Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] March 26, 2023 “Open to Maybe” John 11: 1-48 – Common English Bible A certain man, Lazarus, was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (2 This was the Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped his feet with her hair. Her brother Lazarus was ill.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying, “Lord, the one whom you love is ill.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This illness isn’t fatal. It’s for the glory of God so that God’s Son can be glorified through it.” 5 Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. 6 When he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed where he was. After two days, 7 he said to his disciples, “Let’s return to Judea again.” 8 The disciples replied, “Rabbi, the Jewish opposition wants to stone you, but you want to go back?” 9 Jesus answered, “Aren’t there twelve hours in the day? Whoever walks in the day doesn’t stumble because they see the light of the world. 10 But whoever walks in the night does stumble because the light isn’t in them.” 11 He continued, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I am going in order to wake him up.” 12 The disciples said, “Lord, if he’s sleeping, he will get well.” 13 They thought Jesus meant that Lazarus was in a deep sleep, but Jesus had spoken about Lazarus’ death. 14 Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died. 15 For your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there so that you can believe. Let’s go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (the one called Didymus) said to the other disciples, “Let us go too so that we may die with Jesus.” Jesus with Martha and Mary 17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Bethany was a little less than two miles from Jerusalem. 19 Many Jews had come to comfort Martha and Mary after their brother’s death. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him, while Mary remained in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that whatever you ask God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, the one who is coming into the world.” 28 After she said this, she went and spoke privately to her sister Mary, “The teacher is here and he’s calling for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. 30 He hadn’t entered the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who were comforting Mary in the house saw her get up quickly and leave, they followed her. They assumed she was going to mourn at the tomb. 32 When Mary arrived where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had come with her crying also, he was deeply disturbed and troubled. 34 He asked, “Where have you laid him?” They replied, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to cry. 36 The Jews said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “He healed the eyes of the man born blind. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb 38 Jesus was deeply disturbed again when he came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone covered the entrance. 39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said, “Lord, the smell will be awful! He’s been dead four days.” 40 Jesus replied, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” 41 So they removed the stone. Jesus looked up and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 I know you always hear me. I say this for the benefit of the crowd standing here so that they will believe that you sent me.” 43 Having said this, Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his feet bound and his hands tied, and his face covered with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” 45 Therefore, many of the Jews who came with Mary and saw what Jesus did believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. Caiaphas prophesies 47 Then the chief priests and Pharisees called together the council[a] and said, “What are we going to do? This man is doing many miraculous signs! 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our people.” So, the basic story is this: Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. And Lazarus is sick. So naturally, Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus. They didn’t say explicitly that he should come right away, but clearly, that is what they expected. But instead of dropping everything to rush over, Jesus promptly did nothing. The disciples were fine with that because the last time they were there, the townspeople had been ready to stone Jesus. Jesus gave the disciples some confusing spiritual admonition about light and stumbling, about which they collectively said, “Huh?” So Jesus told them that Lazarus has fallen asleep. They descended into a comedy routine, unintentionally of course, about why Jesus would need to go to such a dangerous place to wake him up and so Jesus interrupts and said, “He’s dead.” Back at Mary and Martha’s, at any moment they expect to see Jesus coming over the horizon to save the day – to save their brother, the one whom he loved so much. But what did Jesus do? He sipped herbal tea at small cafés and went window shopping and maybe got his bangs trimmed. Whatever it is that he actually did, it took