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The Third Sunday In Lent
Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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The Third Sunday In Lent
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Scripture citation(s): Exodus 17:1-7; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42
A Sermon by
The Rev. Canon Carl Turner
on
Exodus 17:1-7; Romans 5:1-11; John 4:5-42
✛
Living Water and Deep Floods
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In our Christian doctrine class a couple of weeks ago we were reflecting on water and its use in both the scriptures and the sacramental life of the Church. Water is a powerful image; 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water, and an amazing 96% of all the earth’s water is contained in the great oceans and seas.[1] As we explored the significance of water, the group reminded me that water is essential for personal and community living and that without it we would all die. Perhaps that is why it features so prominently in the Scriptures:
The book of Genesis begins the great story of creation with God’s Spirit hovering over the face of the waters; the water of the flood cleansed the earth; the Hebrew people walked through the waters of the Red Sea from slavery to freedom; in the parched desert they received water from the rock; they crossed the river Jordan to enter the promised land; Naaman the Syrian was cleansed by bathing in that same river; Ezekiel had a vision of water flowing from the right side of the Temple; John the Baptist witnessed the Spirit descend on Jesus as he stood in the river Jordan; Jesus regularly taught by water and his first disciples made their living on it; the book of Revelation talks of the water of life. You get the idea – water is not just symbolic; it is essential to the life of the planet and bound up in the sacramental life of the church. With this in mind we turn to John’s Gospel filled with hidden meaning and rich in symbolism.
Last week, in our Gospel reading, Nicodemus was told by Jesus that he must be born again of water and the Spirit. Now we are at a well, but this is no ordinary well, it is none other than Jacob’s or Israel’s well. The well is deep – it still exists – over 100 feet deep. The water is fresh and good but it takes a lot of effort to get it and, unfortunately, Jesus does not have a bucket.
It is the sixth hour – noon, the hottest part of the day – no one in their right minds would be out at this time of day with no water but, as in many of the distinctive narratives of the John’s Gospel, this is of no concern to the author; there is great symbolic meaning in this story. Jesus is sitting at the well, parched and thirsty – the creative Word of God experiences drought. It is Jacob’s Well, representing all the powerful themes of the old Covenant, like the great stone water jars of Cana in Galilee that Jesus filled to the brim with water. Who will help Jesus? Enter the Samaritan woman. A Samaritan would have been snubbed by any Jew at the time of Jesus and, more than that, a rabbi would never have entered into a discourse with a woman in any case, let alone a Samaritan woman. So what now transpires is, again, of huge symbolic significance, for who deserves to have access to God’s grace?
In his dialogue with Nicodemus, which we heard last week, Jesus spoke clearly but was misunderstood. As with Nicodemus, so with the woman at the well – their respective misunderstanding or literal interpretation of his words allowed Jesus to go much deeper into what he was trying to say, not necessarily to Nicodemus or the Samaritan woman but, perhaps, through the evangelist, to the community of faith listening to the story – to the church and, therefore, to us.
Even though this is no ordinary well, nevertheless, it will never satisfy a thirsty people just as the water from the rock never satisfied the sons and daughters of Jacob in the wilderness. The woman can draw as much water as she likes but she will have to keep coming back day after day after day, just as the worship in the Temple required sacrifices day after day after day. Jesus is offering something far more wonderful – living water that will truly satisfy the soul. And for living water we can read many things – perhaps, new life in God, or a life filled with the Spirit; or, maybe, forgiveness and cleansing and healing – all these themes we find in the Old Testament but now they are brought to fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. We have already heard that being born again of water and the spirit is directly linked to Christ’s self-offering on the cross; now Jesus offers us living water that will once and for all change us and re-create us in his image.
Where does this living water come from? It is the sixth hour. Later, in John’s Gospel we shall be told of another sixth hour, when Jesus will be hanging on the cross. At Jacob’s well he was thirsty and he asked for a drink. On the cross his one request will be to ask for a drink again; “I thirst.” Could that request be for all of humanity? For you and for me? How often our spiritual lives seem dry and parched! How often do we yearn to feel God’s presence; how often are we in need of God’s love and forgiveness? Jesus has been there himself, and on our behalf. How often do we shed tears rather than drink from the stream of the Lord’s love?
There is only one source of water that will satisfy, and that is water flowing not from the right side of the Temple but from the right side of Jesus who became the sacrifice that would reconcile the whole world to God; water flowing from his wounded side, from his heart pierced with a lance. This is the source of the living water that will gush up from every person saved by Jesus and redeemed by him. As we heard in our Epistle reading, “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.” (Romans 5:8-9)
Having being reconciled to God we will be saved by him, and him alone.
To worship God in Spirit and in Truth is to be open to God in our lives and to invite him to refresh us, to cleanse us, and to fill us with his love.
Drop, drop, slow tears, and bathe those beauteous feet,
which brought from heaven the news and Prince of Peace.
Cease not, wet eyes, his mercies to entreat;
to cry for vengeance sin doth never cease.
In your deep floods drown all my faults and fears;
nor let his eye see sin, but through my tears.
(Phineas Fletcher -1582-1650)
_______________
[1] See: https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html
