Lent Guide 6
Scripture: John 4:5-26 (ESV)
So [Jesus] came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about [noontime].
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food). The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans). Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
Reflection:
Whether they’d known Jesus his whole life or only just met him, when people encountered the homebuilder-turned-rabbi from Nazareth, they were often surprised to find themselves in the presence of the Living God. Part of the surprise was the way he simultaneously upended and fulfilled their hopes and expectations for a savior. Simply through conversation, he could awaken an awareness of a profound, yet previously unrealized, spiritual thirst and then satisfy their soul’s deepest longings.
The Samaritan woman came to the well in the heat of the day precisely because she thought no one would be there at that hour. Given her string of husbands and her current morally questionable living arrangement, she would have faced significant social stigma in her culture. When she arrived and saw Jesus, he surprised her by asking for a drink as comfortably and casually as if they were old friends, even though they belonged to different tribes long at odds. Beyond that, she didn’t expect him to know about her past. She anticipated the judgmentalism she typically received. Instead, Jesus recognizes her deep spiritual need and offers her the ‘living water’ of eternal life.
In some way, we are all this woman. Some of us have experienced first-hand the pain of social rejection. Or maybe you’ve felt helpless and heartbroken as a child or loved one suffered the spiritual pain of being an outcast. In these situations, a sense of estrangement from God often follows. But even when life seems to be at its best by worldly measures, the truth is that “everyone” will be thirsty again without Jesus the Messiah. No matter how successful, self-sufficient, well-respected, or religiously proper we may be, we are all nonetheless castaways from the everlasting communal life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, if we do not drink from the fountain of grace Jesus invites us to.
Some evangelists use a pen, and others use a paintbrush. The piece above is from a series of ‘water-paintings’ inspired by the many biblical references to water as a symbol for eternal life and spiritual refreshment. Without knowing the painting’s title or the artist (who is a faithful HP Pres member), you probably wouldn’t think you were looking at a piece of religious art.
At first glance, you see a beautiful mountain stream, artfully rendered to look alive, as if it’s moving, flowing right off the canvas. But just like the Samaritan woman who realized there was more to Jesus than first met the eye, once you know the painting is called Water of Life, you realize there is a deeper invitation being extended to you:
O weary sinner, won’t you come to Jesus? O long-lost son and daughter, won’t you surrender and accept his invitation to become in you a spring of water welling up to eternal life? Won’t you drink from “the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb?” (Rev. 22:1)
Contemplation & Prayer:
Imagine yourself sitting with Jesus at the well. What conversation would you have with the one who knows everything you ever did?
Pray:
Father, I want to be a true worshipper. Thank you for seeking me out and calling me to yourself.
Jesus, I know you are the Messiah, and that you have come to ransom the lost like me, and I trust that you will come again in glory. Help me to endure, and to run a good race until the day you return or until you call me home to heaven. Give me humility and wisdom to accept your way. Give me the deep satisfaction that comes from living in union with you.
Holy Spirit, help me to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Quench my soul’s thirst for meaning, acceptance, wholeness, and peace. Send me as your ambassador to testify that Christ is indeed the Savior of the world.
Amen.
Action & Invitation:
Today or throughout this week…
- Come and see this week’s painting in person, on display in the Hunt Center Lobby south gallery space which, which Bill Fegan as generously shared with us.
- Listen to “Psalm 43” by the musical group Poor Bishop Hooper, from their Every Psalm collection which includes as song written to each of the 150 psalms in the bible. Listen here.
- Read the rest of the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus when she comes back again, bringing others to worship him: John 4:25-45. Who can you invite to our Easter services so that they can experience what it’s like to worship God is spirit and in truth?