him so long to go two miles, he had the nerve to show up four days after Lazarus died. Four days is important. It was popular belief that it took three days for the soul to separate from the body, so it would have been obvious to everyone who heard the story that at four days nothing more could be done. The situation was beyond hope. It was past time that even a miracle worker could do something. Jesus said, or seems to say, “You’re lucky I wasn’t here. Now you can give glory to God.” But what kind of God would do that? What kind of God would let your brother die in order to prove a point? And that’s about how Martha felt about it. She pleaded or yelled or cursed or some combination of it all – “Why weren’t you here? Why don’t you care? If you had been here, my brother wouldn’t be dead.” She then probably crumbled in tears at his feet. And when she could finally breathe, “Yet, even now,” she said, “I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Did Martha really believe there was still time for a miracle? She was probably both desperate and resigned to the fact that it was too late. Four days. Jesus and Martha then talked back and forth. If you hold the stereotype about Martha being too busy cooking, the doer, while Mary was the thinker sitting at Jesus’ feet, remember this exchange. Theologically, Martha can hold her own. Just then, Mary comes running from the house pointing her finger and angrily accusing Jesus of neglect. “If you had been here, our brother wouldn’t be dead!” Well, maybe that’s what I would do. Perhaps Mary simply whispered these words under her breath, “If only you had been here…” You’ve experienced grief. You know how mixed our emotions can be. But whatever her tone and whatever she said, her words moved Jesus. He was genuinely pained to see such dear friends suffer. And so, “Jesus wept.” Over the years I’ve asked people about their favorite Bible verses. Some have said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” “The Lord is my shepherd.” “Come to me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.” “For God so loved the world…” Do you have a favorite? It’s hard to choose just one. Well, one time a man answered, “Jesus wept.” He explained, “It’s how I know he was truly human. And if he really was divine, it’s how I know that God cries with us when we suffer.” Back with the sisters, Jesus asked to see the tomb. They warned, “Don’t get too close. He’ll stink!” Jesus cried, “Come out!” And either the Zombie apocalypse had begun or Lazarus came stumbling out of the tomb, his eyes covered, his body still wrapped in unraveling bands of cloth. Alive! But you know what, maybe Jesus and Lazarus had this planned all along, just a little prank. A little hide and seek with his sisters. I mean, otherwise, if you think about it, how would Lazarus feel when he realizes all that has happened to him? I’d be pretty ticked off. But in fact, it gets worse. In response to Lazarus coming back to life, the authorities had him killed again. All to prove a point? And what, exactly, was the point of letting him die to bring him back to life? John has been testing us throughout his gospel. How far will we go? In fact, the raising of Lazarus is the last of what are known as John’s Seven Signs. Signs of escalating improbability. The first one is at the wedding in Cana when Jesus turned water into wine. And we think, yeah, sure, why not. A little sleight of hand and anyone can do that, right? The second sign was when a royal official asked Jesus to heal his son. Jesus didn’t bother to go to the official’s house. He phoned it in and said, “Your son’s healed.” And sure enough, he was. But maybe he wasn’t that sick, just a panicky dad. Sign number 3. Jesus healed a paralytic man in Bethesda. He didn’t ask for healing, just a little help getting into a pool of water known for its healing qualities. Instead of helping, Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.” And he did! However, maybe he wasn’t really all that disabled. In my mind, I’m thinking, it was probably just a little joint pain in the morning. Sign number 4 involved a crowd of 5,000 people… You know where this is going. Jesus told the disciples to feed them. They gathered up a few fish and some loaves of bread and after everyone had eaten, there were 12 baskets of leftovers. You see the escalating improbabilities. Water into wine. Healing from afar. A man who can walk again. 5,000 people fed. Sign number 5: Jesus walked onto a stormy lake and calmed the sea. He walked on water. Really? How do we explain that? Maybe he just walked on a strategically placed sand bar at low tide. A skeptical mind isn’t a bad thing. Doubts and questions are good. But it’s true that all these escalating improbabilities were also upping the fear factor for the Roman Empire and the religious authorities. It’s one thing for Jesus to be a good party guest. Or that Jesus can heal. But by controlling nature, Jesus is clearly more than an average traveling miracle worker. Sign number 6: We heard last week about how Jesus wiped spit and mud on the face of a man born blind and he could see. But wasn’t Jesus really just exposing the blindness of the religious authorities? And wasn’t #5 just about confronting our fears – Peter tried to walk on water too but couldn’t because he was too afraid. And #4 was the power of sharing your food. And #3 was taking initiative for your own healing. And #2… But then sign number 7. