Shepherd Sunday

For many people the psalm we read together this morning is a special psalm, a favourite, and one that brings comfort. We often read the psalm and the passage from John about the Shepherd as if sheep was singular. As if these passages are directed toward us as individuals. You don’t have a Shepherd for one animal. In John’s gospel, the Greek word for sheep is plural.

This week I have been thinking about the ways in which the media reports news. The Budget was in the news a lot this week. In the TV shows I saw about the Budget, and my watching was not extensive, the question was always, how will this budget affect you? Did it give you what you were hoping for?  Since when did everything revolve around us as individuals, rather than people who are part of a community, part of a nation? Other items that have been on my mind are NAPLAN tests and refugees.

Part of the budget discussion has revolved around the cut off for families with over $150,000 per annum income. Some people have suggested that having this income level does not make them well off financially, others have disputed this.

And then I read the gospel, a gospel that ends with the wonderful promise of abundant life. Is this what abundant life looks like? Worrying about whether your income level makes you an upper income or middle income family and how much help the government, which means the rest of the community, should be giving you? Is this what abundant life looks like? Children sitting standardised tests so that school performance can be compared. Is this what abundant life looks like? John tells us that Jesus came to bring life, and bring it abundantly; the Greek word is excessive! Jesus came to bring life, abundantly, extravagantly, excessive life.

What might this abundant, excessive life look like? It is from and through Jesus, now that might sound obvious, but we need to remember that life, freedom, is a gift of Jesus. The image of the Shepherd we have in both John’s gospel and the psalm is one of being present with us. Jesus leads the sheep out of the sheep fold, not in, but out. Jesus doesn’t gather the sheep behind a barrier to keep them safe; he leads them out, into..?

John writes of the thief, the one who comes to destroy, who doesn’t come in via the gate. It reminds me of the things in our lives that are life denying rather than life giving.

A few weeks ago we heard of the disciples being in a locked room when Jesus appeared to them. They were frightened.  What are the things that keep us huddled together? Are we frightened? Threatened? Or are we in such a comfortable place that it is easier to stay put.

Jesus came to bring abundant life, to us, to people! And Jesus calls people out of the pen, the sheep fold. And he doesn’t just lead them out, he is ejecting them, casting them out; that is what the Greek says.

So we have this Shepherd, who goes into the sheep yard, calls the sheep and tells them to leave the place they are in. I wonder what place you are in now that Jesus is calling you to leave; I wonder what place we, that is this congregation, is in now, that Jesus is calling us to leave. 

The psalm tells us what kind of Shepherd the Lord is:

One that is real, earthy, with dirt under his fingernails, who never gives up on the sheep, is always present, feeding, guiding, making sure the essentials for life: food, water and safety from predators: are available for the sheep. The Shepherd, well one who was interested in the sheep, would make sure there was nothing poisonous or dangerous in the field the sheep were about to feed in, the shepherd would check out the path ahead of the sheep, to make sure it was safe and stable for them, and a shepherd needed to look out for anything that might like to make a meal of one the sheep. The image of shepherd is one who is always present, with us at all times, and doesn’t leave us when things get tough.

We have a choice, we can follow the shepherd’s voice, we can follow a false shepherd, or we can go our own way. When I see the news about NAPLAN tests and hear about the anxiety of some children, I wonder how that relates to abundant life, when I hear and read about the budget, and people’s expectations, I wonder which shepherd we are listening to. How do we hear the Shepherd’s voice in a world that has so many competing voices?

Most people who have been in the church for many years will be comfortable with the image of the Lord as Shepherd, and of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Shepherd language is used in both the Old and New Testaments.

Often this means an image of God looking after us. Today I want us to put on different glasses.  Both the psalm and gospel reading remind us of the presence of God with us, they also tell of a people being called out, of people in dangerous places, of people who feast with enemies. God doesn’t take away the danger, the enemy, or the thief. We get to make a choice; we can stay close to the Shepherd, accepting the guidance, listening carefully, following obediently; or we can listen to other voices, go our own way. But remember, the way of abundant life is the way of Jesus.

How might we, as a congregation listen for the voice of Jesus?

What might abundant life look like for us as a community of faith?

Jesus journeys with us

[ a shorter sermon this week due to a Baptism, and Eucharist]

In this season after Easter we hear of some of the resurrection appearances of Jesus: Last week we heard that Jesus appeared to 10 of the disciples in a locked room, blessing them with peace. Then Jesus appeared to the 10 and Thomas – and Jesus had holes in his body, that proved he was the one who had been crucified.

