Living Water Woke Her

Sermon by: Rev. Mary Alice Mulligan, Ph.D.

3rd Sunday in Lent - Scripture: John 4:5-42

Our Lent “Woke Series” is at the half-way mark. We’ve seen the stories build week by week. First, we saw how opposing evil woke up Jesus. Last week we saw Jesus wake up Nicodemus, a respected leader of the Jewish people, but who came secretly to Jesus in the dead of night to hear the word of God’s love. Today, we see an unnamed outsider, a woman, whom Jesus should not be talking to, and worse she’s a Samaritan, but she comes in broad daylight. Samaritans were Hebrews from the Northern Tribes of Israel, who intermarried with foreigners including their Assyrian conquerors. Jews and Samaritans were firmly divided for more than 100 years before Jesus started meddling. John’s note that “Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans,” is a major understatement. For any Jew, Nicodemus was one of “us.” The woman one of “them,” a despised outsider. Another important difference however; Jesus clearly woke Nicodemus, but he may not fully understand Jesus. All of a sudden, he has disappeared back into the night and Jesus is making declarations apparently to disciples. The Samaritan woman alone however, has the longest back and forth conversation with Jesus recorded in any of the four Gospels, and she holds her own pretty well. But then Jesus says “I am” to her – the famous God claim. “Ego eimi” (Yahweh). The woman really wakes up. She leaves her water jar and runs. But she isn’t just slipping away; she runs to tell. “Come and see.” John concludes the story saying: Many people believed because of her ‘testimony,’ which in John is huge: “martyreo,” meaning: apostolic witness. Then the Samaritans confess him “Savior of the world” the only time John uses this title in the whole Gospel. Stop now and read John 4:5-42.

Wake up to who Jesus is. People can open their eyes to discover who Jesus is, if they want. As we hear these ongoing stories about his encounters with all manner of people, one thing is obvious. Jesus is a barrier crosser. He has no hesitation reaching out to anyone, no matter what social restrictions he has to ignore. Last week we heard John’s famous claim, “God so loved the world that the beloved Son was given so that whoever believes would have everlasting life.” And this week, we see that claim proven as the beloved Son reaches out to ask a Samaritan, a woman, to share her water with him. Social boundaries and prejudices apparently mean nothing to Jesus, because he has something more important to share with everyone. He has Living Water which will become a spring within each person gushing up to eternal life. Living Water is not like an admission ticket to hold onto until death and then turn it in to get into heaven. Living Water fills a person now with joyous life. A spring of water filling them and then gushing from them with generosity and hope and courageous love.

How is such a change possible? Because what Jesus offers is more than what a person can offer. When the woman mentions the coming Messiah, Jesus responds with the same words Moses heard when he asked who he should say was sending him to Pharoah. “Tell them I am who I am.” So Jesus says the woman, “I am,” the first of many “I am” statements Jesus utters in John’s Gospel, indicating he is more than human. Jesus is the presence of something holy, sacred, divine. Then because the people from town are eager to hear what Jesus has to say, he stays with them several days, even though it is forbidden to enter a gentile’s house or share a meal. Jesus crosses barriers to demonstrate God’s overwhelming love gushing up among them. Jesus doesn’t merely visit with them for a couple days; John reports Jesus abides with them, remains with them, for two days. The same word we hear when Jesus calls followers to abide in him. He abides in the Samaritans, who declare him “Savior of the world.” The only time the label is used in John. So, people can wake up to all Jesus is.

So then anyone can become an apostle. Each person has the possibility of becoming an apostle because Jesus doesn’t have restrictions. An apostle is one who is sent out, commissioned to carry a message. A Christian apostle can be anyone who has heard the message of God’s love through the teachings of Jesus and then is sent out to spread the word. Sometimes apostles are directly sent out by Jesus, as on the morning of the resurrection, when Jesus appears to Mary and says, “Go tell (the others)…” or just before the ascension, Jesus appears to the Eleven and says, “Go, make disciples…” (1)

More often, followers of Jesus receive his message and feel sent to “Go tell.” Like the Samaritan woman who went charging into town to tell people about this man who might be Messiah. And some years later, Saul encounters the Risen Christ on the road and believes he is sent to learn more. But more disturbing in that story about Saul, Jesus appears to a common follower, Ananias and sends him to heal Saul’s blindness. Even though Ananias knows Saul’s reputation for persecuting Christians, he accepts the responsibility to become an apostle. Ananias was not one of the inner circle but when called to go and tell, he complied.