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Stinking dead after 4 days. I once had a friend who got in trouble. Or rather, was accused of something. I don’t know if she did what she was accused of. I doubted it but I couldn’t be certain. But the truth is, it didn’t matter whether I believed that what was said of her was true. I believed in her. I sometimes have the same feeling about Jesus. I don’t know if I believe all the things said about him. Sometimes it feels like I’m supposed to believe all those things. Am I a bad Christian if I’m not sure? But, here’s what I can say. I believe in him. In 1910, fundamentalists developed a list of five things Christians must believe in: 1)The inerrancy of the Bible – including a literal 6 day creation 2)The virgin birth 3)The substitutionary atonement of Christ – that Jesus was a sacrificial lamb offered as a blood offering to pay for our sins 4)The bodily resurrection 5)The reality of miracles. Every miracle exactly as written. The rise of fundamentalism came as people increasingly adopted a more scientific view of the world. Our ancestors in the Congregational Church were among the leaders in scholarship that questioned certain doctrines that resulted in a modernist/fundamentalist split. I think there is a middle way. As progressive Christians we take the Bible seriously, not literally. We don’t have to be locked in two boxes, such as, the miracles happened exactly as written or that miracles are simply metaphors that can be explained. There’s more to it than that.
I don’t believe everything that is said of Jesus but I do believe in Jesus. And when you believe in someone, it’s not a series of statements about the person but the relationship that makes a difference in our lives. A creed doesn’t hear us when we cry out in pain, “If only you had been here.” But Jesus does. That’s why we lift our loved ones and our world up in prayer, asking for healing, even when what we ask for is impossible. I can’t explain how prayer changes things, but that’s not as important as the fact that we care and that caring itself is healing. To pray for healing is to be open to maybe – even after 4 days. It means that our hearts and minds are not closed. It means that we refuse to be held down by despair. It means that we refuse to be crippled by cynicism. And some days, wouldn’t that be a miracle?
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Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] March 19, 2023 “Who Sinned” John 1: 1-41 – The Message Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?” 3-5 Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question. You’re looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.” 6-7 He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “Sent”). The man went and washed—and saw. 8 Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, “Why, isn’t this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?” 9 Others said, “It’s him all right!” But others objected, “It’s not the same man at all. It just looks like him.” He said, “It’s me, the very one.” 10 They said, “How did your eyes get opened?” 11 “A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ I did what he said. When I washed, I saw.” 12 “So where is he?” “I don’t know.” 13-15 They marched the man to the Pharisees. This day when Jesus made the paste and healed his blindness was the Sabbath. The Pharisees grilled him again on how he had come to see. He said, “He put a clay paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “Obviously, this man can’t be from God. He doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others countered, “How can a bad man do miraculous, God-revealing things like this?” There was a split in their ranks. 17 They came back at the blind man, “You’re the expert. He opened your eyes. What do you say about him?” He said, “He is a prophet.” 18-19 The Jews didn’t believe it, didn’t believe the man was blind to begin with. So they called the parents of the man now bright-eyed with sight. They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he now sees?” 20-23 His parents said, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we don’t know how he came to see—haven’t a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don’t you ask him? He’s a grown man and can speak for himself.” (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. That’s why his parents said, “Ask him. He’s a grown man.”) 24 They called the man back a second time—the man who had been blind—and told him, “Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor.” 25 He replied, “I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see.” 26 They said, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 “I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?” 28-29 With that they jumped all over him. “You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.” 30-33 The man replied, “This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes! It’s well known that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of—ever. If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.” 