May 1, 2011
Year A
Late for Easter
Acts 2:14, 22-32
John 20:19-31
Second Sunday of Easter
Introduction – How reputations get started
I recall a story my grandmother told of a man in west Kentucky around 1900. He never touched a drop of "Demon Rum" except for one memorable occasion. He got roaring drunk, stole a horse and buggy, and raced down the main street of Arlington, Kentucky, all the while singing at the top of his lungs the song, "There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!" For the rest of his life he was known as "Hot Time." One night and a reputation for a lifetime! It wasn't fair to call him "Hot Time". He never lived down that one night.
Thomas’ reputation
But you know, that is how we are about people. We love to associate people with our opinion of their reputation and not of who they really are. And have you noticed that we never ever think about whether that reputation is fair or not, we just keep on perpetuating it. We are quick to judge others.
That is how we know about the disciple Thomas – by his reputation. In one story in the whole bible, we heard that he doubted Jesus, and we have labeled him doubting Thomas.
That reputation is very prevalent; there are three stories in the bible that everyone knows about. People who have never picked up a bible in their lives, know three characters from the bible – the Good Samaritan, the prodigal son, and doubting Thomas.
Everyone thinks Thomas was from Missouri – the show me state, all because he asked the resurrected Jesus to show him the nails in his hands. How did his reputation get so famous? We who have read the bible went around spreading the reputation of a fellow disciple.
When the truth is, Thomas did not ask anything of Jesus that the rest of the disciples did not already ask. We would have done the same thing.
Thomas did not do anything wrong, he was just late, late for Easter. All of the other disciples have already got the proof they were looking for. They did not believe that Jesus was alive either, until he appeared to them and talked to them. Thomas was not there at the time.
We like to give Thomas a bad reputation, because Jesus says blessed are those who don’t see and yet believe. But was he really talking about us? Are we really that faithful. If we did not see Jesus for ourselves, how many of us would be here now? If we didn’t have proof that Jesus was alive, would we be here? Probably not.
The relationship of fear and doubt
The real danger of this story is the relationship we give to fear and doubt. The relationship we give to fear and doubt. In order to make sense of this story we like to make them opposites. If you doubt, then you can’t have faith, and if you have faith you can’t have doubt. I hope that you know that is not true. We’ve all doubted something in our lives. We have all needed proof of something in our lives. We have all doubted God in some way. We all wonder whether this Christian life is all that it is cracked up to be. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t. And just as Jesus didn’t have a problem proving himself to Thomas, god shows god self time and time again.
The human need to doubt God
The humanist society was formed in 1955. It was designed for people who needed to deal with life, without having to resort to the idea that there was a God. They believed that science had an answer for everything in life. One year a distinguished scientist was asked to address the group. He explained that he was a Christian, and that he grew up in a Christian home. His parents were very religious. When he and his brother grew up, they went to college to become scientist. They became convinced that science was the answer to everything. To them religion was just some old folktale. That was until his brother died. His mother and father had the resources to deal with the unspeakable – the scientist didn’t. His mother and father had hope in the midst of pain, he didn’t. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet still believe.
It hurts to hope
We have all been in that situation where it just hurts too much to have hope. Hope just seems so far removed from our situation. The good news is that if you are ever in a situation where you can’t find God, just hold on and God will come and find you.
The disciples were upstairs locked in the upper room. Now there are not too many places in America where you can go, where you don’t lock the door. But in Jesus times, a locked door meant that you were doing something that you had no business doing. Not only did you not lock the door – you expected a spy to open your door and check on you at any time to make sure that you were doing the right thing.
God will come to you
It wasn’t privacy that caused the disciples to hide – it was fear, hopelessness, and defeat. Scripture says the doors were locked and Jesus came and stood amongst them. Here is what is so cool about that scripture. We don’t know how Jesus got in the door. Did he have the key, did he just walk through the door like a ghost. We don’t know. The point is that he got through the locked door. If you don’t know how to find god, god always knows how to find you. Just like faith and doubt are not opposites, neither are hope and fear. You can have hope in god, you can have fear – and either way God is still going to find a way to find you. Faith, doubt, hope, fear – all pathways to the same God.
