The Great Campaigner and Peoples’ Attitude towards Him
Introduction
I am sure many of you have met a campaigner or a promoter either out there in the community as you go about your private or official business or you may have come their way on the phone- chatting with you; in a bid to persuade you.
One thing campaigners or promoters like to do is that they are eager to talk to you on what they are passionate about and would want you to support, buy or sign-in for it. You may be busy about your daily mundane routine and you see them dying or eager to talk to you. Like some of us, we quickly dismiss them because we’ve something else to do.
This morning we are going to meet a campaigner and a promoter, who was out there in the community and trying to ‘sell’ and ‘promote’ his ‘services’ and ‘goods’. Therefore, today’s topic would be-
The Great Campaigner and Peoples’ Attitude towards Him
My text will be based on today’s Gospel reading, i.e. John chapter 4 verses 5 to 42.
Let us pray:
Jesus Christ, our great campaigner, in your passionate bid to have a dialogue with us, we pray that we will give you listening ears and attentive minds. Our Master and God, speak now your servants are waiting. Master, let you voice be heard. We ask this prayer, in your precious and holy Name- amen.
An Overview of the Message
I have taken a 2-prong approach in discussing the topic- The Great Campaigner and Peoples’ Attitude towards Him.
I will first of all, explain the text in light of the context at that time as well as in light of today’s perspective; for the Bible is relevant to every generation- the yesterday generation, the today and tomorrow.
I will then focus on the spiritual truths we can learn from the characters in the text and how their dispositions can shape our relationship with God.
The Text
The narrative in the text is pretty familiar. The two major characters are Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Jesus can be seen here as a campaigner. He strategically located himself at a spot (a water well) and waited for the opportunity to ‘sell’ or ‘promote’ his ‘product’. He was tired because of the trek but not tired to talk to someone, on what he is passionate about.
Jesus is omniscient, i.e. of infinite knowledge. He knew someone will come to that well at such an odd time, noon time, when many women (whose duties in that kind of culture and at that time, were fetching water in the morning and seldom in the afternoon; as well as cooking and being at home to take care of domestic issues, etc). Jesus knew that someone would be out there at noon time to fetch water- someone who was afraid to be with her women folks in the morning hours to draw water from the well. Therefore he strategically located himself at this popular spot, Joseph’s water well- to have a one-to-one chat with this person.
Who was that person? She was a Samaritan woman. We don’t know her first name, or middle or last name. I will therefore give her the initials TSW, which for me mean- The Sorrowful Woman. I will tell you why I prefer to call her TSW- The Sorrowful Woman. She was indeed sorrowful, since her fellow women didn’t want to associate with her as a result of her past and current social life. They had begrudged her because she had snatched their husbands and boyfriends. Each time they see her they call her names- ‘you man snatcher’... and make funny faces at her. She therefore didn’t mingle with the other women in her community; no wonder she would come to fetch water at noon instead of the morning hours.
Jesus knew who she was and yet waited at this spot just to chat with her. To add to TSW’s sorrows, she was a Samaritan and not a Jewess. Jews and Samaritans didn’t see eye to eye. A typical Jew will see a Samaritan as an adulterated Jew, someone from an ethnic group that have syncretised (merged) Judaism with other religious traditions. For this reason, Jews didn’t like Samaritans. Yet Jesus, a Jew, was out there to talk to this woman. A respected man of Jesus’ calibre (being a Rabbi i.e. teacher) talking to this kind of woman was seen as a taboo.
Irrespective of all these societal labelling and constructs this woman had and found herself, Jesus was out there to have a private and one-to-one chat with her.
What was her response? She was all ears to listen to Jesus. She put her pitcher or bucket down and listened to him. She didn’t initially understand what Jesus was driving home, yet she kept asking (what may seem like silly questions).
Jesus’ usual revealing question techniques made her come to terms with who she was. She accepted the fact that she was a sinner and identified Jesus as a Prophet and Messiah.
This encounter with Jesus turned TSW- the Sorrowful Woman to the first female evangelist in the Bible. She went to her town to tell her people who Jesus was and called them to come and meet him. Her one-person evangelistic mission made many of her people to meet Jesus and put their trust in him.
All of these happened because Jesus was out there and eager to meet this person (TSW), whom many women and respected men didn’t want to associate with. She too was willing to give Jesus her busy time- to give him listening ears and attentive mind; even though that was not what she went to do at the water well.
Application
There is so much we can learn from this passage, both from the disposition of Jesus and The Sorrowful Woman.
Let us start with Jesus. The Jesus who was out there and deliberately located himself at a strategic location just to meet someone- a person whom some people scorned; is the same Jesus today and forever.
He is out there looking for me and you (and he is never tired) to have a private and one-to-one chat with me and you. No time of the day is uncomfortable for him. Every time of the day is suitable for him to give us audience- at noon time (as in the case of this Samaritan woman) or at night (as it was for Nicodemus).
Jesus is also very much interested in being with us privately on a one-to-one basis. We saw that last week in the story of Nicodemus. We also see him (from today’s text) waiting patiently, just for this one person- The Sorrowful Woman. He waits to talk to us at any time, even in our day to day mundane activities and not necessarily in one place only, say the church.
He waits to talk to us, irrespective of our status in the society (well educated like Nicodemus or less educated like the Samaritan woman). He seeks to have a dialogue with you and me- irrespective of what people may say about us, as a result of our social life.
The big question is- how can we know that Jesus is waiting to talk to us today? Jesus has given us the answer and that is found in today’s text, that is verses 23 and 24:
‘Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth’ (NIV)
The answer to the big question- how can we know that Jesus is waiting or seeking to talk to us today is the seven letter word- worship. Worship, as the ancient Greeks would call it προσκυνέω, (which is transliterated ‘proskuneó’ and pronounced pros-koo-neh'-o) was also understood at that time, as obeisance- that is showing humility and submission to someone in authority. So Jesus is saying, when we submit ourselves to God, the Father seeks for us. In other words, he (Jesus) is out there and waiting to have a dialogue with us, as long as we ‘proskuneó (pros-koo-neh'-o) i.e. worship God- pay obeisance to the Almighty, submit to and humble ourselves to him, by the Spirit and in reality.
Conclusion
It is my prayer that if you are yet to submit your life to God, the Holy Spirit will work in you to bring about such worship. We see the Samaritan woman’s submission, by putting her bucket or pitcher down and ready to listen to Jesus, even though that was not what she came to do at the water well. Such submission by this woman of spending her precious time to listen to Jesus and believing in him is an element of worship.
Like the woman in the story, let us find time to listen to Jesus (even in our daily chores). He is always waiting to talk to us, on a one-to-one basis. It may mean just finding time to pray and study the Bible. As we go through this season of Lent, may this be our regular attitude towards him and even after Lent.
We must find time in our day to day activities for Jesus. Let us find time to be:
‘Still [in] the presence of the Lord the holy one...
... [to] bow before him now with reverence and fear’
Jesus the great campaigner wants to talk to you every day, submit to him and listen to him and you will never be the same. AMEN
