Water Enough

Readings:
Exodus 17:1-7
Romans 5:1-11
John 4:5-42

Audio sermon link:
http://fileresource.sitepro.com/filemanager/74/filecollections/422/A0E5455E-933F-E254-339C-E8BE45C1F045.mp3

Today we hear the unforgettable story of the woman at the well, Jesus comes out during the day, at noon specifically, in order to be there when no one is there, to encounter a woman, a marginal member of society. It is known that women in Jesus’ day were marginal, accustomed to being discarded. The woman at the well remains intentionally nameless to drive the point home.

But this is no ordinary story. In his encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus undertakes the single longest conversation with any single person in the entire Bible. And it’s with a woman. It’s rich, deep, and profound. And it’s real. It’s not a patronizing lecture. Jesus makes her the centerpiece of his revelation: that He is the Messiah! Of all the ways in which to be born … in a manger, a cave. Of all the ways to announce you’re The One … to a woman, a person without name, status, rank, pedigree, power. Today Jesus brings us face to face with this woman. She almost brings us to shame. There are undertones of shame at her very image image. Shame over ourselves, our society, our culture for how we can marginalize with discrimination. And this shame, Pastor Mohn reminded us, has a power in its ignorance, its denial.

Pastor Mohn reminded us that Hillary Clinton’s run for the White House says a lot about how far we’ve come. It’s a positive thing, but it also reminds us that we are still discussing gender at all. Gender still matters … today. There is a refusal ongoing, to fit into some prescribed series of expectations that challenges us and challenges our culture. Hillary has stood as a monumental figure to many women today, a symbol of transcending those expectations.

And in his conversation with her at the well, this is precisely what Jesus is doing. He transcends the culture and its lowly expectations. He invites her in. He gives to this woman the gift of his attention, of a story of a people God has not discarded. He lives the story in the telling of the story. By encountering this marginal, nameless person at the well at the height of day, He is announcing the message that ALL are invited to the table!! All are invited and welcome in His house … where God provides “enough” water, enough to sustain us. The message He brings is of a God who provides enough water, enough sustenance.

Now, as with the encounter with Lazarus next week, this story almost guarantees misunderstanding. Jesus is beginning to undertake the discourse with humanity of coming to terms with our brokenness. He is venturing into spreading The Word that He has come to “make a new thing”.

To be an inspiration through your actions is a true calling.
It is water enough.

For in so doing, it calls to our inner prejudices, our inner demons and it calls us to a better place, a higher ground, a grander purpose, a place where there is water enough.