Thomas was just asking for what all of the others already had. An encounter with Christ that would lead him to believe. He did say – my Lord and My God.
All Jesus was asking of Thomas was to believe in Jesus Christ are you savior. That is all Jesus asks of any of us. An experience that makes you believe….
Testimonies
Englewood will do testimonies……
Resurrection is the way we choose to live
Resurrection is not a story about Thomas being late for Easter, resurrection is a story about us, our lives, our faith, and the way we treat one another as people of faith.
3 gifts of Jesus
Jesus gave us three gifts in this story.
First he have peace, - the power to overcome doubt and fear
Second he have the Holy Spirit – the comforter that will teach you to love all
3 is the most important – the power to either forgive or hold onto the sins of others.
The power of forgiveness
Everyone has had an experience like this: You are walking through a shopping mall during a busy holiday season. People are everywhere. Shoppers are looking in stores, going into and out of shops, pushing baby buggies and carrying armloads of packages. Suddenly, and without warning, someone crashes into you. It might be just a bump, or full-on shoulder slam, but there it is. Your packages go flying; you may even lose your balance and stumble.
And then what happens?
The person who bumped you says, "I am so sorry I ran into you. I didn't even see you there. I guess I just wasn't paying attention. Please forgive me."
There it is, "Please forgive me." And of course, you do.
"Oh, it's okay. It was just an accident. Don't give it another thought."
That's the way it usually happens. But what would it be like if it happened differently? What would the reaction be if we did not forgive the accidental collision?
Imagine if the reply sounded like this: "No, I'm not going to forgive you. How could you be so careless? I could have been injured. You better hope none of my purchases are damaged because if they are, you are going to pay for them."
What would be the reaction of the person who bumped into you? Shame? Anger? Someone who already feels bad about an accident now feels even worse.
That is the deadly power of not letting something go.
And by the way, the biblical word for letting something go is "forgiveness."
Prescription or description
The key to understanding what Jesus means is to first determine if he is speaking prescriptively or descriptively.
If he is speaking prescriptively then, according to this text, Jesus has given us the power to forgive and retain sins. But if he is speaking descriptively, then the words actually serve as a warning.
It's as if Jesus said, "Be careful. You will collectively yield enormous power in the world as my followers. If you decide something is allowable, and you let it go, it will be let go. If you decide something is sinful and you condemn it, it will carry a condemnable weight. Be careful what you tell people. You may forgive something God doesn't, and you may retain something God forgives. But for the people you are forgiving or not forgiving, you may be their only access to God."
The power to let go
You can either hold on – or learn to let go. Forgive others, forgive yourself and live in the power of the resurrected Christ. But don’t be late for Easter.
Let us pray….
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sunday, April 03, 2011
So that we May See
April 3, 2011
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Year A
John 9:1-41
In Order that We May See
Introduction – how we treat people with disabilities
Imagine how different your life would be if you were born blind? What in your life would you have never witnessed, how would you talk to people different? Who is it that you would have to depend on to get things done? Who would you have to trust to get you places? How would you be a different person? How would life be different with any disability? In the past years, we as a society are being more intentional about how we integrate people who don’t fit our view of what is normal, but the reality is that we still have a long way to go in how we treat one another, the labels that we put on one another, and how we accept people for who they are, and not for who we expect them to be.
The blind man’s encounter with Jesus
The encounter with Jesus today is the only story in the bible of Jesus dealing with someone who is blind, and Jesus heals not only his blindness, but is able to restore his life – so that he is able to return to life without the stigma of having a disability. Some people are not even sure that this is the same beggar that they knew all of their life. He acted so differently, now that it appears that he had his sight.
