, are loved beyond our wildest imagination—for eternity is the Phoenix affirmation we are considering this morning. Thinking of this statement led me straight away to this passage from John because it is such a tender example of a woman’s encounter with Jesus and how that encounter led this woman into a new understanding of herself and of God; an encounter of being made new.
I wish we had more details about this encounter; for instance, what was the quality of experience like, how did Jesus look at this woman, what was the tone of their speech, what did it feel like to be in the company of one another. We do not have many details and yet I have to believe that this woman had some sort of visceral response to Jesus that drew her into receiving this life-giving invitation from Jesus.
But it’s not an entirely direct invitation that Jesus gives to this woman. The conversation I would say is a bit disjointed and I’m surprised by what is said and what is shared.
And it starts out right away with a bit of mystery. Jesus says to the woman at the well “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.”
Do you notice the first word of this sentence? The word “if”? It’s this word that has had me puzzled all week. I have enjoyed spending time reflecting and wondering on what this might mean. “If you knew the gift of God…” then you would know what to ask for and who the giver of this gift is.
This trouble with the word “if” makes me think of an observation my six year old daughter Lily made the other day. I have on my nightstand a book entitled “If God is Love” by. And Lily asked me what the title of the book was. I said “If God is Love” and she said, “What do you mean if God is Love? It shouldn’t be If God is love. It just should be God is love.” I smiled as I received this affirmation from Lily who said it with great certainty. It seemed that she had no time for the word if in that statement.
With this “if” statement shared by Jesus, it seems clear that this woman does not know anything about the gift of love and grace that God gives to people. She is unaware that God can meet her needs with the gift of life. She just doesn’t know. I find this a curious thing. Why doesn’t this woman know?
What were the circumstances in this woman’s life that attributed to her inability in knowing about the gift of life; the gift of belonging? How did she become disconnected with God and her own soul? Jesus said if she had known she would have asked for living water. What was it that kept her from knowing?
Jesus uses a metaphor of living water as a way to describe what it’s like to live in God’s grace and be empowered by God’s love. From his metaphor then can we assume that there is such a thing as dead water? I would say so. What is dead water?
It is understood that Samaritans were looked upon unfavorably and were seen as outcasts; Jews were forbidden to associate with them so this encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well was seen as scandalous. Because of this animosity that existed between these two groups, this woman most likely inherited a belief system that contributed to her lost self; her inability to know of God’s gift. The religious and ethnic racism and hatred that Samaritans felt and lived with each day was part of the pool of dead water they had to drink from. And we know that drinking from this water leads to the diminishment of one’s soul.
From working in ministry for many years, I have heard lots of stories from people who have from a very young age inherited a religious belief system that has made them feel shameful, devalued and not quite right. They have carried this pain well into adulthood and at their deepest selves have struggled to be free—to be able to live into their full selves. Like the woman at the well, there are many of us who are deeply suspicious of this gift from God.
Perhaps there were other issues going on in this woman’s life that was part of the pool of dead water she was drinking from. Jesus alludes to the personal life of the woman and that she has been in multiple relationships—how Jesus knew this we do not know. But simply Jesus’ knowledge of the woman’s past life caused her to move deeper into a conversation with Jesus. His knowledge of her created an experience of intimacy that touched her soul.
The text raises questions for us today. Do we take drinks from dead water? Have we bought into a belief system that has devalued us and has caused us to feel diminished? What behaviors are we engaged in that cause us to lose our connection with our soul, with God? What are we afraid of finding out about ourselves? What destructive patterns of behavior do we keep repeating in order to avoid admitting that we need help? What is the quality of our marriages and committed relationships like? Are the relationships we are in life-giving? Do we struggle to forgive ourselves for not being perfect? What is the dead water that we are drinking from?
Certainly we know that learning about ourselves takes a lifetime. We are complex people and house a certain amount of mystery. And for some of us because of unresolved pain deep within we find ourselves drinking from dead water. This pain is like a sealed-off infection that we dare not touch. We march through our days thinking we can hold it together trying to ignore those pockets of inner, shadowed pain, but often they break through in ways that appall us—through phobias or sudden rage, panic, or irrational emotional demands. We too have become lost.
“If you know the gift of God you would ask for living water.”
Do we need a drink from the living water? What is this living water that Jesus is talking about? In the story, the response of the woman to Jesus is palpable. Despite the fact that she did not know about the gift that comes from God, she was very thirsty to receive it. In that moment with Jesus, and I’m guessing it was a moment where she felt fully accepted and not judged, this woman finds something for which she did not realize she was searching. She encounters someone who meets her at a level of her being; a place where no one else has met her before. And once she is met—she feels found. She discovers that she is loved beyond her wildest imagination—for eternity and this awakens her to herself, to God, and to the world around her.
And do you notice what happens when she is found? I love the little detail that is given to us. John’s gospel says, “Then the woman left her water jar and went back into the city.” She left her water jar! She completely forgot her original reason for coming to the well. She leaves behind what brought her to this moment so that she can tell others in the village about her encounter. And because of her testimony, a whole community finds themselves and finds God—finds the love that lasts an eternity—a love that redirects them and makes them whole. Glory be.
In his article “Anything Can Happen at a Well” Barry Robinson shares “Jesus puts people in touch with the experience of a love that embraces them at a level deeper than thought and action. When that happens, they find something that was lost in them suddenly found. And when that is our experience the exterior dimensions of our lives get changed too. The need for all the old suspicions, all the old rivalries, and all the old fears just doesn’t matter anymore. People have come into their souls again which is a place where not only each one of us individually but all of us collectively need to be.”
We have had the good and wonderful fortune of hosting a man from The Ukraine this past week. He and five other Ukrainian delegates came to the U.S. through the Open World Delegation to learn about accountable governance and non-profit work. Sasha, our guest, works in a Community Center in The Ukraine that was set up by the U.N. after the Chernobyl disaster. Sasha helps people who struggle with addictions. He shared with us, through the help of a translator, that their work is very challenging but when they can help one person become alcohol-free it is like a miracle has occurred. Sasha and the other people in his agency provide emotional, social, and educational support to people and often do small but beautiful acts of kindness—like planting potatoes in the backyards of people who are changing their lives around. Sasha and his co-workers are offering living water and through God’s grace, people are finding themselves and the Spirit of God.
Do you need a drink of this living water? Jesus says “you who drink of the water that I will give you will never be thirsty. The water that I give will become in you a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” Thanks be to God. Take a drink. Amen.