In the 8th century, a woman named Leoba became known for her intellect and holiness, which helped Christianity spread in England. She was a spiritual friend of Boniface, who asked her to come to Germany to help establish Christianity there. Already an apostle in England, she then followed the apostolic charge to go to Germany. She was not born into a household of church leadership. She was just a person of faith, who heeded the call on her life to “go tell.” We know her now as Saint Leoba.

Around the turn of the 20th century, a woman named Pandita Ramabai, having studied in Europe and worked in a Christian mission to rescue prostitutes, felt the call to “go tell” in her home country. She returned to India to establish a similar ministry to free, educate, and give opportunities to women and girls. She was just a person who responded when she was told to “go tell.” So see, anyone can be an apostle.

Which means, you can witness. You are part of the “anyone.” You are perfectly able to “go tell.” The Samaritan woman was no one special. Like almost all women in her era, she had little control over her life. Married 5 times, but probably never had a choice in any of those circumstances. But when she meets Jesus, she bursts out to “go tell.”

As part of the St. Andrew family, you are sent to tell the good news of Jesus. Of course, figuring out how to share good news is tricky. Teen-agers do it so easily don’t they? They come up to someone anywhere and say, “Hey, I’m going to this thing. It’s pretty cool. Want to go?” And suddenly it’s a group. But for adults, the “go tell” commission is hard. But you can do it.

I’m sure you all remember my first sermon at St. Andrew. It was from John, the first chapter, where Jesus just simply says to a couple of John the Baptizer’s disciples, “Come and see.” It’s the same thing the Samaritan woman says to her townspeople. “Come and see this guy who told me everything I ever did.” This is a great clue. The Samaritan woman just told her experience.

The eleven people who went to the New College protest can say to anyone, “Our General Minister and President spoke at the New College rally and the students cheered him for supporting them. I love being in the United Church of Christ. Want to give it a try Our Lent “Woke Series” is at the half-way mark. We’ve seen the stories build week by week. First, we saw how opposing evil woke up Jesus. Last week we saw Jesus wake up Nicodemus, a respected leader of the Jewish people, but who came secretly to Jesus in the dead of night to hear the word of God’s love. Today, we see an unnamed outsider, a woman, whom Jesus should not be talking to, and worse she’s a Samaritan, but she comes in broad daylight. Samaritans were Hebrews from the Northern Tribes of Israel, who intermarried with foreigners including their Assyrian conquerors. Jews and Samaritans were firmly divided for more than 100 years before Jesus started meddling. John’s note that “Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans,” is a major understatement. For any Jew, Nicodemus was one of “us.” The woman one of “them,” a despised outsider. Another important difference however; Jesus clearly woke Nicodemus, but he may not fully understand Jesus. All of a sudden, he has disappeared back into the night and Jesus is making declarations apparently to disciples. The Samaritan woman alone however, has the longest back and forth conversation with Jesus recorded in any of the four Gospels, and she holds her own pretty well. But then Jesus says “I am” to her – the famous God claim. “Ego eimi” (Yahweh). The woman really wakes up. She leaves her water jar and runs. But she isn’t just slipping away; she runs to tell. “Come and see.” John concludes the story saying: Many people believed because of her ‘testimony,’ which in John is huge: “martyreo,” meaning: apostolic witness. Then the Samaritans confess him “Savior of the world” the only time John uses this title in the whole Gospel. Stop now and read John 4:5-42.

Wake up to who Jesus is. People can open their eyes to discover who Jesus is, if they want. As we hear these ongoing stories about his encounters with all manner of people, one thing is obvious. Jesus is a barrier crosser. He has no hesitation reaching out to anyone, no matter what social restrictions he has to ignore. Last week we heard John’s famous claim, “God so loved the world that the beloved Son was given so that whoever believes would have everlasting life.” And this week, we see that claim proven as the beloved Son reaches out to ask a Samaritan, a woman, to share her water with him. Social boundaries and prejudices apparently mean nothing to Jesus, because he has something more important to share with everyone. He has Living Water which will become a spring within each person gushing up to eternal life. Living Water is not like an admission ticket to hold onto until death and then turn it in to get into heaven. Living Water fills a person now with joyous life. A spring of water filling them and then gushing from them with generosity and hope and courageous love.