John’s Jesus – The Son of God
This whole chapter has many important messages for us. We won’t be able to focus on them all this morning. I just want to bring you a few of them, that I thought were important. When you read the book of John, John has a special message about the nature of Jesus Christ for us. He wants to make it plain that Jesus is not only a special person; he is the son of God. Jesus has all of the attributes of God. He is a healer, a restorer, a guide, a leader, a transformer, a way maker. He is the one who can supply all of our needs. Jesus is the messiah – the fulfillment of the promises of God.
Jesus came so that we might have life and have it abundantly
But the only way to take advantage of the attributes of God is to believe in Jesus and to believe in what Jesus can do. Have you ever noticed that people who don’t believe in Jesus, tend to be people who don’t need Jesus for anything?
The only way to really know Jesus, and to know what Jesus can do for us is to have an encounter with Jesus in some way in our lives. We know who Jesus is, and what Jesus can do, by the story of what Jesus has done for us in our lives. In that encounter, we come to know Jesus, but Jesus also comes to define us.
Story of a teacher giving a student identity
A sixth grade English teacher, really seemed to love her subject and her class. She would have them sit in a circle so that she could see them, and she would teach them her subject in a way that seemed to make sense to them. James seemed to love her class. She had him write a play, and then had his classmates read the lines and perform the play. It was a great feeling for him to see others perform his work. He started to write other plays and other writings. One day after class, she told James that she saw him as a writer, and that she did all that she could to bring that quality out of him. James grew up and became a famous playwright- because a teacher believed in him, and treated him as she saw him. He responded by tailoring his lifestyle after those expectations.
Jesus does the same for us. We give Jesus his identity as the messiah, as our lord and savior. He gives us our identity as the faithful people.
The blind man makes a choice
The gospel lesson for this morning is not a story of a man being blind. It is the story of how Jesus saves him. How that man dealt with the consequences of being saved, how he made a conscious decision to be saved, to be healed. And how he endured when it became evident that was not going to be an easy choice. Being saved, is not just one moment in time in our lives, it is a lifetime of making difficult decisions.
Remember that show extreme makeover, where they would radically change the appearance of people. At the end of the show at the big reveal, problems that people had dealt with all of their life had been taken away. I think one of the reasons that show is not on the air anymore, was because they realized that changing someone’s appearance, was not enough to change their lives. Along with those lifelong problems, were also lifelong habits. If you did not rehabilitate those habits, that person would continue to be miserable.
Blind man chooses life
Being cured of blindness does not mean that you will automatically go on about your life. Someone who was born blind has no idea of how to use their sight. They will still bump into walls, and not be able to pick up things, because they have no idea of depth perception, or what colors are. They are seeing all of these contraptions, a telephone, a radio, a salt shaker. But they have no idea of what these things are, or what they are used for or how to use them. You start to see all of these strange people, who know who you are, but you have no idea of who they are.
The new life can be overwhelming enough to make someone want to go back to being blind. And yet the bible says that this man not only was happy to be able to see, he embraced his sight. He went on with his new life. Because that is what Jesus told him to do.
After the healing, Jesus goes away and is not a part of the story. And even more hardship comes about. People start to talk about him, his family is threatened, he is eventually kicked out of the synagogue. But he holds strong to the new life that Jesus gave him. Making sure that he won’t turn back. He makes a conscious choice that he will be a new man with a new life. Salvation is not a moment in time, it is a lifetime of choosing to follow Jesus.
