Hope for the Isolated and Rejected
John 4:5-42
by Jim Westmoreland
One of the commencement traditions at Harvard University is Senior Class Chapel. On the morning of their graduation, seniors gather in Memorial Church to hear the minister offer words of solace and encouragement as they leave "the Yard" to take their places in the world.
The 1998 senior class heard some unexpected truth from the Rev. Peter Gomes, minister at Harvard and the author of several books on the Bible. Doctor Gomes took no prisoners as he began:
"You are going to be sent out of here for good, and most of you aren't ready to go. The president is about to bid you into the fellowship of educated men and women and," - and here he paused and spoke each word slowly for emphasis - "you know just - how - dumb - you - really - are."
The senior class cheered in agreement.
"And worse than that," Doctor Gomes continued, "the world - and your parents in particular - are going to expect that you will be among the brightest and best. But you know that you can no longer fool all the people even some of the time. By noontime today, you will be out of here. By tomorrow you will be history. By Saturday, you will be toast. That's a fact - no exceptions, no extensions."
"Nevertheless, there is reason to hope," Doctor Gomes promised. "The future is God's gift to you. God will not let you stumble or fall. God has not brought you this far to this place to abandon you or leave you here alone and afraid. The God of Israel never stumbles, never sleeps, never goes on sabbatical. Thus, my beloved and bewildered young friends, do not be afraid."(1)
What Doctor Gomes did for the senior class at Harvard, Jesus does for the woman at the well and for us. He lets us know that God is with us, even when we don't know it. He will not abandon us or leave us alone and afraid. Sometimes life is like that, and just when we feel tired of going through the motions of our lives, He meets us at the well and gives us Hope.
Did you know that you can go to Israel today and take a journey to Samaria to this same town of Sychar, a place that time seems to have forgotten. Only about 300 people live there, and they still consider themselves Samaritans.
The primary structure in town is a kind of cellar, which houses a well, the only source of water for miles. Archeologists estimate its date upwards of 4,000 years. Weary travelers have quenched their thirst there since the time of Jacob. But even more fascinating than its archeological significance is the fact that this place historically validates for us the precise location where the Samaritan woman had an encounter with the Christ. It's hard to believe, but the authenticity of the well is undisputed. Samaritans, Muslims, Christians and Jews all agree that this is the place where the story took place.(2) This is Jacob's well.
It was noonday at Sychar. The disciples went on into the village to buy food. Jesus stopped at the well on the outskirts for a brief to rest. When a woman of the village walked up to the well, Jesus addressed her: "Woman, give me a drink."
She was taken back that Jesus spoke to her for two reasons. First, men did not publicly speak to women. Two, she was a Samaritan and Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. They considered them unclean, spiritually and otherwise. They were dogs. Thus, Jesus had crossed both a gender and a racial line by speaking to this person. She replied: "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of water from me, a woman of Samaria?" Jesus ignores her question, ignores the racial issue, and gets to the heart of the matter. He said: "If you had known who was asking you for water you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." Jesus is, of course, speaking theologically, but the woman cannot get beyond the literal.
The woman reacts to Jesus with a bit of humor and also a 'put down:' "You have nothing to draw with and this well is deep. Just how did you suppose to drawn this living water of yours? Our father Jacob drank from this well. Do you think that you are better than he is?" You can't miss the irony in her sarcasm. Here she is speaking to the Master of Life about depth, when her own life was one of struggle and 'put downs.'
In a sudden change of direction, Jesus startles the woman and asks her to go get her husband. With this one question he has exposed her dark side. You see, by any standard of ethics this woman was living an immoral life. Of course, we already have a hint of that because she has come to the well by herself at noon. Like her, we all have a dark side, places where life is not all neat and presentable. Like her, we pick a time to avoid the judgmental eyes of others to tend to our needs.
Perhaps, we feel isolated and rejected, and we come to a place to be alone. Sometimes, we come and our hearts are breaking and fragile. At other times, we come and we are outwardly "under control." Our defenses our up to protect us where we feel weak. And then, Jesus comes. Jesus wants to offer us hope for our lives, Living Water, but there are these barriers around us that keep us from hearing His words or feeling His love.
It seems blunt or maybe harsh that Jesus would ask this woman such a direct and personal question. Why did Jesus do this? We have coping mechanisms to deal with life. We may get very rational and arm's length when it come to pain and the disarray in our lives. Men are often good at this, but not exclusively. We may be aching and crying on the inside but have our masks on as part of our armor. Jesus wants to get to our hearts. He wants to penetrate our pretenses and defenses, and He does this with a question. It is a personal question for each of us. What is the question that Jesus would ask that would go straight to the core of your insecurity and fear? What would He ask that would touch the weakness in us that we try so hard to hide?
Jesus asks the woman, "Where is your husband?" Now, the woman is in quite a predicament. This little talk with Jesus has taken an unexpected turn. What will she do? She can walk away with her earthly water or she can stay and receive lasting water.
One of the fascinating lines in this story is found in v. 28 just after the disciples return to Jesus at the well. It is a line we could easily pass over without catching its significance. It says, "Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city."(3) Everyone needed water everyday, for drinking, cooking, cleaning. She had come to the well to get water, and she had chosen a time when she wouldn't have to be with others from town.
What did she do? Did she walk away with her water or receive the special Living Water that Jesus talked about? Right away, we know that she did not walk away with her water because she left her water jar and went back to the city without it. Here was someone who went to the well alone, rejected by others and probably by herself, too. She had experienced something new, something that changed her life. It was like "Living Water." What happened? Could it be that she felt accepted completely? Could it be that she felt forgiven? Could it be that Jesus' love and affirmation so filled her heart that no one could make her to feel less than a person anymore? Could it be that some of the smug and unhappy people back in town needed to taste that same Living Water that she did?
Her encounter with Jesus renewed her spirit, reconnected her with God and healed her deepest loneliness. She no longer is afraid of community because she has been loved for who she is as a whole person. Noticeably changed, she leads those in her village to connect with the Christ. This is the healing connection, our connection with God, our connection with one another in community, our connection with the stranger who meets Christ through us.(4)
Relationships can be damaging, demeaning, ultimately destructive. But healing comes through connection with the one who loves us most. Healing flows through our letting God love us and love other people through us. All of our relationships - family, church, partnership, friendships, associations and marriage - are places where the waters of life can flow if we are connected to the Source, to the free flowing fountain of God's grace in Christ.
Then, we will know the Living Water that the Samaritan woman found. Though we go to the well isolated, alone and rejected, Jesus is there for us and He gives us hope, and healing and a new life.
Century Christian Church, February 27, 2005 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
1. From "Living Water for a Thirsty Soul" at esermons.com
2. Ibid
3. Comment from "Little Dippers and Old Containers" by Sarah Webb pastor of Bethany Memorial Church, published in Biblical Preaching Journal, Winter 2005, p. 25.
4. Larry Bethune, "The Healing Connection, 3-7-1999, University Baptist Church, Austin, TX.