12 Mar SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023
Listen to a summary of the first reading. It sounds so much like what happens between churches and pastors, time and time again. At the start, there is trust. The whole congregation journeys by stages, going along as the LORD commands. Then comes a time when people notice something lacking.
They verbalize displeasure at accommodations not being what they need or expect. Quarreling and complaining ensue. They even ask, “What are we doing here? Is the Lord in this and with us or not?” In desperation, the leader becomes afraid and cries out for help. Fortunately, the higher ups, in this case, the Lord, hears and provides, giving the leader instruction and delivering what people want/need.
The proposed course of action is for the leader to travel ahead accompanied by the most mature and wisest of the group (a bunch of elders). In their presence, the leader carries out God’s plan. Following the instructions does result in delivering what the people thirst for and crave. This satisfies them, temporarily.
Because of conflict both the leader and the people are emotionally scarred. Each experiences the event on a personal level. What happened colors how he or she remembers the place or time. A name for it is given that reflects their memory of trial, temptation, dispute or quarrel. Very few talk about what was good or how people worked together to find success or discover solutions. If they do recollect their thoughts, it’s to contrast the past with the present, some good time versus a bad one.
Could it be that giving people what they want because of grumbling or threats doesn’t solve the bigger problem? Could it be that the trouble between leaders and congregations is not a desire for a thing, but a problem of both trusting God. Do both parties trust that they have been placed together on purpose? Will both parties admit to each having issues and reason to point out what’s lacking.
Will both parties commit to engage in dialogue, consult God and track down the next solution? After all, if all parties stick with God’s plan to emotionally mature every individual then everyone will be saved and get what’s needed. The psalm beautifully reflected the lesson learned and then the second reading chimed in perfectly.
We are justified and have peace with God by faith through Jesus through whom we obtain access to grace and hope of sharing glory with God. We will suffer, but suffering will produce endurance, endurance character, character hope, and hope that will not disappoint. This is such an interesting concept. Disappointment that causes suffering in the first place will create in its stead, hope that will not disappoint. Therefore, anything that requires endurance builds character. Building character somehow produces hope. The reason any part of the process works to the good is because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has also been given to us.
Disappointment that causes suffering in the first place will create in its stead, hope that will not disappoint.
If we could just remember that we have the only two things needed to succeed in an ongoing, long term relationship with both God and each other: love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is also given to each one of us. We could boil down all of what’s been said so far to this: All living creatures, circumstances and situations may be reconciled through the exercise of love.
And like exercise, Moses and Jesus prove that love doesn’t come easily or naturally to congregations, community members, and disciples. Loving rather than grumbling requires having direct communication with God, making our efforts intentional, engaging in regular practice, and mastering the art of discipline and setting goals. However, most of us would rather not have to think or ponder what it means to be intentional, but we are already, whether we realize it or not.
For instance, few people intentionally went to Samaria. They did so if necessary, but that almost never was the case. It’s kind of like your preference for either driving over Peter’s Mountain or around it. Your choice depends on what you hope to accomplish versus what you hope to avoid. Jacob’s well was a good source of drinking water that happened to be nearby when Jesus got thirsty. It made all kinds of sense for him to go that way, make a stop there and accomplish things rather than travel out of his way to avoid them. Unless labeled dead ends, it’s a good thing most roads connect and there is almost always, more than one way to arrive.
Jesus arrived at Jacob’s well just about the time the Samaritan woman did, around noon. They both walked a distance and held onto certain expectations about Jacob’s well based on previous knowledge and experience. As everyone in a rural setting knows, a good well is valuable and necessary. It’s what connects underground water that’s safe for drinking to the living. By definition, such water is life-giving; without it, one cannot live or go on, build a residence, or set about raising livestock.
Immediately, the Samaritan woman realizes what Jesus offers. Living water sounds so much better. A spring of water gushing up to eternal life would certainly replace a dug well fixed in one place some distance from home. Why does Jesus pivot the conversation from living water to the Samaritan woman’s marital status?
Because she had also never experienced real love. By all accounts, she could find men with whom she could live. As she did the day she met Jesus, it was easy to encounter other people seeking the same things she was or something similar. She understood what she possessed that others lacked, for instance a bucket with which to draw water from a well. Every decision she’d ever made was weighed for practicality and judged according to the culture of which she was a part.
Jesus doesn’t play. He knows all that is at stake. He knows that she’s no better off now with this partner than she ever was with the others. Why? Because once again, she’s entered a relationship out of practical need, not love. She’s fulfilling duty out of desperation, exhausting herself with daily responsibilities until things fall apart again, as they always do. What Jesus offers is for her to exit a vicious cycle of not being valued for her uniqueness, only her willingness to serve or exchange services. Jesus knows what every person seeks: not only to have basic needs met today, but find the true source of life: living water and love without end, water and love that are self-sustaining, replenished by God through whom they come, where they originate and were first given for our benefit.
Like us, the Samaritan woman needed to belong, have freedom to choose or act, be valued and hold significance. Other people could provide these things, but only temporarily. She found herself repeatedly seeking out new partners or traveling far with her bucket to a known well. How well I know her story. Like her, intentional practicality and starting over are central themes of my life.
It is human nature to assess what can stay the same, ask what must change, seek how best to trade and make arrangements to improve our chance of surviving the future. Those things are even true of our desire for salvation, eternal life, and being reunited with loved ones. Everything we hope for comes from one source: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Both life and love come to us through their willingness and ability, not our willingness and ability. God’s love and living water is poured into our hearts, we are given grace to become righteous through God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three reasons why our creed has three sections.
If we seek to meet our need to belong, have freedom to choose or act, be valued and hold significance by our own means, we will become like the Samaritan woman, temporarily finding fixes, repeatedly seeking out new solutions or traveling far with our buckets to known wells, forever thirsty, fearing loss, rejection, being without the means to get our needs met.
Through the Samaritan woman, Jesus teaches all disciples that worship happens not so much in a place, as in spirit and in truth. Worship involves not only recognizing Jesus as Messiah, but leaving your jug at the well and traveling in a new direction. Don’t be afraid to admit to past behaviors motivated by fear rather than faith. Don’t be afraid to associate with people you’ve previously avoided.
When the disciples urged Jesus to eat, I had to laugh because it reminded me of when I come home from work. If I come home from work and immediately start snapping at Steve, he rarely addresses the issues I raise. Instead, he says, “Do you need to eat something right away?” In response, like Jesus, I argue that my points are to be taken seriously, not dismissed, that my will is for work to be completed, lol. Lord, forgive and help me.
If we look around with spiritual eyes, we would see that the fields are ripe for harvesting. That there is much fruit for eternal life to be gathered so the sower and reaper may rejoice together. God has sown and labored so all may find rest in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What can we do to help others believe and bring them to Jesus? Keep sharing his word and your belief that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Love everyone, not only those you are naturally drawn to, but those you might have been avoiding. Participate in Bible Study and/or Sunday School. Support the church’s ministries, including Vacation Bible School in 2023. Let us pray.
Lord, we often don’t stop to realize why we choose to pursue or avoid particular people, things and activities. Help us converse with you about the source of our needs and to realize our patterns and cycles of being. Give us courage to confess, grace to believe, freedom and energy to accept what you offer and act accordingly. May we bravely change course and share what we’ve experienced in your presence among families, friends and neighbors. IYHNWP, Amen.