Story of a driver choosing sin
A man looks back at his life, and recalls that when he learned to drive as a teenager, he felt that it was a waste of time to stop at stop lights. Whenever he would come to a stop light, if there were no cars around, then he would slow down for a moment, and just keep driving. He continued that habit for years. He got to be a pro at looking out for cars and going on. He even go to the point where he did not even slow down, he just checked for cars. Well as you can imagine, one day that habit was challenged. Anyone who drives, knows that there are times when you can check and double check, and there is always this car that appears out of nowhere. The car that appeared out of nowhere for this man just happened to be a police car. He was able to stop on time so that he would not get a ticket. He vowed from that time forward to give up that habit and to intentionally stop at all stop signs. It wasn’t the police car that scared him. It was his own actions. When he go to the stop life, his foot went for the gas pedal. It then went for the brakes. But no sooner had he hit the brake, that out of habit his foot automatically went for the gas pedal. He was so used to running the stoplight, that his body could do it without thinking. He realized that it was time for a change.
That is what a life of sin does to our bodies, our minds and our spirits. It takes over our lives. It takes less effort for us to do the wrong thing, that it is for us to stop and to think and do the right thing. The path of least resistance is the path of sin. The decision to stop, think and to endure is salvation. What is the path that Jesus leads us on. Jesus says I am the light of the world. To embrace the light is to choose to be a child of God. But most of the world still prefers to live in darkness. They don’t want to see, the want to remain blind.
Jesus is the light of the world
Jesus says I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind. Those who see may become blind, what does that mean. There are many in the world who want to keep things the way they are, who can’t accept the change of salvation. Because to be saved, means that they would have to change their habits, their beliefs, their lives. If Jesus was to truly come into their lives, it would take too much effort on their part to maintain their salvation. After all, the Pharisee considered themselves pretty faithful people. They too made a choice. But the choice wasn’t to follow Jesus. Are you calling us blind? Jesus comes back by saying if you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty of your sin. But since you say you can really see, then your sin remains. There are a lot of people who claim to live in the light, but still embrace the darkness. But what about you? Have you had an encounter with Jesus? Are you willing to accept that things will never be the same? Do you really want to see, or is it easier to stay blind?
We need Jesus in order to see
If you want to see the stars you use a telescope, of you want to see the small things of life you use a microscope, of you need to see your insides you uses a x ray machine, but if you want to see your sin and the way to salvation – you need Jesus in your life.
Who is Jesus for you? Let us pray….
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Year A
John 9:1-41
In Order that We May See
Introduction – how we treat people with disabilities
Imagine how different your life would be if you were born blind? What in your life would you have never witnessed, how would you talk to people different? Who is it that you would have to depend on to get things done? Who would you have to trust to get you places? How would you be a different person? How would life be different with any disability? In the past years, we as a society are being more intentional about how we integrate people who don’t fit our view of what is normal, but the reality is that we still have a long way to go in how we treat one another, the labels that we put on one another, and how we accept people for who they are, and not for who we expect them to be.
The blind man’s encounter with Jesus
The encounter with Jesus today is the only story in the bible of Jesus dealing with someone who is blind, and Jesus heals not only his blindness, but is able to restore his life – so that he is able to return to life without the stigma of having a disability. Some people are not even sure that this is the same beggar that they knew all of their life. He acted so differently, now that it appears that he had his sight.
John’s Jesus – The Son of God
This whole chapter has many important messages for us. We won’t be able to focus on them all this morning. I just want to bring you a few of them, that I thought were important. When you read the book of John, John has a special message about the nature of Jesus Christ for us. He wants to make it plain that Jesus is not only a special person; he is the son of God. Jesus has all of the attributes of God. He is a healer, a restorer, a guide, a leader, a transformer, a way maker. He is the one who can supply all of our needs. Jesus is the messiah – the fulfillment of the promises of God.
Jesus came so that we might have life and have it abundantly
But the only way to take advantage of the attributes of God is to believe in Jesus and to believe in what Jesus can do. Have you ever noticed that people who don’t believe in Jesus, tend to be people who don’t need Jesus for anything?
The only way to really know Jesus, and to know what Jesus can do for us is to have an encounter with Jesus in some way in our lives. We know who Jesus is, and what Jesus can do, by the story of what Jesus has done for us in our lives. In that encounter, we come to know Jesus, but Jesus also comes to define us.
