Living water in the noonday sun

John 4:5-26 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." 11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." 17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 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." 19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 25 The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." 26 Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."

A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the greater Idaho Falls Science Fair back in April 26, 1997. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.”

And there are plenty of good reasons, since dihydrogen monoxode:

• Can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.

• It is a major component in acid rain.

• It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.

• Accidental inhalation can kill you.

• It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.

• It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients.

The student asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical. 43 said yes, 6 were undecided and only 1 knew that the chemical dihydrogen monoxide was H20 – water. The title of his prize winning project was, “How Gullible Are We?” He feels the conclusion is obvious.

How gullible are we? We try to ban the very thing we need to survive. We are afraid of the water of a tsunami, but forget that water also brings life. We enjoy the water park or the pool, but then forget to enjoy the Water of Life in worship. We drink up what everyone around us calls love, we pursue what our neighbors call happiness, and we try to find meaning and significance as defined by Dr. Phil, Oprah or Charlie Sheen. The result is an even greater thirst that seems as though it will never be satisfied. Today Jesus teaches us how to quench our thirst – not with ordinary dihydrogen monoxide, but with Jesus’ Living Water.

It was about the sixth hour, which according to Jewish clocks would have been high noon, when the sun is at its highest, making it hot and uncomfortable. It is not the time to do chores. Like here in the summer, you want to do the work early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when it isn’t too hot. During the heat of the day, you want to stay inside in the shade, in the cool.

Unless you are an outcast. Unless you are not welcome with the other women at the well in the morning and are forced to come in the heat of the day. Like that day at Sychar, Samaria, when Jesus sits by the well of Jacob, and a lone Samaritan woman comes to draw water. She didn’t come at that time because she wanted to, but because she had to. She probably didn’t even make eye contact with Jesus, but instead planned to draw her water quickly and quietly as she did every day at this unusual time and then hurry back home. Away from the whispering voices and disapproving looks of those who considered themselves holier and better than she.

And no one is more surprised than this woman when Jesus speaks to her. A woman, a Samaritan and an outcast. But Jesus doesn’t care about such things. He asks her for a drink. He doesn’t really need for her to give Him a drink, but it’s a good conversation starter when you’re hanging around a well.

Here is a woman who has been chewed up and spit out by society. A woman used and abused by five husbands, and is now living with another man. A woman who has had a rough life, partly her own fault and partly the fault of others, a life that no one knew about or understood, but they talked about her and judged her anyway. A woman very much like … you … and me.

“Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” Ms. Samaritan was thirsty – but not for water. She was thirsty for acceptance, love, meaning and happiness. She was following a religion that did not satisfy her. She was trying to take away her pain, but failed marriages and living in sin only compounded the problem. She had a past and not much of a present or future.

In other words … she was a mess.

Is that a good description of your life, too? A mess? You long for acceptance, but you don’t find it in sinful sex or a failed marriage. You desire a godly purpose to your life, but spiritual adultery has pulled you away from God and a life of constant service to Him. You hope for rest and contentment, but you don’t find it in work or sports or even on vacation, for those are only momentary respites from the deep thirst in your soul.

Your life is a mess. Your health is failing. Your marriage is falling apart. You worry about your job, the economy, the bills, the weather, the civil unrest in our nation and beyond. You certainly have a past you’d like to forget and it doesn’t look like you have much of a future to look forward to. You are uncomfortable. Unhappy. Misunderstaood. Miserable. Looking for water in the noonday sun.

So you choose to satisfy your urges, quench your thirst and feed your cravings by doing whatever feels right at the time. This may temporarily satisfy you, but the guilt and shame will leave you even more thirsty when you’re done. The things you think will satisfy will only drain you, and so you are left parched and dehydrated. The polluted puddles, spiritual cesspools, diluted doctrines and lascivious libations make you ill, ailing and delirious.

