The tired and cranky Israelites are venting
their frustrations and Moses is as frustrated with them as they are with him,
or as he asks, as if to say after all we’ve been through, Why do you test
the Lord? But
God responds with more information and they all proceed to find that water that
God provides. I like the combination of the first verse of Psalm 95 appointed
for today that follows the story of the Rock at Horeb, referring to the Lord as the Rock of our Salvation. Well
done, Lectionary designers!
In his Letter to the Romans, Paul is letting
them and us know that being justified by faith means that through Jesus,
we find peace with God and have access to God’s grace and the assurance of God’s
enduring love. Through the Holy Spirit that grace and love has been poured into
our souls and through it we can draw strength and hope in times of life’s trials
as in a never depleted well. This love is an unearned gift which grows stronger
when we accept it, and grows more deeply and regularly. Through prayer we breathe
in and fill ourselves with the peace we are offered.
In this Gospel reading, Jesus is taking a shortcut to Galilee. He
and the disciples with him are in a part of the country where no respectable
Jew would usually travel let alone strike up a conversation with one of those
people, who is, of all things, also a woman! When the Jews
returned from exile in Babylon, four centuries prior to this encounter, they
refused to allow the Samaritans to participate in the rebuilding of Jerusalem
and particularly the Temple. For the Samaritans, the Temple separated and centralized
the worship of God in Jerusalem which gave rise to the woman’s comment to Jesus
about the Samaritan worship of God on their own mountain: Our ancestors
worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must
worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman,
believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on
this mountain nor in Jerusalem… While the religions of the Samaritans
and Judaism are both Abrahamic and monotheistic, their ethnic faiths developed
alongside one another. For one issue, the Samaritans believe their holy
Mountain is Gerizim near the modern city of Nablus on the West Bank of Israel,
known as Shechem in ancient times. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is a holy site
in Judaism, being the retaining wall of the former Temple that leaves the
“Western” or “Wailing” Wall as a site of prayer. Islam also holds this wall as
holy and it has built the Dome of the Rock and a Mosque on top of the Temple
Mount, no small issue there!
Today Samaritans share both Israeli and
Palestinian citizenship. In the time of this encounter of Jesus, as well as
likely now in some cases, Jews would neither eat nor drink with Samaritans, possibly
in part because of the orthodox Jewish purity laws. Yet regarding which
mountain is holier, both Samaritans and Jews claim their holy sites as the place
of the binding of Isaac by Abraham. This passage highlights Jesus's willingness
to have this conversation and to tell of the coming time when worship for all
will be very different for the true believers, because the worship of God is
not exclusive to a time, place, or people. It also underscores many of the
issues of the other in our current life and times.
Differences
in culture, dress, religion, food and drink, accents, around the world and in
our own nation – and foremost, skin color – separate us, narrowing our human
experiences, creating deep and ancient, or at least very old prejudices, handed
down through generations often with little explanation or understanding of the
roots of the conflict. The Hatfields and McCoys of life and legend in our land,
are just one example. Left unchecked and re-evaluated, layers of mistrust
continue to deepen and solidify, turn to un-examined hate, and all too often
devastating violence. Us vs. Them, is a prevailing human issue – if you're one
of them you cannot be one of us. All too often we won't
– or rather can’t – discuss the whys and wherefores of our
opinions and/or even understand the reasons for our deeply held beliefs. After
all, understanding each other might taint what we've been taught to believe by
those we accept as authoritative.
Across the spectrum of the Earth, our
beliefs have been sustained and enhanced by the continual distraction, disinformation,
and propaganda from those who profit from our divisions. And, whether we
admit it or not, many of us don’t like facts to get in the way
of what we want to believe. Thinking differently about something I have
been taught or guided to think is undisputed is very uncomfortable, even scary.
More so when a country’s leadership, in whom you have or want to put your trust,
intentionally proclaims debasing theories and attempts to incite violence against
those unacceptable others to divert and divide to enhance their
own political power.