Story of a teacher giving a student identity
A sixth grade English teacher, really seemed to love her subject and her class. She would have them sit in a circle so that she could see them, and she would teach them her subject in a way that seemed to make sense to them. James seemed to love her class. She had him write a play, and then had his classmates read the lines and perform the play. It was a great feeling for him to see others perform his work. He started to write other plays and other writings. One day after class, she told James that she saw him as a writer, and that she did all that she could to bring that quality out of him. James grew up and became a famous playwright- because a teacher believed in him, and treated him as she saw him. He responded by tailoring his lifestyle after those expectations.
Jesus does the same for us. We give Jesus his identity as the messiah, as our lord and savior. He gives us our identity as the faithful people.
The blind man makes a choice
The gospel lesson for this morning is not a story of a man being blind. It is the story of how Jesus saves him. How that man dealt with the consequences of being saved, how he made a conscious decision to be saved, to be healed. And how he endured when it became evident that was not going to be an easy choice. Being saved, is not just one moment in time in our lives, it is a lifetime of making difficult decisions.
Remember that show extreme makeover, where they would radically change the appearance of people. At the end of the show at the big reveal, problems that people had dealt with all of their life had been taken away. I think one of the reasons that show is not on the air anymore, was because they realized that changing someone’s appearance, was not enough to change their lives. Along with those lifelong problems, were also lifelong habits. If you did not rehabilitate those habits, that person would continue to be miserable.
Blind man chooses life
Being cured of blindness does not mean that you will automatically go on about your life. Someone who was born blind has no idea of how to use their sight. They will still bump into walls, and not be able to pick up things, because they have no idea of depth perception, or what colors are. They are seeing all of these contraptions, a telephone, a radio, a salt shaker. But they have no idea of what these things are, or what they are used for or how to use them. You start to see all of these strange people, who know who you are, but you have no idea of who they are.
The new life can be overwhelming enough to make someone want to go back to being blind. And yet the bible says that this man not only was happy to be able to see, he embraced his sight. He went on with his new life. Because that is what Jesus told him to do.
After the healing, Jesus goes away and is not a part of the story. And even more hardship comes about. People start to talk about him, his family is threatened, he is eventually kicked out of the synagogue. But he holds strong to the new life that Jesus gave him. Making sure that he won’t turn back. He makes a conscious choice that he will be a new man with a new life. Salvation is not a moment in time, it is a lifetime of choosing to follow Jesus.
Story of a driver choosing sin
A man looks back at his life, and recalls that when he learned to drive as a teenager, he felt that it was a waste of time to stop at stop lights. Whenever he would come to a stop light, if there were no cars around, then he would slow down for a moment, and just keep driving. He continued that habit for years. He got to be a pro at looking out for cars and going on. He even go to the point where he did not even slow down, he just checked for cars. Well as you can imagine, one day that habit was challenged. Anyone who drives, knows that there are times when you can check and double check, and there is always this car that appears out of nowhere. The car that appeared out of nowhere for this man just happened to be a police car. He was able to stop on time so that he would not get a ticket. He vowed from that time forward to give up that habit and to intentionally stop at all stop signs. It wasn’t the police car that scared him. It was his own actions. When he go to the stop life, his foot went for the gas pedal. It then went for the brakes. But no sooner had he hit the brake, that out of habit his foot automatically went for the gas pedal. He was so used to running the stoplight, that his body could do it without thinking. He realized that it was time for a change.
That is what a life of sin does to our bodies, our minds and our spirits. It takes over our lives. It takes less effort for us to do the wrong thing, that it is for us to stop and to think and do the right thing. The path of least resistance is the path of sin. The decision to stop, think and to endure is salvation. What is the path that Jesus leads us on. Jesus says I am the light of the world. To embrace the light is to choose to be a child of God. But most of the world still prefers to live in darkness. They don’t want to see, the want to remain blind.