How is such a change possible? Because what Jesus offers is more than what a person can offer. When the woman mentions the coming Messiah, Jesus responds with the same words Moses heard when he asked who he should say was sending him to Pharoah. “Tell them I am who I am.” So Jesus says the woman, “I am,” the first of many “I am” statements Jesus utters in John’s Gospel, indicating he is more than human. Jesus is the presence of something holy, sacred, divine. Then because the people from town are eager to hear what Jesus has to say, he stays with them several days, even though it is forbidden to enter a gentile’s house or share a meal. Jesus crosses barriers to demonstrate God’s overwhelming love gushing up among them. Jesus doesn’t merely visit with them for a couple days; John reports Jesus abides with them, remains with them, for two days. The same word we hear when Jesus calls followers to abide in him. He abides in the Samaritans, who declare him “Savior of the world.” The only time the label is used in John. So, people can wake up to all Jesus is.

So then anyone can become an apostle. Each person has the possibility of becoming an apostle because Jesus doesn’t have restrictions. An apostle is one who is sent out, commissioned to carry a message. A Christian apostle can be anyone who has heard the message of God’s love through the teachings of Jesus and then is sent out to spread the word. Sometimes apostles are directly sent out by Jesus, as on the morning of the resurrection, when Jesus appears to Mary and says, “Go tell (the others)…” or just before the ascension, Jesus appears to the Eleven and says, “Go, make disciples…”

More often, followers of Jesus receive his message and feel sent to “Go tell.” Like the Samaritan woman who went charging into town to tell people about this man who might be Messiah. And some years later, Saul encounters the Risen Christ on the road and believes he is sent to learn more. But more disturbing in that story about Saul, Jesus appears to a common follower, Ananias and sends him to heal Saul’s blindness. Even though Ananias knows Saul’s reputation for persecuting Christians, he accepts the responsibility to become an apostle. Ananias was not one of the inner circle but when called to go and tell, he complied.

In the 8th century, a woman named Leoba became known for her intellect and holiness, which helped Christianity spread in England. She was a spiritual friend of Boniface, who asked her to come to Germany to help establish Christianity there. Already an apostle in England, she then followed the apostolic charge to go to Germany. She was not born into a household of church leadership. She was just a person of faith, who heeded the call on her life to “go tell.” We know her now as Saint Leoba.

Around the turn of the 20th century, a woman named Pandita Ramabai, having studied in Europe and worked in a Christian mission to rescue prostitutes, felt the call to “go tell” in her home country. She returned to India to establish a similar ministry to free, educate, and give opportunities to women and girls. She was just a person who responded when she was told to “go tell.” So see, anyone can be an apostle.

Which means, you can witness. You are part of the “anyone.” You are perfectly able to “go tell.” The Samaritan woman was no one special. Like almost all women in her era, she had little control over her life. Married 5 times, but probably never had a choice in any of those circumstances. But when she meets Jesus, she bursts out to “go tell.”

As part of the St. Andrew family, you are sent to tell the good news of Jesus. Of course, figuring out how to share good news is tricky. Teen-agers do it so easily don’t they? They come up to someone anywhere and say, “Hey, I’m going to this thing. It’s pretty cool. Want to go?” And suddenly it’s a group. But for adults, the “go tell” commission is hard. But you can do it.

I’m sure you all remember my first sermon at St. Andrew. It was from John, the first chapter, where Jesus just simply says to a couple of John the Baptizer’s disciples, “Come and see.” It’s the same thing the Samaritan woman says to her townspeople. “Come and see this guy who told me everything I ever did.” This is a great clue. The Samaritan woman just told her experience.

The eleven people who went to the New College protest can say to anyone, “Our General Minister and President spoke at the New College rally and the students cheered him for supporting them. I love being in the United Church of Christ. Want to give it a try sometime?” Or you could even say, “The church I go to understands how hard it is to wrap our minds around Jesus. Do you know what I mean? Want to come and see?” Don’t get me wrong. It is not our place to try to convert someone from a religious stance they love. But plenty of people are searching, or lost, or frustrated trying to find out about God. It’s okay to give them a glimpse into your faith. You may be the apostle they need to make some sense out of what is going on in their life. And in case you get tongue tied, use one of our invitation cards and say, “My pastor challenged me to give out one of these cards this week.” You can be the voice someone needs to hear. You can be God’s witness.?” Or you could even say, “The church I go to understands how hard it is to wrap our minds around Jesus. Do you know what I mean? Want to come and see?” Don’t get me wrong. It is not our place to try to convert someone from a religious stance they love. But plenty of people are searching, or lost, or frustrated trying to find out about God. It’s okay to give them a glimpse into your faith. You may be the apostle they need to make some sense out of what is going on in their life. And in case you get tongue tied, use one of our invitation cards and say, “My pastor challenged me to give out one of these cards this week.” You can be the voice someone needs to hear. You can be God’s witness.

(1) On resurrection morning in Matthew and John, Jesus appears to Mary. As Matthew ends, Jesus appears to the 11.