We cannot quench our deep thirst for righteousness, wholeness and peace. Only Jesus can provide us with Living Water. Only God in the flesh can open up the well so that we can drink deeply and live.

You who are parched and dehydrated living with the hot, uncomfortable noonday sun beating down on you – you need to drink from the Living Water that flows from the Lord, the fountain of Israel.

We are very nearsighted people. Like Ms. Samaritan, we are consumed with today’s needs and desires – food, water, relationships, judging others and being judged, hiding ourselves from the prying eyes of the world.

That’s why coming to Christian worship is so vital. Each week in church Jesus shows us the bigger picture – the unending punishment we deserve for our selfish, disobedient, faithless lives. He also shows us that He is sitting here by the well of His font – this font that He dug with His own death and resurrection and filled with the water that flowed from His pierced side. Living Water so that we are washed and cleansed. Jesus is here at the communion rail inviting us to eat and drink once again of His body and blood so that we may have life in Him. He is here at the altar, the lectern and pulpit, offering His words of life eternal. So that we may drink His living words of forgiveness in the absolution, Gospel, sermon and blessing, instead of consuming the poison of sin that Satan keeps sending our way.

And if you thought Ms. Samaritan heard some pretty wonderful words that day … what about these words: “I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” “Take and eat this is my body. Take and drink this is my blood.” “The Lord bless you and keep you.”

One would think that Jesus, who came to save the whole world from sins, would be too busy to bother with one heathen woman. However, Jesus was not so busy saving the world that He neglected the opportunity to speak to one hurting woman about the Water of Life and to assure her that if she drank of it she would never thirst again.

Nor is Jesus so busy dealing with earthquakes, tsunamis, budget crises, and the rest of the world which seems to be falling apart, to come to you to put your broken life back together again. Jesus is the kind of Savior who intentionally goes to the margins of society to gather in the lost one, the despised one, the rejected one, the one with the messed up past, broken present and no future. He comes to you.

No wonder Samaritan women, searching Pharisees, prostitutes, tax collectors, the crippled, blind and leprous were drawn to Jesus. He gave them dignity. He gave them hope. He gave them life. He cleaned up their messes, mended their lives and made them whole again. He gave their lives back to them and even extended their lives unto eternity.

Are you connected? Are you connected to the Water? Recently, a Midwestern hospital found out it wasn't connected. Here's the story: for 35 years the hospital had relied upon its water safety equipment in case of fire. Surprisingly, the water main had never been attached to the city's water supply. The pipe that led from the building extended four feet underground … and there it stopped!

For 35 years the medical staff and patients had placed confidence in that system. Theirs was a false security. The costly equipment, the polished valves, and the well-placed outlets were adequate except for one thing – there was no water!

Now, are you connected?

I know your life may have all the necessary outward trappings. You feel safe. You feel secure. You have a home, food, television and clothing. You have a job, family, insurance and vacation time. But are you connected?

Are you connected to the one Person who can save you in case of catastrophe – a catastrophe which we’ve seen on the news that sooner or later is going to come? Not connected to some trinkets we think is treasure. Not connected to sinful pleasures we have christened as success. Not connected to skeletons in our closet we are trying to keep hidden from prying eyes.

But connected to Jesus Christ. And not just connected once or twice a month. Not just connected in times of turmoil and tragedy, difficulty or facing death. But really connected. Connected to Christ’s ever-flowing stream of hope, peace, joy, blessings and heaven. Connected through Word and Sacrament, Absolution and Blessing. A connection that starts in heaven and flows through the manger, to the cross, through the open tomb and into your heart.

It was no coincidence that Jesus was there at Jacob’s well that day in Sychar, Samaria. And it is no coincidence that Jesus is here. He has come for you. He has come to give you a gift. “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Drink deeply of Christ’s Living Water. Stay connected to Him daily, weekly, continually, for life. For this is Living Water in the noonday sun. Amen.

2nd Sunday in Lent at Epiphany on March 20, 2011