Pain often leads to holes in our lives, and many of us have holes where we have experienced pain. This piece of timber is full of holes; I doubt the person who I got it off would have picked it up if it was solid. Its beauty and individuality is because of the holes, and like us the holes make it fragile. Jesus understands what it is like to suffer pain, and to be disfigured as a result of pain.

In the reading we heard this morning; we meet two people on the road; confused, bewildered, trying to make sense of what has occurred.  As they were discussing what had happened, another person joined them on the road. It was, and is, safer to travel with others than to travel alone.

The stranger asks them what they are talking about. Surely this person has heard! So they told what they knew, and the stranger reminded them of what the prophets had said about the Messiah.

Still the two travellers did not understand.

Emmaus was significant in Jewish history; Maccabeus had led a rebel army, which won a battle against the gentiles at Emmaus. The expectation was that the Messiah would come and free the people. Israel was under Roman occupation; to them the Messiah freeing Israel was about overthrowing the Romans. Jesus did not do that, so many of his followers were wondering if he really was the Messiah. Jesus suffered and died, his kingdom is not one of violence, but one of peace and suffering love. By looking toward Emmaus, the two disciples are looking for a Messiah that will violently and militarily overthrow the Roman occupiers. This was not the way of Jesus. If we profess to follow him, peace, not violence, is the way we live.

So we have two followers of Jesus, walking, talking, confused; and a third person comes and joins them as they walk together. The two have said what had happened in Jerusalem, the death of Jesus, and the maybe resurrection – though it just doesn’t make sense.

The stranger reminds them of the prophets, and they still don’t understand.

The stranger taught them – beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about Jesus in all the scriptures. This is what we do in the communion liturgy – we remember the actions of God in history, of God in Jesus, of the spirit with us in the bread and juice.

Still the two did not understand. It wasn’t when Jesus quoted the scriptures, or when he explained the scriptures, but when he broke bread that they recognised that their travelling companion was Jesus.

We could talk about the importance of hospitality, of talking about our faith, of encouraging one another, but I would like us to think about God being present with us. 

Sometimes it seems that Christians only talk about God when things are going well, or even if they aren’t going well, there is a gloss of “it’s God’s will”, as if that somehow makes it all OK.

The reading we heard last week, and the one this week, both see disciples and followers of Jesus confused and bewildered, grieving, and wondering what to do next. It is into this place of despair that Jesus came and walked beside the two. They did not recognize Jesus until after they had journeyed together, after they had spoken together. It was in sitting at the table eating a meal that they recognized who their travelling companion was. And then he was gone.

This is a journey we are invited to join; a journey of sharing faith, sharing doubts, concerns, questions, a journey of community, a journey of shared hospitality; a journey of transformation. We are invited to join this journey, a journey where Jesus travels with us, opening eyes and hearts to resurrection living.

This morning we have baptised William and shortly we will share in communion. In Baptism we are included, in communion we are fed, in being a community of faith, we do as these two, then three, on the road did. They talked about faith, not only what they are sure about, but the things they struggle to understand.  As William grows up, talk about your faith, and encourage him to ask questions. Children and I suspect adults, learn by doing as well as talking and listening. Have good faith practices, bedtime stories, prayer times as a family, meeting with other Christians in worship, sharing in the sacraments, these are all things that help us to grow in faith.

And be open to those times when you are acutely aware of Jesus coming alongside and walking with you. 

We come to our time of reflection; some people have asked if I can give you a question to think about – when have you been aware of Jesus travelling with you, walking with you?

Litany for Mother’s Day

 This was written a few years ago now, the language could be  a bit tighter and more consistent.

We remember Sarai who was taunted by others in the household because of her inability to have children.

All-encompassing God we pray for those who feel excluded when we emphasis one kind of family as normal.

We remember Esther, who was adopted and raised by her cousin.

God who embraces us all, we pray for those who cannot be raised by their parents, for a short time or permanently.

We remember Jochebed, the mother of Moses, who placed him into a raft on the river.

Saving God, we pray for parents who struggle to raise their children in oppressive circumstances.

We remember Hannah, who loved her child so much she handed him over to another to raise.

Loving God, we pray for parents who have placed their child in another family.

We remember Naomi, who grieved the death of her sons.

God, who grieves with us, we pray for parents who mourn the death of a child.

We remember Ruth, who gave up her family to be family to another.

Inclusive God, we pray for those who choose to be family to those isolated by culture or language or distance.

We remember Elizabeth, who had a child in old age and we remember Mary, who had a child as a teenager.

Ageless God, we pray that as a community we accept people of varying life stages and responsibilities and relationships.