34 They said, “You’re nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!” Then they threw him out in the street. 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 The man said, “Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You’re looking right at him. Don’t you recognize my voice?” 38 “Master, I believe,” the man said, and worshiped him. 39 Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.” 40 Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.” As Jesus walked along, he saw a man blind since birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned causing this man to be born blind; him or his parents?” A few years ago, a 9-year-old boy named Grayson was excited to bring his brand new backpack to school. Administrators at the school in Ashville, North Carolina, stopped him at the door and told him he couldn’t bring it in because it could “trigger bullying.” If the boy was bullied for carrying his My Lil Pony backpack it would be his fault – not those so threatened by the sight of a little boy with a cartoon backpack that they couldn’t control themselves. After a media storm, the public school apologized and recognized that this was a teachable moment to address the wider issue of bullying.[1] But not the Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. They expelled an 8-year-old girl named Sunnie because she was “not feminine enough.” She wore pants and her hair was too short and so they claimed she was not upholding “biblical standards.” When the child’s grandparents complained, first to the school and then to the media, the school claimed that the grandparents were lying and the media were distorting the truth. The school dug their heels in even further and claimed they were really the victims. They claimed they were being “bullied” by secular society. Lawyers for the school explained, “Parents send their children to this school because of our Christian beliefs and standards. We have a duty to create an environment that is supportive of these Christian values. We cannot have conflicting messages or standards because such conflict will confuse students and frustrate parents who entrust their children to us.”[2] So, first the school claimed the grandparents were lying. Then, that the media were bullying them. This fantasy-world of victimization is so irritating and outrageous. You’ve no doubt heard the polls that white evangelical Christians claim that “persecution” against them in this country is much worse than Muslims and every other actually mistreated group.[3] But by the school’s own explanation, they weren’t victims. They claimed that had to expel 8-year-old Sunnie because she was a danger to other children and parents for confusing them. And the disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned?” They assumed that blindness was the cause and effect of sin. Let’s be clear: It is not. Even so, remember the pain that such a question must cause for people who are differently-abled. Like the man who was formerly blind – the subject of conversation rather than participant, talked about instead of talked with. This story is a long back and forth and back and forth – ironically kind of funny, almost a keystone cops kind of spectacle with lots of characters, including curious people from the crowd, outraged Pharisees, frightened parents, clueless disciples, Jesus and the man himself (who, did you notice, wasn’t asked before Jesus wiped spit and dirt on his face – can we talk about consent!) Anyway, after all this back and forth and blame game and deflection – “he healed on the Sabbath” – and hypocrisy and false outrage, “how dare you,” – and finally the grand proclamation: “I don’t know. All I know is that I couldn’t see but now I can.” What a great response. How did he heal you? I don’t know. All I ask is that you believe my experience, not express an opinion about whether it’s possible or not. Does Jesus heal? I don’t know. All I know is what people have said about their experiences. And I believe them. So, let’s believe and celebrate with the man. Perhaps, however, the more challenging question is not whether Jesus does or does not heal, but why some and not others. I don’t know. But what I know is that there is nothing I can do to change the situation other than to change myself. And I believe this is where Jesus leads the conversation. So, we start where the gospel starts, “Rabbi, who sinned?” And then follow Jesus to the point. If we stick with it, if we keep engaging this back and forth story, we will finally come to ask – How am I a hypocrite? Such a question can sting, but we all have blinders. You’ve perhaps heard these words before: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our transgressions and cleanse us from unrighteousness.” This is the practice of self-reflection, self-examination, looking for our own blind spots. Or we can try to make it about everyone else, point fingers, and look for someone else to blame. But as people of faith, we believe honesty leads to truth. Self-reflection leads to growth. And confession leads to transformation. Unless we refuse to see. And so, Jesus said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.” Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Surely you’re not calling us blind?” Do you ever think Jesus rolled his eyes? He said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless.” Like last week when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. He told her he was the Messiah. The same woman that one scholar called a “five-time loser” and a “tramp” and others described as living a “morally dubious life.” Jesus honored her and respected her and yet she was, and still is, blamed for the hard life she had been forced to endure. Surely, she brought this upon herself. The disciples didn’t even bother to ask who sinned. They all presumed she had, never asking, “Who sinned against her?” And they never thought to ask who had sinned against this man, forcing him to live as a beggar? Instead the question is asked whether the man born blind had sinned to cause his being born blind? When exactly would that have been? Eye roll and Jesus dismisses the idea as ridiculous and instead spoke to the man, honored him, revealing, I am the Son of Man. To which the man responded, I believe. Just as the woman had. Jesus turned the worlds of both the man and the woman upside down, which threatened the religiously powerful who would do anything – then and now – to keep, hold on to, their power. These radical ideas of Jesus were becoming more dangerous every day. He kept including more and more people who had previously been outcasts for whatever blame game religious, cultural, political, or moral reasons they could conceive. I don’t know why the church refuses to see this. That when you exclude women, when you scapegoat people of every color, race, and nation, and blame people for escaping violence, when you judge people who are queer, and marginalize people who are differently-abled, and stigmatize people with mental illness… Where is the radically inclusive Jesus of the gospel? Instead, obsessed with sin – not the kind that leads to self-examination but rather blame. That’s not Jesus, but it is what too much of American Christianity represents to people outside of or fleeing the church. Sarah Speed (from A Sanctified Art) wrote a poem called “Jesus in the psych ward.” He’s in group therapy, plastic chairs in a circle. Paper cups with weak coffee. Everyone in the room has seeking eyes. The Pharisees admitted him. They said things like, “he’s more than we can handle.” They let the rumors fly. The other patients like him. They say, “He listens to me.” He calls them by name. And when one of them asks, “Is this our fault? Are we here because we sinned?” Jesus doesn’t wait for the facilitator to speak. He crosses the circle and kneels down. He grabs their hands in his and says, Child of the covenant, God loves you too much to ever wish you pain. Bodies and minds crumble sometimes, but God’s love for you does not. And after that There were happy tears and the group was dismissed to lunch, Where they broke bread and no one ever again talked of sin.[4] Jesus said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.” “Surely you’re not calling us blind?” He said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless. But since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.” The powerful clinging to their supremacy claimed to be shocked, victimized, and so they intensified their plot to crucify this Jesus who sees all of us exactly as we really are. And isn’t it amazing that with forgiveness for our own blinders, although once we could not, now too we can see! See ourselves with honesty and be seen by others exactly as we really are – fearfully and wonderfully made. [1] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/03/18/my-little-pony-backpack-banned-school-north-carolina/6565425/ [2] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/26/girl-feminine-school-virginia/6900935/ [3] https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/08/the-evangelical-persecution-complex/375506/ [4] This powerful poem is based on another one called “Jesus at the Gay Bar” and his interaction with a boy who begged to be healed. He said, child, there is nothing in you to be healed. https://jayhulme.com/blog/jesus-at-the-gay-bar Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] March 12, 2023 “Would You Give Me a Drink” John 4: 3-30, 39-42 – Common English Bible Jesus left Judea and went back to Galilee. 4 Jesus had to go through Samaria. 5 He came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, which was near the land Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his journey, so he sat down at the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food. 9 The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.) 10 Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go, get your husband, and come back here.” 17 The woman replied, “I don’t have a husband.” “You are right to say, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus answered. 18 “You’ve had five husbands, and the man you are with now isn’t your husband. You’ve spoken the truth.” 