Living Water

Living Water
March 15, 2020 – 3rd Sunday in Lent
Exodus 17:1-7; John 4:5-19, 28-29, 39-42

God’s people have always been a thirsty people. They show their thirst in many differentways. Take this morning’s reading in Exodus, for example. The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness. They were camping one night, and began to grumble to Moses about having nothing to drink.

“Why did you bring us out of Egypt, Moses, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”

The people were ready to stone Moses for lack of water. God’s people can’t live without water for very long, yet they don’t always trust God or God’s servants to quench their thirst.

Then there is the passage from John’s gospel this morning. This is a groundbreaking passage in many ways. John considered this story to be very significant. It happened at high noon – the hottest part of the day, and there was a reason for that. Ordinarily women would come from town to fill their jars with water either early in the morning or later in the evening – before the sun became unbearable.

It was a daily ritual and a gathering place for community as women shared stories and conversation. But this solitary Samaritan woman had learned to avoid the crowds . . . even if it meant coming to the well during the hottest part of the day.

She learned the hard way, and vowed to avoid the icy stares, the scorn and the gossip of the other women. In their eyes, she was a woman without morals . . . without value . . . a disgrace to the town. She had five husbands in the past, and the man she was living withnow wasn’t even her husband.

Imagine her shock when a man approached her. Did he not know who she was? He must be a stranger. She would soon find out that Jesus breaks down barriers and overcomes obstacles.

In the first place, it was a surprise that Jesus would even show up in Samaria. The problem was partly religious, partly racial, and partly political, between the Jews and the Samaritans. It went back at least six centuries in Hebrew history. Jewish people often went out of their way to avoid traveling through Samaria, even though it meant a time- consuming detour. Most of the time they took a long, out of the way route to the east in order to avoid Samaritan territory.

On this particular occasion, Jesus traveled directly through Samaria. As Jesus sat there by the well – hot, thirsty and dusty, He asked a Samaritan woman to do something for him. He asked her for a drink of water.

He had a purpose. He talked longer to the woman at the well than he did to anyone else in all the Gospels—longer than he talked to any of his disciples, longer than he talked to any of his accusers, longer than he talked to any of his own family.

She is the first person he reveals himself to in the Gospel of John. She is the first outsider to guess who he is and tell others. She is the first evangelist, John tells us, and her testimony brings many to faith . . . and yet, she has gained quite a negative reputation over the years. This woman is an outsider. In fact, she is a triple outsider.

In the first place, she was a Samaritan – despised and an outcast among the Jews. She was also, of course, a woman. In Jesus’ time, women were not treated with equality and respect. They were not even allowed to worship with men. Women had no place in public life.

So she was a Samaritan and a woman, but that was not all. She was also a fallen woman. This woman was one of the people they talked about, and the fact that she showed up at noon was a sure sign she was not welcome at their morning social hour.

So imagine her surprise when she comes in the heat of the day with her water bucket balanced on her head and sees a strange man sitting beside the well. Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never thirst. (John 4:13-14)

And so they talk, and finally when no one else was around, she took a risk and said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” John 4:15 It could have been accidental. In her excitement, she could have forgotten the heavy jar. But I believe John is trying to tell us something more. She was now in possession of true living water.

She didn’t need to drag around the heavy jar anymore and all the burdens it represented. She had a personal encounter with the living Christ, and experienced him for herself. Even the disciples were astonished when they returned from town . . . astonished that Jesus was talking to a woman.

She left the well quickly. . . but not before her life had been changed forever. One of the most telling and poignant details to me is this: “the woman left her water jar.” Of course, it could just be accidental. In her excitement she could have forgotten the heavy jar. But I believe that the author is telling us something more.

This nameless Samaritan woman had asked Jesus for living water. Maybe she left the heavy jar behind because she did not need it any longer; she had received the gift Jesus promised –not just any water, but living water and the gift of new life.

In her excitement and enthusiasm, “She went back to the city. She said to the people,‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!’” John 4:28-29

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, and

they went out to see Jesus to see for themselves. The Samaritans asked Jesus to stay with them, and he stayed for two more days, and even more people came to believe because they had a personal encounter with Jesus.

They said to the woman what I believe is every preacher’s prayer: “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.” John 4:41-42.

It’s amazing what a simple thing like a cup of cold water can do for a dry and thirsty soul. A word of kindness . . . genuine acceptance and understanding of someone who is different . . . or a second chance at life. Something that was broken inside of the woman came alive again. Something that was lost was suddenly found. Jesus showed her that she had never experienced before. That same grace and love that Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman is offered to you today.

There was a time when our family was living in a dry and barren land. The year was 2006. Our assignment in starting a new church in the Poconos had come to an end. But neither my wife nor I were able to secure a new church position. We were unable to find a job,and we didn’t know what was next. We spent most of the next year living off savings and living with a family member. It was a time when there was no living water to be found, or so it seemed.

After a year, my wife was called to be the pastor at a church in New Jersey, and I found a position as an interim pastor. It was like water from a fresh, cool stream washed over our souls. God provided water in the wilderness, and we were very grateful.

What are you thirsty for today? What are the empty water jars you lug around day after day – maybe jars of regret, jars or discouragement, emptiness, guilt or pain. We lug our heavy, empty jars because there are times we let our family down . . . times we let ourselves down . . . and times we let God down. We thirst and our water jars are empty because we do too much or too little, and don’t wait for the living water that only God can provide.

A cold cup of holy water would go a long way right about now—especially in a dry and thirsty dessert . . . especially during a time of rising fears and uncertainties surrounding the virus.

Jesus gave the Samaritan woman a cup of living water. He will do the same for you. He still comes to the dry and thirsty places in your life in the most unlikely of times and circumstances because he wants to meet you and give you living water. Drink deeply ofGod’s living water today. Be filled with hope and new life. Sometimes all a person needs is a cup of cold water –

A cup of living water, the kind that only God can give. AMEN