We remember Rachel, crying for her children

God of justice and hope, we pray for those whose children are killed, and look to a time when children can live safely in their communities.

We remember Lois and Eunice, who taught Timothy faith by example.

Faithful God we pray for those who teach us faith by their lives, may we remember that we also teach about you in the way we live.

We remember other people, not named in the Scriptures, like the mother of the prodigal son.

Companion God, we pray for those who wait for a phone call or a visit,

cut off from family and friends by distance and disagreement.

Nurturing God, we give thanks for those

who enrich our lives by their presence

who teach us about your abundant love

who encourage us to journey in faith.

(c) Rev Patty Lawrence

Resurrection: end or beginning

This morning we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. After the journey through Lent, the Palm Sunday parade, the betrayal of Thursday evening, the brutality of Friday, the confusion and grief of Saturday, finally it is Sunday, finally we celebrate.

But what is it we are celebrating.  In many ways it is the culmination, the fulfilment, the climax of the story. We made it to Sunday. We made it to the day of Resurrection, the end of the story. And we can think of this as the end of the story, Jesus is killed, buried, and defeated death, he is no longer dead.   That could be the end of the story, and I am guessing that for many people that is the end of the story. Jesus was born, lived, did great things, killed, buried, rose. The end.

Is resurrection the end of the story?

To me it isn’t the end; and not because there are more pages in the Bible after this account. While in some ways the resurrection is the climax of the story, it isn’t the end of the story, not if we live as resurrection people.

Resurrection is the beginning of a story, the story of new life, of Jesus being present with people in a totally different way. The pre-crucifixion Jesus could only be in one place at a time, just like all humans. The post-resurrection Jesus is present everywhere, at all times. Resurrection is the end of one story, and the beginning of another. Resurrection is the crossover point, where two stories meet; the story of Jesus in Israel, travelling with the disciples, and the story of Jesus with all of us.

Some people struggle to believe in resurrection at all. How is this possible, do I really expect sane, intelligent people to believe that Jesus is no longer dead, that somehow, something happened, something impossible, something unnatural. Modern people can’t be expected to believe in such events. We all know that when you are dead, you are dead, and you stay that way.

I would like you to think for a moment, why you believe in resurrection, or if you believe in resurrection. I know this is probably a dangerous question for a minister to ask, but why do you believe in the resurrection; maybe because it is in the Bible, for some people that will be the reason.  But for others that isn’t enough to satisfy their intellectual and spiritual curiosity. Why believe in resurrection, for me, because resurrection means that we can still experience Jesus. Jesus is not just a historical figure I have read about and heard about. Jesus is a real part of my life, and that means he isn’t dead. So while I can’t explain how it happened, I don’t have any difficulty believing it happened.

What does all this mean, or is it just word games.

Resurrection is Good News; it is Good news that in a world where death and despair seem to hold sway, that Jesus, condemned and executed, is freed, liberated, by the love of God.

Resurrection is Good News; because God’s love is greater than anything else, greater than evil, greater then betrayal, greater than violence. We need not conform to the messages of status and wealth. We don’t have to justify our existence or prove ourselves. God loves us.

Resurrection is good news; we no longer need to live with fear and insecurity.  

Why do so many of us, even in church, live with insecurity and fear? Maybe living as people of resurrection seems too hard, too amazing, that we can’t get the idea straight in our heads. If we lived as the people God claims us to be, if we lived as the Body of Christ, I wonder what that would look like in our daily lives.

I have a coffee cup here, it says on it: Life is a mystery to be lived not a problem to be solved. And I think that could be said about our relationship with God: resurrection, grace, mercy, all are part of the mystery of faith, and we live within that mystery, rather than trying to explain it in rational, scientific or historical terms.

The evidence for resurrection is all around us, and within us. We are the evidence for resurrection, our transformed lives, the Holy Spirit bringing us new life; we are the evidence for the reality of resurrection.

This Easter I encourage you to think about your experience of resurrection, the ways in which Jesus has and is transforming your life.

Are you open to God’s transforming grace in your life? Are you living in as the transformed people of God?

Hosanna

Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!

We say this when we celebrate communion together, and here it is today in the Bible reading.

Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!

Jesus was riding into Jerusalem, at the beginning of Passover week. Passover celebrated the escape of the Hebrews from Egypt. Jesus celebrated the Passover meal with his disciples on the Thursday evening, and we will hear that part of the story later in the week.

Jesus was riding into Jerusalem as many other people of Jewish faith were also arriving in town. There were sacrifices to make at the Temple and preparations to make for the Passover meal. Also arriving in Jerusalem would have been extra Roman soldiers to make sure things stayed peaceful, with Pilate leading the procession.