19 The woman said, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you and your people say that it is necessary to worship in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you and your people will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You and your people worship what you don’t know; we worship what we know because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—and is here!—when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth. The Father looks for those who worship him this way. 24 God is spirit, and it is necessary to worship God in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one who is called the Christ. When he comes, he will teach everything to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I Am—the one who speaks with you.”[a] 27 Just then, Jesus’ disciples arrived and were shocked that he was talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 The woman put down her water jar and went into the city. She said to the people, 29 “Come and see a man who has told me everything I’ve done! Could this man be the Christ?” 39 Many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s word when she testified, “He told me everything I’ve ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of his word, 42 and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is truly the savior of the world.” In a desert climate, what time of day would you normally go to the well to draw water? Probably not the hottest time of day. So why was this woman there at Noon? It speaks volumes to who she was:
At least, that’s how I see it. Because here’s the thing: We can hear the words of Jesus that she had had five husbands and was now living with a man who wasn’t her husband and think he was judging her. That’s how many scholars, male scholars that is, have written about her. Listen to these: She exhibits a “dubious lack of morals” and “aberrant sexual behavior.” What?! One wrote that she was a “five-time loser” and a “tramp.” These men reveal more about their own attitudes toward women than anything they could possibly find in the actual text itself. Let’s think about the time in which she lived. As a woman, what kind of power did she have? For example, even if she had wanted to, she couldn’t have a initiated divorce with one let alone five men. And if it had been adultery, the man would have been patted on the back in the locker room, while others were out assembling a pile of stones to throw at her. Maybe every single one of the men died and people thought she was cursed. I immediately think of the story of the woman forced to marry 7 brothers, one after the other after each man died – like a piece of property handed down. To recognize that the woman at the well had been married five times means we must realize, sympathize with, what a hard life she must have had. Imagine a life filled with such grief, a life of being abandoned, the hunger inherent in such instability, and thirst. Literal thirst as she did everything she could to survive. And what did she get for all that? Scholars calling her a loser and women who didn’t invite her to join them in the early morning as they laughed and shared stories on their way to the well. Why was she at the well at Noon? Not only her exclusion but the time of day also reveals the contrast between her and Nicodemus – a respected member of the religious establishment. In the chapter right before this, Nicodemus came to Jesus in the middle of the night. He didn’t want anyone to see him talking with Jesus. To his credit, he went to Jesus with an open mind, but he couldn’t comprehend the idea that he must be born from above or anew or again. He walked back into the night unconvinced. But, by the light of the Noonday sun, this woman with no power, and not only that, a Samaritan, a person of a hated and despised people, regardless of whether she had a “past”… she not only immediately understood who Jesus was, this woman at the well raced to tell other people the good news. She was the first preacher of the gospel! Now, it wasn’t a coincidence or an accident that Jesus happened to come across her. On his trip back to Galilee from Judea, he chose to go directly through Samaria. Imagine you’re traveling from San Diego to San Francisco. It wouldn’t make sense to drive through Las Vegas to get there, right? That is, unless you’re trying to avoid Los Angeles. Not because of the traffic but because you despise the people of LA. To get from Judea to Galilee it would make geographic sense to take a direct route, but Jews avoided Samaria at all cost. They hated each other. Remember the story of the “Good” Samaritan. There was no such thing because nothing good could ever come from Samaria. It’s like hearing a story of the “good” smuggler or the “good” white supremacist. It’s going to get your attention. And why did Jews and Samaritans hate each other so much? Well, scholars don’t all agree and it’s too complicated to really go into with much depth, I tried but it took too long, so just know that it existed with intensity. And yet despite this animosity, or likely because of it, Jesus chose to travel through Samaria. Jesus explained to Nicodemus in that after-dark meeting just verses before that “God so loved the world…” And then immediately put that famous “John 3:16” passage into practice. Samaria represented “the world” and this was just the beginning. And