Jesus is the light of the world
Jesus says I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind. Those who see may become blind, what does that mean. There are many in the world who want to keep things the way they are, who can’t accept the change of salvation. Because to be saved, means that they would have to change their habits, their beliefs, their lives. If Jesus was to truly come into their lives, it would take too much effort on their part to maintain their salvation. After all, the Pharisee considered themselves pretty faithful people. They too made a choice. But the choice wasn’t to follow Jesus. Are you calling us blind? Jesus comes back by saying if you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty of your sin. But since you say you can really see, then your sin remains. There are a lot of people who claim to live in the light, but still embrace the darkness. But what about you? Have you had an encounter with Jesus? Are you willing to accept that things will never be the same? Do you really want to see, or is it easier to stay blind?
We need Jesus in order to see
If you want to see the stars you use a telescope, of you want to see the small things of life you use a microscope, of you need to see your insides you uses a x ray machine, but if you want to see your sin and the way to salvation – you need Jesus in your life.
Who is Jesus for you? Let us pray….
Friday, April 01, 2011
Jesus meets us at our point of need
March 27, 2011
Third Sunday of Lent
John 4:5-42
Jesus meets us at our point of need
Year A
One image that stands out in my mind this week is the picture of a governor in Japan drinking a glass of water to prove that everything was okay with the water, even though we all know that is not the case. I thought he must really love his country.
I can’t imagine living somewhere where the basic essence of life has been tainted by a substance that you can’t see, you can’t taste – but will eventually destroy your body.
Water is so much a part of our lives – we in America take water for granted. Water is so readily available to us- that we can afford to say that we don’t like water. Imagine if you lived in a place where water was not readily available just by turning on the faucet? We would love water, whenever we could get it, however, we could get it.
In Jesus’ time you had to go to the well everyday to get your water. It was the woman’s job to get water for the family. She usually went in the morning, so that she would not have to run into a man. It was not appropriate for men and women to be in the same places in public.
So why was the Samaritan woman at the well at noon? Why was Jesus sitting at the well by himself? Why would he be disrespectful enough to talk with a woman in public? He was single, even if he was married; he was not allowed to talk to his own wife in public, much less a stranger. And if he was a Jew, why was he talking to a Samaritan?
If Jesus us the symbol of righteousness for us, why would he be in the wrong place, at the wrong time talking to the wrong person?
He wanted to help us understand the nature of God. There are too many of us who spend our lives in the wrong place, at the wrong time, talking to the wrong people.
There are too many people out in the world, who even though it is Sunday- who are in the wrong place at the wrong time talking to the wrong people. And they need to know that there is a man named Jesus. Jesus understands them perfectly. Jesus understands their needs perfectly.
In the book of John, there is a series of encounters of Jesus with ordinary people. Last week it was a faithful man with a genuine question – Nicodemus. Today it is a not so faithful woman, looking for water and finding so much more.
A man who knew all about her.
We tend to think of the Samaritan woman as one of the bad girls in the bible – we know her reputation. She had 5 husbands – the one she is with is not her husband. Some churches however, call her a saint. Saint Photini. Photini means one equal to the apostles. Yes, she was a woman with a reputation, but she got the chance to talk face to face with Jesus. An honor many of us dream of. Because of that encounter, she was able to go out and save others.
This passage is so long because this is the longest recorded conversation that Jesus has with anyone. Also if you look at the verses, you will see that she talks 7 times and Jesus talks 7 times. There are no happenstances in John.
Jesus tells her that she has 5 husbands and that the one she is with is not her husband. Everything in John has a double meaning. This could be a conversation about 5 husbands; it could also be a conversation about idolatry. The things in our lives that stand in the way of us having a relationship with God.
There were 5 times that the Samaritans had intermarried with other people – and diluted the purity of their worship to the one true God. The one they are living with now who is not a husband – could be Rome. There were in control of the whole region, but had no allegiance whatsoever to the people and their beliefs and values.
