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03.15.09

Third Sunday in Lent

SERMON SERIES: ON THE ROAD TO THE CROSS

PART 3: THE SAMARITAN WOMAN

PSALM 16; JOHN 4:1-42

The Gift of New Life

Experiencing the Birth of Children

Two of the greatest days of my life were March 5, 1981 and December 6, 1982

It was on these days that our children were born
On March 5, 1981, I sat at Janie’s side as she endured 22 ½ hours of labor before the decision was made to deliver the baby by C-section
To continue the delivery naturally would have put the baby at risk of dying because he was being strangled by his own umbilical cord
Fifteen minutes after the surgery began, the nurse came out to tell me that we had a healthy 7lb., 1 oz. baby boy, and that both Janie and the baby were doing fine

Twenty-one months later, our daughter Jennifer was born

For her, there was not the pain and agony of labor
Her birth was a planned C-section to avoid the complications we experienced when Eddie was born
Still, there was the anxiety and worry about surgery
The surgery began at 8:00 AM, and twelve minutes later we became the parents of a healthy 7lb., 12 oz. baby girl

The experience of bringing new life into the world was one of overwhelming joy for me

I have experienced no greater blessing in my life than the blessing of my wife, my son, and my daughter
They are truly gifts from God that have enriched my life beyond what I could ever possibly imagine
I thank God every day for the precious gift of my family, and for the opportunity to be a loving husband and father
They continue to enrich my life every day

Experiencing the Birth of Spiritual Life

Of equal importance to me was to experience the awakening of my children to new life through faith in Jesus Christ

I don’t recall any specific turning point in our son’s life
For him, faith in Jesus Christ is something he grew into
His was a gradual awakening as he grew up in the faith, and his faith in Jesus Christ is very deep and sincere

Our daughter, on the other hand, had a very specific spiritual awakening to new life through faith in Jesus Christ

Her conversion came during the closing campfire at the end of a week of church camp that Janie and I were directing
As our campfire worship was coming to a close, we invited the children to write down a problem or sin that was troubling them and throw it on the fire as a sign of releasing it to God
During our closing prayer, I invited the children to make a commitment of faith to Jesus

When all was finished, two of the children came forward to talk with Janie and me—one was our daughter and the other was her best friend, Tilaine

Both of them were crying and wanted to commit their lives to Jesus
Janie and Jennifer went off in one direction while Tilaine and I went in another, and we counseled them and prayed with each of them
What a wonderful experience it is to lead another person to Christ, to help them experience the new life that only Jesus can give, and to see that new life blossom as they begin to live their life for Jesus
Over the years, Janie and I have lost touch with Tilaine, yet we know she made an important commitment that day
But for our daughter, we see every day what that new life of faith means to her

The faith experiences of both of our children are valid paths to faith and new life

Each of us must come to faith in Jesus Christ on our own—no one can do it for us
Each of us encounter Jesus in different ways
For some of us, faith is a gradual awakening to the truth of the gospel, and for others, it’s a much more radical experience
How we come to faith is not that important
What’s important it that we do come to faith, that we get to know Jesus as our Savior, that we commit our life to him
Once we drink of the living water that only Jesus can provide, our life will never be the same, and this living water is available to any and all who are willing to receive it

New Life in Christ

The Samaritan Woman

On another one of Jesus’ journeys, he encountered a Samaritan woman on his way from Judea back to Galilee

John tells us that Jesus had to go through Samaria
That little word “had” is an important detail in John’s telling of this story
There were several routes to travel between Judea and Galilee without passing through Samaria, and the Jews knew these routes well since they avoided contact with Samaritans at all cost
When John says that Jesus “had” to go through Samaria, he is not saying that the road through Samaria was the only route from Judea to Galilee
Jesus had to go through Samaria because it was the will of God that Jesus bring the Good News to the Samaritans since God’s love and grace through him is for all people of the world and not just for the Jews
So in order to be faithful to God, Jesus had to go through Samaria

While traveling through Samaria, Jesus stopped to rest at Jacob’s Well while the disciples went to get lunch for them

While Jesus rested, this Samaritan woman approached the well to draw water
That she came to this well at such an unusual hour of the day said to Jesus that this was a woman who was in need
The village women usually went to the well as a group during the cooler parts of the day—early in the morning and just before sunset—but never at noon, the hottest part of the day, and never alone
That fact said to Jesus that this woman was an outcast, and that she was a woman in need of newness in her life

