Sermon- Life Changing Experiences- The Woman at the Well

This is the sermon preached at Kings Cross Methodist Church on Sunday 24th February.

For me the 2nd March 2005 is a significant date- a day that I can tell you exactly what I was doing- at between 3-45 and 3-50 I can tell you that I was shopping with a friend in Woolworths in Lancaster- my friend was buying a doll she was needing for teaching practice. I remember because the phone call I received at that time was for me life changing- at least temporarily and even as we move through life now.

It was a phone call from my Mum to say that my Dad had been diagnosed with cancer. Life changing because of the immediate thoughts when the dreaded word cancer is mentioned. Life changing because of the uncertainty, anxiety and sadness- deep desperation that came crashing into my life. So it was life changing for me in the sense that it turned everything upside down temporarily- whilst he underwent treatment. It continued to affect my life for a long time- arriving home from finishing my first year at university to discover Dad thin, frail and really very ill- then continuing to see Dad again after having not seen him for a while – the physical changes of Dad continued to affect me. As I came to the realisation that things were not going to be exactly the same again- the ongoing side affects that I still see today. The struggle to eat particular types of food- the need for plenty of water to be able to digest food at all. The reality that human life is fragile.
The impact of the news on 2nd March changed my life- changed Dad’s life - changed life of a family.
This is an example of a life changing moment in my life- there are plenty of other life changing events that happen in all of our lives- its part of being human and experiencing life. And what do we have in the Gospel reading this morning? The encounter of Jesus and the woman at the well- a life changing experience.

Lets look at the context in which it set- the passage comes immediately after Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus- a religious leader- a Pharisee- somebody who was wealthy, educated and highly respectable man. Completely contrasting here we have a woman- coming to the well in the heat of the day in order to avoid meeting anyone- everything about her compared to Nicodemus is against her. Gender- women’s roles at the time, race- she was from Samaria- a place that was not somewhere to be from! Her lifestyle too- as we read she had, had 5 husbands. So in chapter 3 we hear Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus- Jesus’ teaching on being born again- chapter 4 we have Jesus offering “living water”- offering the chance of new life. Just take a moment to look at this- Nicodemus- wealthy, respectable, educated Pharisee, with a woman- not given a name- seen as unrespectable, immoral, from the wrong place. The differences between the two are vast- complete ends of the spectrum! Yet Jesus offers something to both of them- life changing experiences. Jesus spans across the whole spectrum of human experience there in that context and today. In different ways to different people.

In Jesus’ encounter with the woman he offers her “living water”. Water is seen again and again through the Bible- echoing God’s promises- we see the Spirit of God hovering over the waters of creation- the flood- God promising never to flood the earth again and establishing a new covenant with humanity. God leading the people out of slavery through the parted seas, Romans 6v4- Jesus passing through the waters of death and rising to new life. Again and again water echoes God’s promises- of love, acceptance ,of the offering of new life. Echoed through the reading today where Jesus is offering the living water. These all say something of the nature of God and reflect the imagery of water at Baptism. The offering of living water is that which is also offered in Baptism. Baptism- reminds of God’s love and grace and offers new life to us- offering new life, refreshment and cleansing.

Lent has traditionally been a time where people prepared for Baptism. Often during the Easter season there is an opportunity for us to renew our Baptismal vows. Lent is a time to prepare to celebrate in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is perhaps best reflected in some of the letters of Paul- dying to sin and being raised to new life in Christ and also in the service of Baptism- whether it be infant or believers. To share in Christ sufferings and in his resurrection. This season of lent once again sees us preparing to die and be raised with Christ once more- as we hear the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Lent can therefore be a time of preparation for those who have perhaps requested Baptism, but also a time of renewal for the Baptised. Although baptism is a moment- it’s a journey, that can happen at any point in our Christian life.
Jesus offering the woman living water was life changing- and we too can continually receive the living water- water that is fresh! Water that is used as a powerful symbol at Baptism. Not just our own but each time we hear the words of the Baptism service- or think of the power of the story.