the message was exemplified, amplified, by Jesus telling this particular woman “I Am.” It wasn’t a coincidence. She was exactly the kind of person he was looking for. Nicodemus didn’t understand. Not even the disciples understood. But as Jesus engaged in serious theological conversation with her, treating her with respect like an equal, she not only understood, again, she raced to transform the lives of the very villagers among whom she was an outcast. This isn’t just a nice little story. This story destroys the labels we attach to people, it explodes pre-conceived notions, this story tears down walls, it’s a blast that flings open the door for anyone who has ever felt judged and shut out. Anyone who has ever felt excluded is provocatively welcomed by Jesus who offers Living Water to us all. Again, the statement Jesus made about her five husbands wasn’t a dig at her past. He understood her hard life and offered a healing balm. Like the choir sang, there is a balm in Gilead to heal the wounded soul. Wait, if you’ve sung that song before, it’s supposed to be “sin-sick,” right? To heal the “sin-sick” soul. But is this the same sort of “sin-sickness” the woman was accused of? Is it the reason she went to the well alone at Noon or the reason she was called a tramp with an aberrant sex life, i.e. sin-sick? Why must people be so cruel? Right now, in legislatures across the country, the lives of transgender and non-binary people are being debated like never before. The United Church of Christ reported on Friday that as of March 3rd, there have been 385 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced,[1] the highest number ever introduced in a single legislative season, with 108 of them aiming to end gender affirming healthcare, affecting 54,000 youth, about whom the same kinds of things were said of the woman at the well. Rejected, ostracized, and wounded – but called instead, among other things, sinful, aberrant, morally dubious. And a danger to our kids. Let me introduce you to a woman in Samaria who has had five husbands and now lives with a man who is not her husband. Jesus didn’t say “if you repent I’ll offer you some Living Water.” There was no forgiveness needed. Instead of assigning labels and inciting violence, the church should be offering the water of understanding for how hard life can be when you live under judgment for things over which you have no control. Do we try to understand? Or assign some kind of moral deficiency? To me the parallels are extraordinary. As well as the cruelty. The religiously-based cruelty. But there is a balm in Gilead for the wounded soul. Not the pointed-at = sin-sick. Wounded. For all wounded by religion – perhaps because of divorce you’ve been excluded from communion, or judged because you have doubts, or you or your children weren’t baptized, or you or a loved one are LGBTQ, or because you’ve been looked down upon for whatever reason – religious people can come up with a lot of reasons. Or are you a woman who has been barred from preaching the good news of Jesus who offers the kind of Living Water which will make us never thirst again? I asked our Lunch and Lectionary friends on Thursday, what is Living Water? Marla said it’s the love of God. Others described it as having motion. Water moves. What is the opposite of living water? Stagnant – dank, smelly, unfit to drink – water. Like faith. Think of a stagnant faith or one that is living. A living faith moves and breathes and changes course. A living faith says, God is still speaking. A stagnant faith may counter-propose “God has spoken. Period.” And what does the UCC say to that? Never place a period where God has placed a comma. Is your faith alive or has your faith stagnated? A living faith, like water, is always in motion, it’s changing, always changing, often in ways you can’t control. And why would you want to control it? We are people of faith in motion, Living Water. Sometimes water can only be found in springs below the surface. We might fear it has disappeared because we haven’t seen it for a while, yet it is still there nourishing our thirst. Maybe our prayer is for God to stir the waters. The woman at the well is an inspiration. Just like our national UCC leaders said to trans and non-binary youth on Friday, you are a beloved child of God, created with intention and vibrant love. Within your body rests a sacred offering of God’s multitude. We see you. You belong. As Danielle read at the beginning of the service, hear Jesus say to you: I’d give you a drink, a warm cup of tea with lemon and mint, I’d give you a confetti cannon, roses from the garden, my favorite sweatshirt, a bed to lay in, homemade bread, a hand to hold. I’d give you my full attention. I’d give you my phone and say here, put your number in. I’d give you the melody line, a standing ovation, a sense of security. I’d give you anything and everything If it made you believe That you are enough.[2] [1] https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights?inf_contact_key=2a3609f37382a474fa1cadbeb3009123464dbfbc1801014bcbec243a32905af2 [2] Sarah (Are) Speed from A Sanctified Art |
AuthorI love being a Archives
March 2024
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