So the conversation began with Jesus’ request for a drink of water, which took the woman by surprise since Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans because of a long-standing dispute about religious practices, and since it was forbidden that a Jewish man talk to any woman in public

But Jesus used this opportunity to reveal to her who he was and to offer her the new way of living she most earnestly desired
Living water was a term she should have been familiar with, for living water refers to water that flows like that of a stream or a river, and that is teeming with life
This is quite the opposite of stagnant water like that from a cistern
Living water is a symbol of life while stagnant water is emblematic of death

This imagery is also a picture of what this woman’s life was all about

Her life was stagnant
Having been through five husbands, she could not find the love and acceptance she so desperately sought
Although she was in a relationship with another man, that man was not her husband, and these facts is what caused her to be scorned by others in her community
Because of this deep need in her life, her ears perked up with excitement when Jesus spoke to her about living water
How earnestly she sought something—anything—that would satisfy the longing in her soul

Of course, Jesus wasn’t talking simply about running water

What he told her about is the kind of life that comes when the Spirit of God fills our life to overflowing
The living water Jesus offered was just that; it was the very Spirit of God that could infuse her with the kind of new life she had been seeking but had not been able to find
Through the course of their conversation, Jesus reveals to her that he knows more about her than what she has said, and as a result, he reveals more of himself to her

While she doesn’t understand all that Jesus says about himself, she perceives he is a prophet, and maybe even the promised Messiah

Who else could know all about her and still love her as a person?
Who else would dare to step beyond social boundaries to engage her in conversation?
Most of her neighbors shunned her and gossiped about her, but Jesus willingly accepted her as she was

When the disciples returned, the woman left, leaving her water jar behind, to go tell the townspeople of what had just happened to her

Her testimony is striking: “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
The living water Jesus promised had already began to bubble up within her, for she already knew the answer to her own question
Her once empty life was beginning to be filled wit a joy like she had never experienced before all because Jesus was willing to accept her and love her
So excited was she that she invited her neighbors to “come, see”—and they went, heard for themselves, and believed

How dramatically changed her life must have seemed to her neighbors, who wanted nothing to do with her earlier that same day, to respond to her invitation to go meet Jesus for themselves

Once again, we hear nothing more about this woman after her encounter with Jesus at the well, but we know that her life was changed significantly because of her conversation with Jesus
And not only was her life changed, the lives of her neighbors were changed as well, all because of the gift of new life Jesus gave to her

God’s Gift of New Life

The giving of new life is one of the important works Jesus came to perform, and we see that gift given to so many as we travel with Jesus on the road to the cross

So many of us, like the woman at the well, are merely existing rather than really living
We go from day to day with no real meaning or purpose for living
We get stuck in the rut of our sins, our fears, and our disappointments
As hard as we try to get out, we can’t free ourselves
Life seems to be going nowhere at all…until Jesus comes to meet us where we live
His love and acceptance is a fresh, cool drink of water for our parched and dry soul
That water of the Spirit of life is just what we need to revive us, to bring us back to life, and set us on the road of new beginnings

This is what the writer of the 16th Psalm celebrates in this prayer he offers to God

He has discovered that God, and God alone, is the source of all life
When he keeps his focus on God, nothing will be able to shake him
God provides for him all that is necessary for life and living, in this world and in the world to come
Therefore, his heart is glad and his tongue rejoices because God has shown him how to really live

Joy is one characteristic that ought to distinguish Christians from other people

Unlike happiness, which depends upon external circumstances, joy comes from within
Joy comes from our relationship with God through our faith in Jesus Christ
Joy springs from knowing that we are loved and accepted and forgiven
While we may not always be happy because of the circumstances we face, we can always be joyful because we know that God’s love for us will never fail and because we know that God’s Spirit is always within us to bring us new life

The joy of new life is what I experienced at the birth of our children, and as I watched new life emerge in them through their faith in Jesus Christ

The joy of new life is what Jesus gave to the woman at the well, and what he gives to each of us as we drink the living water he offers
Jesus traveled the road to the cross to die so that we might live
Because of his death and resurrection, the Spirit of Life flows freely to all who believe
May we drink of that water freely and return to the well often so that our life may constantly be renewed by his love and grace, and so we may find the joy that only he can give