For the Samaritans, the thing that stood in the way of their truly loving God was their need to identify with another people. What about us? Who are our five husbands? What stands in the way of our relationship with God? Is it our career? Friends? Consumerism? Nationalism? Needs? Addictions? Desires?
Why was Jesus at the wrong place, at the wrong time, talking to the wrong person? To give you the message that whatever your soul is married to besides God, you can let go of.
And whatever it is in your life that you are committed to that has no commitment to you – you can let that go too. God is always going to be with you no matter what. If you work on your relationship with God, everything else falls into place.
Why was Jesus at the wrong place at the wrong time talking to the wrong person?
Jesus and the Samaritan woman get into an interesting conversation about worship. Where is the proper place to do worship? That Samaritans believed this mountain, close to Jacob’s well. The Jews believed only the temple in Jerusalem was the place to worship. But Jesus says that the day is coming when worship won’t be about a time and a place, but about our relationship with God and the condition of our hearts.
This last illustration is in honor of the spring concert tonight….o worship experience.
When my son was in kindergarten, his first field trip was to the Milwaukee Zoo. I was so excited that I signed up to be a chaperone. We all had to prepare a bag lunch to take on the trip. I was so excited – it reminded me of field trips when I was a little girl. I went to the store the night before to get all of the ingredients. I prepared my lunch and put it in the brown paper bag. That morning we had a fun time at the zoo. At lunch time I was excited to talk with the boys about what we had done that day. Until I opened my bag to eat. I don’t eat cold food, I don’t eat processed food, I don’t eat white bread, I don’t eat cheap processed meat, I don’t eat store bought cookies, or hot store brand pop. I knew that when I went to the store to buy that crap in the first place. But I honestly believed in my mind that if I put that junk in a bag and carried it to the zoo – that I was going to be caught up in the moment enough to eat something that I don’t even like. I tell that story because that is how we do church.
We come to church expecting to be wowed. We leave church saying that I was not touched by anything. It did not make a difference. I didn’t like the sermon. What did you bring with you this morning in your brown paper bag? Something that you would eat- or something that you know you don’t like. Worship is a celebration of the relationship that we have with God before we get here. If we don’t bring the hot Jesus with us- we won’t find it when we get here.
Worship starts at home. Worship comes with you; worship is what you already have with God.
We need to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.
Why was Jesus at the wrong place at the wrong time talking to the wrong person – so that you can worship God will all that you are…..Let us pray…… Amen.
Third Sunday of Lent
John 4:5-42
Jesus meets us at our point of need
Year A
One image that stands out in my mind this week is the picture of a governor in Japan drinking a glass of water to prove that everything was okay with the water, even though we all know that is not the case. I thought he must really love his country.
I can’t imagine living somewhere where the basic essence of life has been tainted by a substance that you can’t see, you can’t taste – but will eventually destroy your body.
Water is so much a part of our lives – we in America take water for granted. Water is so readily available to us- that we can afford to say that we don’t like water. Imagine if you lived in a place where water was not readily available just by turning on the faucet? We would love water, whenever we could get it, however, we could get it.
In Jesus’ time you had to go to the well everyday to get your water. It was the woman’s job to get water for the family. She usually went in the morning, so that she would not have to run into a man. It was not appropriate for men and women to be in the same places in public.
So why was the Samaritan woman at the well at noon? Why was Jesus sitting at the well by himself? Why would he be disrespectful enough to talk with a woman in public? He was single, even if he was married; he was not allowed to talk to his own wife in public, much less a stranger. And if he was a Jew, why was he talking to a Samaritan?
If Jesus us the symbol of righteousness for us, why would he be in the wrong place, at the wrong time talking to the wrong person?
He wanted to help us understand the nature of God. There are too many of us who spend our lives in the wrong place, at the wrong time, talking to the wrong people.
