give me some of that water

from my sermon on 3/27/11 from John 4:5-42 Are you thirsty? Water is one of those basic needs...right up there with oxygen. I wanted to be sure of my facts, so I looked it up this past week. You need about 2 quarts of water per day to function well. Depending on your size, how hot it is, and how much you exert yourself, you can only go 2 to 5 days before your body will start to shut down. Do you think this woman at the well is thirsty? Maybe for something other than water? How long can you go without touch? Without relationship? Without love? Jesus meets the woman at the well at high noon. When do other folks go to the well to get water? At the cool times of the day...at morning and evening. Why is she out there all alone? Do you think she is thirsty? Jesus has a conversation with her that goes from water to living water. Living water could mean flowing water like from a stream or a spring. Living water was a metaphor for the Torah, the first 5 books of the Old Testament, God's instructions for us through Moses. But I like what Jesus says about living water: it is the water that he gives us that gushes up to eternal life. The water that he gives...why you will never be thirsty again. The woman replies, "Give me some of that water!" The conversation takes an unusual turn. Jesus asks her to bring her husband. She says that she has no husband. This is the place where we usually beat up on the woman. Jesus knows that she has had 5 husbands. Now, Jewish culture said that 3 marriages was the upper limit. More than that Jesus knows the man she is living with is not her husband. Oh, how quick we are to say that she is immoral, living in sin. I wonder if we really know this woman. I like what Edwin Friedman says, this rabbi psychotherapist whom I ofter quote, "In the absence of information, we hullicinate." We tend to fill in the unknown areas with our own stuff. Everybody has a story. I wonder if we know this woman's story, if we have taken the time to get to know her. What if she has had 5 husbands because she has lost everyone of them to death? I have talked with some of you who have lost a spouse. What is that experience like? How much does that hurt? How shattered are you? Can you imagine going through that 5 times? The text doesn't say this happened. It could have. We don't know. What if she learned a dysfunctional pattern of coping? What if she were the eldest daughter of a father who was an alcoholic? Maybe from an early age she was an achiever, overfunctioning, highly successful. Somewhere in her being she said to herself, "My dad may be messed up, but look how good I am." Then when she goes to marry, who does she marry out of all the people in the world? An alcoholic. That marriages crumbles. She turns around and marries....another alcoholic. It is familiar, comfortable. Maybe that is what happened. What if she has been divorced 5 times? Women had little power in that culture. Their identity was through a male: their father, or husband, or brother. Husbands could initiate a divorce for trivial reasons like burning the toast. What if she has been cast aside that many times? We can't assume we know her. What if she has been so hurt by marriage, she simply doesn't want to make herself vulnerable again? I know I have talked with couples who have felt this way. "I just don't want to go through that pain again." As I reflected on this passage and my years of ministry, it struck me that there are a lot of thirsty people out there. You can be just as lonely in marriage, maybe more so, as you can be as a single person. You can be cut off because of a disease like AIDS, or depression, or cancer, or addiction. Others can cut you off because of your sexual orientation, or skin color, or economic condition. When Jesus sees the woman, he sees right through her. What he sees in her, he accepts and he loves. He doesn't judge her or blame her. He meets her right where she is. She is the polar opposite of last week's encounter with Nick at Nite. Last week we had a man; this week a woman. Last week he was named; this week unnamed. Last week he was Jewish; this week Samaritan (curse and spit on those half-breeds, no good, less than human beings). Last week it was in the dark of night; this week at high noon. Last week the epitome of morality; this week we have questions. AS you read John's Gospel and this close encounters Jesus has with individuals, you find that he wants to include absolutely everyone! He offers all living water, relationship with him. Are you thirsty today? She was....for more than H2O. She wonders if he is the Messiah. Jesus answers in a way that resonnates with an encounter that Moses had with God in Exodus, "I AM." She left her water jar! She no longer was thirsty! She found the living water! She went back to her village and immediately started witnessing. She said, "Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did!" Do you want people to know everything you ever did? Jesus did it in such a way that she knew she was loved and forgiven. I ask you, can you do anything that will keep Jesus from loving you? We often draw up boundaries and say, "There is no way God can forgive that." But Jesus knows all about us and loves us still. You know what they say about grace....that it is amazing. Are you thirsty? Ask of Jesus, "Give me some of that water." If you have known the love of Jesus in your life, then go out and witness to others what he has done in your life. Listen to people's stories and don't assume you know what is going on inside them. Then I have a concrete way for you to do this witnessing, as we Rethink Church again this year, 2 weeks from now. On April 10, we will have breakfast from Mobile Loaves and Fishes here at 8:30 am. We will have a brief worship service here at 9, getting out at 9:45 to go be the church out in the world. See your bulletin insert and go to the website to see some of the projects already lined up. But don't be limited by this, pray and seek what Jesus would have you do. There are a lot of thirsty people out there who are crying out, "Give my some of that water."