WWYD? What Would You Do
– if you were desperately thirsty in a place you didn't feel you belonged in,
or your car broke down in a strange location, or you witness someone unlike
yourself being harassed or worse? How have we fostered the isolating of
ourselves and the marginalizing of others by what we have done and
by what we have left undone?* Possibly in the communal desert of our own making, we
falsely believe that it keeps us being us and them away
from us which makes everything better for us. Great logic? I regularly
have to stop and examine my reactions, and the in-my-head responses, to think
and wonder why I am for it or against it, whatever it is and
to whom it is directed, as well as whom I choose to accept
as my authority on the matter and why. Lent is a moment to think
about our desert moments in life. Is God in Jesus my Living Water for
consolation, hope, compassion, and love of my neighbor as if s/he/they are
myself , or just the One I blame and complain to? Jesus told the Samaritan
woman that God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship
in spirit and truth.
This is a Well that runs deep. How well are we each
searching to bring up to our conscious thoughts and acts the living
water, the spirit and truth of God, the Creator of ALL life in
its multitude of shapes, forms, cultures, colors, genders, genomes, and faiths.
How often do we say grace before meals yet hate the neighbors – you know, the
ones who post opposite political views on Facebook or bumper stickers, attend a
different church, mosque, temple, synagogue, or none at all?
This is a Well that runs deep. How well are we each
searching to bring up to our conscious thoughts and acts the living
water, the spirit and truth of God, the Creator of ALL life in
its multitude of shapes, forms, cultures, colors, genders, genomes, and faiths.
How often do we say grace before meals yet hate the neighbors – you know, the
ones who post opposite political views on Facebook or bumper stickers, attend a
different church, mosque, temple, synagogue, or none at all?** Jesus tells the Samaritan woman first before all others that
he is the Messiah. She believes him. Do we?
The Well of Living Water is immeasurable
in its depth and breadth yet sometimes we need to dig more deeply within ourselves
to find our faith.
*From the Confession in the
Book of Common Prayer, pg 360, emphasis added [see: BCPonline.org]
** Don’t forget to revisit: Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31,
and Luke 10:27
LET
US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O God of
Grace and Peace, drive us from the desert of discouragement that we lead
ourselves into by our wayward hearts and selfish grumblings. Guide us back
to the saving water from the Rock of Faith that washes away all fear, anguish,
and uncertainty.
Lord of Living
Water
RESPONSE:
Our soul-thirst is quenched in You
~
O God of Grace and Peace, awaken, inspire, and turn the hearts and efforts
of the Leaders of this World, this Nation, and this Community into a
cooperative spirit, especially now, for the common purpose of the health,
safety, and prospering of all Your people everywhere. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
Lord of Living Water
Our soul-thirst is quenched in You
~
O God of Grace and Peace, pour Your love and enduring hope into those who
are seriously ill and fearful of what is to come. Grant extra grace to all who
minister to their needs. We now join our hearts to pray for those in
need… add your own petitions
Lord of Living Water
Our soul-thirst is quenched in You
~
O God of Grace and Peace, fill the hearts of the mournful with Your healing
mercy as those who have departed this life now dance with joy in the fountains
of eternity with You. We pray especially for… add your own petitions
Lord of Living Water
Our soul-thirst is quenched in You
~
O God of Grace and Peace, we pause in this moment to
offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and
memorials, aloud or silently… add your own petitions
Lord of Living Water
Our soul-thirst is quenched in You
~ O
God of Grace and Peace, refresh the spirit of those we have called into
leadership for Your Church. May their faith in You course so strongly in their
hearts that they and we are sustained and renewed with the courage of their
convictions. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
Lord of Living Water
Our
soul-thirst is quenched in You
The
Celebrant adds: Great
LORD of Heaven and of All the Earth, Christ among us is the proof of Your love
for us and the model for how to live as an inclusive community of
faith. Unharden our hearts to rid the world of prejudice and hate by
reconciling ourselves with others, planting seeds of kindness and tolerance,
and returning real or perceived insults and injuries with forgiveness. We ask
this through Jesus, the Rock of our Salvation; and the Holy Spirit, the
Sustainer of our souls; who live and reign with You, One God, our infinite Well
of eternal Living Water. Amen.
