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March 23, 2014

Broken Thirst

Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Series: Lent 2014: Restored in Christ Category: Biblical Scripture: John 4:5–4:26

The Third Sunday in Lent
March 22-23, 2014
John 4:5-26

“Restored in Christ: Broken Thirst”

One of the modern-day challenges we face is having so many choices before us, including what we drink. Drink choices are almost limitless: soda, coffee, tea, juice, energy drinks. There are endless options here. Sodas alone have their aisle in the grocery store. And yet the primary ingredient in all of these drink options is plain old water. We all know that water is better for and it’s less expensive, but we are often attracted to other things that sound good, but actually are not. We thirst for things that will never really satisfy us. This goes well beyond drink choices in life. In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus is resting beside a well over the noon hour when a woman from Samaria comes to that same well to draw water. Is this a chance encounter, or is this by divine appointment? I believe it is the latter, and from this meeting between Jesus and the woman a long conversation takes place. In fact, this dialogue is the longest conversation between Jesus and anyone in the entire New Testament. In this conversation, Jesus confronts the woman with truth – about her life, about God, about how He is that living water which satisfies her and our deepest thirst. That is the theme for this day: “Broken Thirst.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

Jesus’ dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) follows Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus (John 3) that we heard about last Sunday. The two are polar opposites: Nicodemus represents the powerful and ruling elite of Jerusalem – learned, respected and influential. He comes and seeks out Jesus. The unnamed woman at the well represents the despised race of Samaritans who were scorned by the Jews for their mixed blood lines and unorthodox worship practices. Unlike Nicodemus, she was unlearned, disrespected and of no influence. She doesn’t seek out Jesus, but He seeks her. She just came to the well to do what she did every day: get water for her household. But she came to the well at an odd time: in the heat of the day. Women were the ones who typically went to the well and carried water back home, and they usually did this early in the morning when it was cool. Gathering at the well was a time to socialize and catch up on the news. It may well be that this woman was avoiding the other women in the village because she knew she was an outcast. She had had five husbands and was now living with another man when Jesus meets up with her. She is a woman with a past. Her life was broken, and she was thirsty – not just for water from the well, but for living water.

This anonymous woman is really an every woman and an every man. She represents each one of us, and how we chase after all sorts of things in life that we think will satisfy and quench our thirst, but they never do and they never will. She’s also a lot like us because she persistently tries to avoid the issues that Jesus raises with her. She repeatedly tries to divert him, change the subject, say something controversial to redirect the conversation away from her, all to no avail. She was squirming under the intense scrutiny of the Lord Jesus. By telling her who she is, Jesus enables her to see who He is – not someone who condemns her, but that very promised Messiah she spoke about. And if that was true for this Samaritan woman, it is true for us today as well. We, too, squirm under the intense scrutiny of the Lord Jesus. We don’t want our secret sins brought to light, and so we try to push Jesus away and deflect him. But as Jesus told us in last Sunday’s Gospel lesson: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). Jesus engaged the Samaritan woman at the well to bring her living water. Jesus engages us today to bring us that same gift: living water. Jesus himself is this living water.

Geography figures heavily into this dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. The village of Sychar, near to Jacob’s well, is almost due north of Jerusalem a little over 30 miles. And this little village, about a mile from the well, was situated between Mt. Gerazim, where the Samaritans once had their temple, and Mt. Ebal. These two mountains represented blessing and curse (Deuteronomy 11:26-32). As the Hebrews entered into the Promised Land, God called his chosen people to set the blessing upon Mt. Gerazim and the curse upon Mt. Ebal. And this is literally where the Samaritan woman was standing – where we are often standing: between blessing and curse. Jesus came to break the curse; in fact, Jesus became the curse for her and for us by taking upon himself the punishment for our sin upon another mountain top, Mt. Calvary. Here on the cross, Jesus was struck – stricken, smitten, and afflicted, like the old hymn put it (see Lutheran Service Book #451). As Moses struck the rock in the wilderness and water poured forth to quench the people’s thirst, so water and blood poured forth from Christ our Rock upon the cross. As John reports: “But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness – his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth – that you also may believe” (John 19:34-35). And the purpose of all this? That we may receive Christ Jesus in faith and know that living water which will become in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14). As Paul writes at the close of today’s Epistle lesson: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).

When Jesus identified himself as that promised Messiah that the Samaritan woman was looking for, He said, “I who speak to you am he” (John 4:26). With this “I am” statement, Jesus identified himself as the same God who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush on Mt. Horeb, who said “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). This is Jesus, living water, poured for us and for our salvation. He has come that we may be restored in him. In him, “the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). In him, our thirst is broken and quenched.

If we were to go on and read further in John 4, we would find that when the disciples returned to Jesus, they were astonished to find him talking with a woman, and a Samaritan woman at that. This didn’t happen in first-century Judaism. They would be even more astonished to learn that this women herself would become a conduit of living water, bringing many of her townspeople to the Fount and Source of that living water, Jesus. That trickle became a rushing torrent of fresh, life-giving water that swept the people of this Samaritan town up into its current. The people tell this woman: “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). May we go and do the same, becoming conduits of that living waters so others may say the same. Amen.

other sermons in this series

Apr 20

2014

Broken Seal

Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Scripture: Matthew 27:62–28:10 Series: Lent 2014: Restored in Christ

Apr 17

2014

Broken Bread

Preacher: Pastor Braun Campbell Scripture: Matthew 26:17–26:30 Series: Lent 2014: Restored in Christ

Apr 13

2014

Broken Majesty

Preacher: Pastor Braun Campbell Scripture: Matthew 27:11–27:66 Series: Lent 2014: Restored in Christ