This week we continue our swim lessons by diving deep in the scriptures by going to the well of living water.
Last week, we started this new series off by bringing forward our hidden secrets, sins and prejudices on a piece of paper and depositing them into a jug of water only to watch them dissolve before our eyes. A great visual indeed of God’s forgiveness of those sins and we were told our sins had been forgiven. However, as we sang that last praise song, many of us felt awkward as we dealt with the residual effects of dredging up that which was buried deep within. It was a bit strange driving away last Sunday and that is why this morning as you came in. We placed bottles of clean, purified water on your chairs to take with you and to remind you of the fact that you were made new and that your sins, secrets and prejudices have been forgiven. But please hold off on opening them until the end of service. So now what?
Do you remember the 12th century legend of the Fisher King? When the Fisher King was a boy, he was sent out to spend the night alone in the forest, as a test of his courage to be king. During the night, he had a vision of the Holy Grail-the cup used by our Lord at the last supper. He saw it surrounded by great flames of fire, and he immediately became excited by the prospect of the wealth and glory that would be his by possessing such a great prize. Greedily, he reached into the flames to grab it, but the flames were too hot, and he was severely wounded. As the years went by, the Fisher King became more despondent and alone, and his wound grew deeper. One day, feeling sad and depressed and in pain, he went for a walk in the forest and came upon a court jester. "Are you all right?" the jester asked. "Is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all?" "Well, I am very thirsty," the Fisher King replied. The jester took an old dilapidated cup from his bag, filled it with water from a nearby stream, and gave it to the Fisher King. As he drank, he suddenly felt his wound healing for the first time. And incredibly, the old cup he was drinking from had turned into the Holy Grail."What wonderful magic do you possess?" the Fisher King asked the jester. The jester just shrugged and said, "I know no magic. I only gave a drink of water to a thirsty soul." source: Some Things Are Too Good Not to Be True, James W. Moore, Dimensions
How come some of us woke up last Monday morning still feeling held captive to old thoughts, or vices or feelings? How do we become free of the sense that we still don’t measure up? It feels almost abnormal to think of ourselves as forgiven. And what’s up with that?
This is where our text today jumps to the rescue. The background is that instead of following man’s rule and avoiding stepping foot in Samaria, Jesus and his disciples have decided to walk through the bad neighborhood. In a moment of heat exhaustion and hunger, the disciples leave Jesus alone for a few minutes and he has strikes up a conversation with one of the Samaritans – a woman with issues. If you wouldn’t mind turning to John 4: 16-27, it reads as follows:
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 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. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
That last line of today’s scripture partially answers our earlier question of why we don’t feel totally forgiven or even why we still feel we don’t measure up on Monday morning. It is because we are still living in this world. We have changed on the inside but the world around us hasn’t. Even the disciples who walk up carrying some food and whole lot of Jewish baggage about the Samaritans begin their conversation by addressing Jesus as if the Samaritan women wasn’t even present. The judgment in their thoughts, “Why are you talking with her?” is so real in that moment. They have heard all along that those people are weak or less than. The stereotypes just play out before us. Personally, I have walked up to plenty of folks and had them do the “check him out” moment and then do a second “check me out” moment after they find out I am Christian or a pastor. The world judges and we are affected by it.
However, as a Christian with a new way of thinking we have a choice to make: Do we want to participate in the World’s view or in the Christian view? The apostle Paul tells us clearly in his letter to the Romans in the 12 chapter that we are to always present ourselves as living sacrifices to Jesus by first choosing to live transformed lives through the renewing of our minds so you act in accordance with God’s will. This does not mean to continually read the bible, although that helps. It means taking hold of our thoughts and redirecting them through the lens of truth. Verse 24 says: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” To worship in Spirit and truth is to accept what God has done, is doing and will be doing for us and the world. Although the world will disagree, we (as Christians) will live according to Jesus’ teaching and accept that Christian teaching is not the same as the world that surrounds us. As such, we must anticipate the attacks which will surely come as we emulate Christ in the world.
We ceremoniously dropped our secrets, sins and prejudices in the water bottle only to have them dissolved and forgiven but how will we ever let go of feeling less than?
We must accept the forgiveness and recognize God is calling us to a deeper understanding of His interaction with us. You measure up for four reasons which all start with C:
1) God created you and all of humankind in His image. In doing so, He is saying to us we are powerfully and wonderfully made. He is perfect therefore, we as copies of him have the potential to be made perfect. Which leads us to
2) God’s compassion over the course of all history. It’s evident that He values us above all other things He has created because of His willingness to give all of us “free will” to chose or reject him. He is saying, I trust you with this gift, will you trust me but returning it to me. In so doing, He provides a simple, but not easy way, to come home to Him. He even wired this longing to be in relationship with Him into us to further cement His love and direct for us. Which leads us to
3) God’s conviction. It is a powerful tool to bring us back to Him. It gives many of us the motivation to seek Him out, repent of our actions and begin to walking with Him long before we actually understand the depth of His caring. Which leads us to
4) God’s company. He came, died and rose again to provide a way for all people everywhere access His power in their lives. His Spirit lives today and is connected to all who call out to Him as the one true God. How much must God think of you that He left behind His spirit so you would never have to be lonely or feel powerless or less than.
All four of these reasons point to a single conclusion: You matter to God. You are worthy of the care, compassion, conviction and company of the creator the universe. The God who made the heavens, the atoms and even the water wants to be in relationship with you – not to leave us as we are but to help us grow and experience this life with joy today and hope for tomorrow.
Imagine our lives if we believed that? If you began today to actually live it out? The woman the well did. Her story will continue next week but yours begins today. It begins with your tasting the living water that comes from a belief in Jesus. So let me be your court Jester and let’s open our bottles so I can offer a toast to the one who provides living water.
www.communitycenter.life/rev-robert-butler-info
