Listent to Mo. Julie’s sermon here >
“Is the Lord among us or not?”
When you’ve been given the hope of deliverance into the promised land, and what you get instead is wilderness, it’s a natural question to ask. “Is the Lord among us, or not?”
When you look around and think “this is not what I was told I’d be getting,” when the promise is nowhere to be seen and you think “this is not what I signed up for,” it is natural to wonder if God is indeed anywhere to be found.
I relate to the Israelites in this story of their early encounter with the wilderness. Sometimes, the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know. It is so hard to stay faithful and trust in God’s provision when you are parched with thirst and there is no water to be found.
Last week we heard the story of Nicodemus, a learned Pharisee yet snuck to see Jesus in the middle of the night. He had an entire conversation with Jesus about birth and rebirth, but he never seemed to fully grasp Jesus’ contrast between literal birth and spiritual birth. The story of Nicodemus precedes today’s gospel lesson about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, which is Jesus’ longest one-on-one encounter recorded in Scripture. What is it about this woman that makes Jesus go to such lengths to talk to her?
The Samaritan woman stands in stark contrast to Nicodemus. She is a Samaritan: a religious and cultural outsider. Unlike Nicodemus, she hasn’t seen any of Jesus’ signs or been captivated by his preaching; she’s never actually heard of him. Before their conversation, he was just a random Jewish guy asking her for a drink of water. She was a woman, and as evidenced by the disciples’ reaction, not someone Jesus should have been talking to. She was uneducated, whereas Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a learned man of the Jewish faith. And as a Pharisee, Nicodemus was a man of moral upstanding, whereas the Samaritan woman had a shameful past. Unlike Nicodemus’ secret midnight encounter, she meets Jesus at noon, in the middle of the day in a public place. She, unlike Nicodemus, is unnamed, though in the Eastern church she is given the name of St. Photini. But most importantly, unlike Nicodemus, she finally gets it. Her encounter with Jesus opens her eyes to the Savior of the world, and she leaves running back to her family and friends, telling them they must come and see him for themselves. While Nicodemus’ encounter is unresolved, the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus has a sure resolution as she witnesses who Jesus is to her entire community. Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus changes no one, not even himself, but the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus changes both herself and an entire community of people.
Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman is notable not only because it is his longest one-on-one conversation recorded in Scripture, but because of who and what the Samaritan represents. WHO she represents is the epitome of the outsider. Her religion, her culture, her lack of education, her morals, her gender, even her namelessness… everything she is defines her outside the boundaries of any sort of “in” crowd. And although the text doesn’t say anything about her sin, nor does Jesus accuse or forgive her, she is painted as a character who is not only on the margins because of her circumstances but because of her choices. But Jesus does not condemn her.
And this leads us to WHAT she represents. The Samaritan woman and her encounter with Jesus represent the beginning of a journey of faith. Notice that it is Jesus who initiates the conversation. She does not seek him out, nor does she ask him what he is doing there. He approaches her for a drink of water, and of course the irony is not lost on us as he proceeds to tell her that only he can satisfy true thirst with the living water of the love of God. She also represents the direction of a faith journey: in taking her first steps to ask who Jesus is, she has her eyes opened to behold the Savior of the world. And then the next steps are hurried steps in her journey, as she runs back to her family and friends to tell them of her encounter with the living Christ. She invites them to “come and see” the amazing man who was able to tell her everything she had ever done. It is a similar “come and see” we hear echoed in the call of the disciples, as they all begin to witness and believe in Jesus as the Son of God. The Samaritan woman represents a faith journey of seeing and being seen, to believing, to witnessing. The impulse to invite others to “come and see” happens after you have seen for yourself and have come to believe in what you’ve seen. It comes after the experience of being known and still loved. And so she represents a journey of transformation and great joy.
And in her encounter with Jesus, she represents the fulfillment of John 3:16, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” She, a Samaritan woman, an outsider, represents the all-encompassing nature of God’s love and mercy, for Jesus came not for some, but for all. For the whole world. This unnamed woman is perhaps unnamed because Jesus is speaking to more than just her. She represents all of us; the outsiders of past, present and future, people afraid to be known and yet always loved. People for whom God always provides, even as they struggle to remain faithful and trust in God’s steadfast love.
As we witness the powers and principalities of this nation take utter delight in unprovoked war, and abject cruelty toward those considered “outsiders” – in particular, but not exclusive to, non-white, non-western people – we are living in our own wilderness times. Like the Israelites so long ago, we easily can look around and ask, “Is the Lord among us, or not?” Last week, this sanctuary was packed to the gills as hundreds of our neighbors showed up for the Ice preparedness Town Hall that we hosted with our local elected officials and other faith partners. I looked out at this sanctuary bursting with people ready to love their neighbor and it was a moment when it was clear that the Lord is, indeed, among us.
This question – is the Lord among us, or not – is not that different from the questions the Samaritan woman asks Jesus. At their core, these are all questions about thirst. The thirst for righteousness and justice, the thirst for a good life, the thirst for a world where God’s will is being done. The thirst for a world where no one is left behind, the thirst for a world where all people live with freedom and dignity.
The Samaritan woman shows us that this thirst can only be quenched when we not only encounter Jesus, but then invite others to come and see. To invite others into the experience of being so known and so loved. To witness to others the life-changing power of God’s love. Her story reminds us that a life of faith cannot be lived on the sidelines. When people wonder “is the Lord among us, or not?”, she shows us that it is up to us to make God’s justice, righteousness, love, and peace visible. God so loved the world, and the Samaritan woman dares us to be a part of it.
Amen.
