Bubble Busters
Pt. 2 - Find Your Field
I. Introduction
In 1991, eight people started a two-year adventure which would see them quarantined inside a replica of earth’s ecosystem. A collection of sealed domes and greenhouses were constructed in Arizona, US to recreate earth on a smaller scale. The environment contained an almost 9000 ft. ocean - with its own coral reef, a desert, savannah grassland, and a mangrove forest. During the experiment, the participants were expected to cultivate their own food and drink, while also maintaining livable levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen - all with as little outside help as possible. However, the experiment didn't go exactly as planned. Oxygen levels became dangerously low as the plant life couldn’t keep up with carbon dioxide levels. Any oxygen that was produced was converted into CO2 and absorbed by the unsealed concrete used to make the habitat. Animals and plants started to die at an alarming rate and a lack of resources split the group into two warring factions. One could correctly state that life wasn't sustainable in a bubble.
I would suggest that Jesus knew this long before the construction of this biosphere in Arizona. He refused to live in a bubble and on several occasions took the opportunity to try to force His disciples to come out of the bubble they were living in. I want to look at one of the specific instances today and see if maybe Jesus can force us to bust our bubble as well.
Text: John 4:1-9 (TMB)
Jesus realized that the Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that he and John performed (although his disciples, not Jesus, did the actual baptizing). They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning him and John into rivals in the eyes of the people. So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee. To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon. A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?” (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.) The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)
Talk about a bubble busting passage. Jesus is breaking so many bubbles here it is almost hard to keep up.
You are probably familiar with the basics. Jesus, a Jew, is in a place where Jews don't like to be - in and near Samaritans. Samaritans were half breeds. Rejected and despised by Jews. It isn't that Jews wouldn't go through Samaria. It was geographic part of the path. Pharisees were the ones who would skirt this area. They would walk the addition 3 to 7 days and use a longer route to circumvent this place. It is interesting that Jesus who had no need to save the three days He could gain by passing through this ill-regarded province chose to go through rather than crossing the river and going up the eastern desert route. The original name of the place was Sichem, or Shechem, but now the Jews called it Sychar, which name they used as a term of reproach, intimating thereby that it was the seat of drunkards. So, Jesus goes to the wrong place. He busts that bubble.
Then He goes to the wrong people.
You probably also know about the woman. That's right a woman. A man talking to a woman. A Jew talking to a Samaritan. A holy man talking to a woman who is at the well at the wrong time (noon) rather than with the other women of the town (cool of the day) because she has been married 5 times and is currently living with a man. Perhaps she is an outcast and untrusted by the other women. A holy man asking for a drink from the vessel of a gentile would be instantly made ceremonial unclean.
But there is one other piece of this story that I want to draw your attention to that I believe is often overlooked. It is a statement that certainly reveals the humanity of Jesus. However, I think it also speaks to us about busting bubbles. John states that "Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well." Another version says, "He was weary."
Exhausted. Stressed. Needing a break. Ever found yourself there? I know I have. I also know that when I feel like this I don't want to be bothered. Leave me alone. I don't want to talk. I don't want to interact. I just want to Tool Man grunt and rest. And yet zapped of physical strength. Needing a vacation. Wanting a quiet moment. When the opportunity to change not only a woman's life, but ultimately the entire region, Jesus responds. I would suggest that maybe Jesus didn't feel like it. But I want you to know that . . .
Busting bubbles requires us to push past feelings.
After a long day at work. After the stress of your home life. After you have used all your words for the day. Longing for a quiet moment. Needing to check out and zone out. We must still learn to be sensitive enough to recognize God moments and assignments and learn to push past our feelings. How many of us miss "woman at the well" moments at the grocery store, ball game, bank, or drive through simply because our feelings have become our master? We are so caught up and controlled by our feelings that we miss divine appointments and opportunities to change someone's world with the right word, timely smile, glimmer of hope, the right touch. Simply because we are tired. We are weary. We are worn out.