There are too many people out in the world, who even though it is Sunday- who are in the wrong place at the wrong time talking to the wrong people. And they need to know that there is a man named Jesus. Jesus understands them perfectly. Jesus understands their needs perfectly.
In the book of John, there is a series of encounters of Jesus with ordinary people. Last week it was a faithful man with a genuine question – Nicodemus. Today it is a not so faithful woman, looking for water and finding so much more.
A man who knew all about her.
We tend to think of the Samaritan woman as one of the bad girls in the bible – we know her reputation. She had 5 husbands – the one she is with is not her husband. Some churches however, call her a saint. Saint Photini. Photini means one equal to the apostles. Yes, she was a woman with a reputation, but she got the chance to talk face to face with Jesus. An honor many of us dream of. Because of that encounter, she was able to go out and save others.
This passage is so long because this is the longest recorded conversation that Jesus has with anyone. Also if you look at the verses, you will see that she talks 7 times and Jesus talks 7 times. There are no happenstances in John.
Jesus tells her that she has 5 husbands and that the one she is with is not her husband. Everything in John has a double meaning. This could be a conversation about 5 husbands; it could also be a conversation about idolatry. The things in our lives that stand in the way of us having a relationship with God.
There were 5 times that the Samaritans had intermarried with other people – and diluted the purity of their worship to the one true God. The one they are living with now who is not a husband – could be Rome. There were in control of the whole region, but had no allegiance whatsoever to the people and their beliefs and values.
For the Samaritans, the thing that stood in the way of their truly loving God was their need to identify with another people. What about us? Who are our five husbands? What stands in the way of our relationship with God? Is it our career? Friends? Consumerism? Nationalism? Needs? Addictions? Desires?
Why was Jesus at the wrong place, at the wrong time, talking to the wrong person? To give you the message that whatever your soul is married to besides God, you can let go of.
And whatever it is in your life that you are committed to that has no commitment to you – you can let that go too. God is always going to be with you no matter what. If you work on your relationship with God, everything else falls into place.
Why was Jesus at the wrong place at the wrong time talking to the wrong person?
Jesus and the Samaritan woman get into an interesting conversation about worship. Where is the proper place to do worship? That Samaritans believed this mountain, close to Jacob’s well. The Jews believed only the temple in Jerusalem was the place to worship. But Jesus says that the day is coming when worship won’t be about a time and a place, but about our relationship with God and the condition of our hearts.
This last illustration is in honor of the spring concert tonight….o worship experience.
When my son was in kindergarten, his first field trip was to the Milwaukee Zoo. I was so excited that I signed up to be a chaperone. We all had to prepare a bag lunch to take on the trip. I was so excited – it reminded me of field trips when I was a little girl. I went to the store the night before to get all of the ingredients. I prepared my lunch and put it in the brown paper bag. That morning we had a fun time at the zoo. At lunch time I was excited to talk with the boys about what we had done that day. Until I opened my bag to eat. I don’t eat cold food, I don’t eat processed food, I don’t eat white bread, I don’t eat cheap processed meat, I don’t eat store bought cookies, or hot store brand pop. I knew that when I went to the store to buy that crap in the first place. But I honestly believed in my mind that if I put that junk in a bag and carried it to the zoo – that I was going to be caught up in the moment enough to eat something that I don’t even like. I tell that story because that is how we do church.
We come to church expecting to be wowed. We leave church saying that I was not touched by anything. It did not make a difference. I didn’t like the sermon. What did you bring with you this morning in your brown paper bag? Something that you would eat- or something that you know you don’t like. Worship is a celebration of the relationship that we have with God before we get here. If we don’t bring the hot Jesus with us- we won’t find it when we get here.
Worship starts at home. Worship comes with you; worship is what you already have with God.
We need to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.
Why was Jesus at the wrong place at the wrong time talking to the wrong person – so that you can worship God will all that you are…..Let us pray…… Amen.
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