The encounter between Jesus and the woman demonstrates as well what happens at Baptism- the acceptance. When we think of Baptism- it’s seen as a “welcoming into the church and to the fold”. At both infant and adult Baptism the Church congregation pledges itself to accept this individual, to encourage support and nurture. This acceptance is something that Jesus offers each and every one of us- here is a woman- not acceptable to society in her life style, not accepted because of her race, not accepted because she was a female! And yet here we have Jesus speaking to her- across the boundaries that were there Jesus offers friendship and acceptance. This acceptance is offered to all people today. It is offered in the sacrament of Baptism so powerfully- a manifestation of God’s acceptance and unconditional love. This manifestation of God’s acceptance and unconditional love should be reflected week by week to all people.
Lent and the story of Good Friday can become a time where we beat ourselves up- reminding ourselves of what we get wrong, of the things we need to sort out in our lives. It can become overwhelming. Yet Jesus calls us- as unacceptable as we may feel, as unworthy we may feel, to life, to living waters. As a Church we need to embody this- accepting each and every one of us- no matter who we are- but accepting each other, encouraging one another and loving each other.

The term living waters which features in our gospel reading, is referring to running water. Not water that is stale and old, but running water that is fresh.
Jesus offers refreshing water- think of a hot day- with a deep thirst. Jesus offers water that quenches such a deep thirst.
This lent may we therefore not be drinking water that is stale, old and out dates but drink water that offers new life, new opportunities. What are the new opportunities that can be offered to us this lent? A new sense of mission? How do we engage with this? The woman was set free from her old life- perhaps we too need to be set free from the past to embrace the future and to look at new opportunities. We need to be prepared to see life changing experiences and enable them to happen.

How do we accept people and embody to people today the life changing experience that Christ can bring? Not as some magical fantasy, but as a reality- as a way that is incarnational- God among us and with us. As Christians as Church- how can we be an environment that enables life changing experiences to take place? Jesus offered refreshment in the living water- how can we offer afresh the Christian faith- the living water of Jesus?

One of the challenges of the church today is that the gospel and person of Jesus is embedded in 2000 years of history. That the gospels were written in particular contexts and particular times. How do we release the message of the kingdom of God today- in ways that make sense that connect with people where they are at? Today’s gospel reading is centred around a well- today of course in this country in our homes, in the places where we stay or the facilities we go to a tap and outcomes the water. For the woman at the well- it was a struggle to get the water- Jesus offering water that’d last when you get the passage in literal sense would have immediately connected- a relief at the thought of not having to trek to the well each day to get water.

The water in the well wouldn’t have been the “living water” or running water as we might say- it would have been stale. Jesus was using imagery that connected with the woman’s experience. Part of Jesus using such imagery would have struck a cord with the woman, causing such a life changing experience for her. What are the images of our culture that’d demonstrate the same significance for people today. The image of the prostitute for Kings Cross is still very relevant- what is it that Jesus if he was here now would use to demonstrate the kingdom and the life that he offers for these women? How would Jesus demonstrate such a life changing experience today? To the women on the street would he perhaps ask “got a drink I can have?”

The encounter of offering water is life changing. The woman at the well became the first to witness and testify to who Jesus was. Not only did the woman find acceptance in Christ, she would have found acceptance among the rest of the Samaritans and she went on to have a ministry. For each of us this is the same. In seeing who Christ is and the difference Christ can make in our lives- we become changed people. People flowing with the love of God and are able to flow with living water. Part of the challenge of our faith is to continually flow with fresh water and not to become stale. The living water that is offered to us- gives us refreshment and allows us to be constantly renewed into the likeness of Christ and to flow with the waters of eternal life and love.

The Samaritans who come to know Jesus- as messiah come into new relationships- both we see with Jesus and one another. The woman would have been socially excluded- yet now through the transformation she is able to experience new relationships and friendships. Probably with people she’d have never expected. As a church seeking to embody the person of Jesus- how are we able to provide people to come to feel accepted and to live in relationships with others. SO often society becomes divisive yet as Christians we need to go against that and live alongside all people. To seek to engage with a wide range of people.
People seeing who Jesus was asked that he might stay with them. This is something too that we need to do- when we look here Jesus stays because he is invited to stay. For to be living water- means never to be stale. We need the Spirit to be constantly renewing us and keeping us alert and active that we might offer refreshment and living water to others.

So this Lent as we prepare to die again and be raised with Christ may we be filled with Living water- water that gives refreshment- this lent may we drink from the living water- giving refreshment to our faith and to our life. That we might offer living water to others- being wells- where others can come and drink. That they too might experience the life changing acceptance and love shown to us in Christ Jesus- being refreshed, renewed and changed that they too might be filled with the living water. AMEN