Jesus is weary, worn out and then we read in verse 39-42 . . . Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”
An exhausted savior conducts a 2-day revival. No rest for the weary? He had learned to bust through the bubble of His feelings. Have you?
The second thing I want you to notice in this account is Jesus' intentionality. He intentionally goes here. You could say it was an intentional departure from the normal path and normal schedule. It was an inconvenience. If He wasn't ceremonially unclean after the discussion with the woman, He and His disciples would be after staying in the area two more days.
However, I submit to you . . .
Busting bubbles occurs when inconvenience is overcome by intentionality.
Jesus used an inconvenient moment to intentionally bust bubbles and lives were saved. Most moments that have life changing opportunities inside of them are not convenient. That is why we so often miss them. They require you to intentionally change your direction, leave your planned task and alter your selected and cemented schedule.
About a year and a half ago I woke up to the fact that I was bubbled. I was one of those who struggled to list 10 unsaved folks on my mover's card. I couldn't complete the prayer and invite card. I know most people think that pastor's only work on Sundays. However, I live a pretty busy schedule. Constant meetings. Constant stress. I won't bore you with the details. Let me just say that any evening at home, on the couch, vegging out is coveted and protected. But I was in a bubble. I decided I needed to be intentional even though it would be inconvenient.
A friend of mine started umping little league games. I decided to join him. It would have been easier to stay home. The ump room is liberal. Filled with guys who aren't like me. Use language I don't use. Believe things I don't believe. Many of the fans are difficult to deal with. It is Samaria. There are many evenings when it would be more enjoyable to sit on the couch. There are other places I would rather be at 6pm on a June afternoon. It is inconvenient. And it is a God moment. Every time I walk into the ump room or onto a field where it is hot, miserable, exhausting I am reminded that there could possibly be a "woman at the well" moment. Like for one who is about to move into our rent house because he needs a safe place. For another one on his third marriage that said to me, "I think my wife and I are going to renew our vows soon and you are the only preacher I would let do that."
When was the last time that you intentionally pursued an inconvenient opportunity to reach someone? When is the last time God’s love called you to go to places that human divisions tell you to avoid?
You must decide will you follow the path of the Pharisees and avoid the messy, unwanted, unclean, unlike you folks? Or will you follow the example of Christ and bust bubbles. Fight your feelings. Fight your impulse to stay in a safe, sterile environment. Find your ball field. Find your well. Find a way to get to people that need Good News!
Jamie Buckingham led groups of men to explore Mount Sinai. He was on one particular trip with 12 men. They were riding in an open, 4 wheel drive truck across the dessert. On their 3rd day out they were bouncing along in the ruts of the other vehicles which had gone before them. Late in the afternoon one of the men pointed to a steep side of a mountain on the opposite side of a riverbed. He had spotted an abandoned turquoise mine, thousands of years old. Jamie Buckingham said, “There may be bits of turquoise still in the mine.” The other men suggested that they explore. The Israeli driver stopped but refused to leave the ruts and drive closer to the mountain. He said, “no way, it is too dangerous.” During an earlier Sinai Campaign the Israelis had placed land mines in that particular riverbed knowing it was the only way the Egyptians could escape. They had a chart of the mine placement, but a rare cloudburst had flooded the Sinai. The land mines were scattered everywhere. The experienced drivers knew the only safe place was the ruts made by previous drivers. So the driver said “if you want to go, you will have to walk. Just walk lightly. I’ll be here waiting if you get back.” Jamie and the men made the climb and got back to the truck with pockets full of turquoise nuggets. The driver, upon their return, said “most pilgrims choose to stay in the safety of the ruts. He then reminded the men that it was tradition that had kept the Jews alive for centuries. But, he smiled, we don’t have any turquoise either.”
You have to decide if you are going to stay bubbled. Play it safe and miss the treasure. You are going to have to answer this question . . .
Are you going to be a bubble maker or a bubble breaker?
Your field must be found! It won't find you!