The Romans maintained peace and order with lots of soldiers. There was no room for dissidents. The Jewish elite collaborated with the Romans, in an effort to keep the Romans from interfering with the Jewish religious traditions. While there were always soldiers based in Jerusalem, at Passover the population increased greatly, and so did the number of soldiers.

Into this atmosphere came the wandering teacher Jesus, on the back of a lowly donkey – no way for a king to travel. And we see a pattern we have seen before, people are curious about Jesus, they have heard about his teaching, his challenge to the Pharisees and Sadducees, news of the raising of Lazarus would have spread, and this man can heal and remove demons. Now they call out Hosanna, Hosanna, a phrase which means save us. They are looking for someone to save them from the Roman occupiers.

A clash of power, a clash of authority, Jesus on a donkey with crowds waving branching calling for salvation, and Pilate with the Roman soldiers reminding people they are under occupation.

This is often as far as we go in the Palm Sunday reading, but I wanted to look at the next thing Matthew records for us. Matthew follows the entry into Jerusalem with the incident of Jesus cleaning the Temple of stallholders. John includes this story much earlier in Jesus’ ministry, but Matthew has it here in Passover week. 

When people came to worship in the Temple, they would need local coins for offering, and livestock to offer as sacrifices. The money changers were like money changers today, they change your overseas money for local currency.  Because Israel was under Roman occupation, many people would only have Roman coins, to make an offering in the Temple required Jewish coins, so people were forced to deal with money changers. If people travelled any distance to the Temple, it was not possible to bring their own doves with them to sacrifice. The religious rulers had the people in a difficult place. People wanted to worship, and the religious and Temple leaders did not make this easy. So Jesus goes in to clean out the Temple, not to destroy the Temple, or to tell people not to worship, but to remove some of the obstacles to worship.

All along Jesus was trying to reform Judaism from within, to encourage people to worship God with their lives, to live out the compassion of God.

On Palm Sunday with the procession, Jesus was making a political statement about civil authority; then in the Temple he is making a political statement about religious authority.

Matthew then gives 5 chapters of teaching from Jesus, followed by Jesus reminding his disciples he is about to be killed, and the religious leaders plotting to be rid of the troublesome Jesus. Note Jesus links his death with Passover, and the religious leaders want to avoid Passover, they don’t want a fuss.

Then we hear of Jesus eating with Simon, a former leper, the implication being he was healed by Jesus. During the meal, a woman pours perfume over Jesus’ head.  This causes a stir, with the disciples complaining about the expense, not just Judas, the disciples. Jesus sees something different in her actions; she is readying him for burial. Jesus has told the disciples a number of times of his impending death, and yet they don’t get it, this woman, somehow knows to anoint him. Typically kings were anointed on their heads as part of coronations. Here she proclaims him king, and readies his body for death.

The response to the birth of Jesus was greeted by celebration, singing, searching, killing, and exile. During his ministry, the reactions to Jesus were mixed. Jesus was greeted enthusiastically in some places, but we remember today, he was a threat to those who held power, both civil power and religious power. The people who were in control, made life difficult for ordinary people; which meant anyone who wasn’t part of the elite, the establishment.

We can read these passages from Matthew and see ourselves as part of the cheering crowd, recognising who Jesus is; we can see ourselves amongst those who Jesus was defending in getting rid of the money changers and stall holders; we can see ourselves as the woman with the perfume.

But I wonder:

In what ways do we collaborate with the Government and civil authorities in keeping people in poverty, downtrodden and oppressed?

In what ways do we, as a church, make rules that keep people out?  That tells people that access to God is limited?  That shows people that they aren’t good enough?

In what ways do we treat religion as a means to an end; a way of keeping things the way we like them.

In what ways do we put down other people’s worship of God?

Palm Sunday is about a clash of kingdoms, the kingdom of God, peace, reconciliation, justice and liberation; and a kingdom based on maintaining order, keeping people downtrodden, defending the powerful, and destroying anyone who gets in your way.

We may not physically kill people, but how often have we killed the spirit of another, how often do we buy goods made in sweatshops, how often do we vote for a Government that will make our life easier, rather than looking after all people in the community.

Today we shout out:

Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!

As we move through holy week and Easter, does our living mirror the life of Jesus, defending the weak against the powerful, giving everything we have for the kingdom of God, or do we try not to stand out too much, not to be too obvious in our worship, living by the rules of the world.

Jesus challenged the religious and political rulers of the day. Whose authority do we live by?

Time for reflection

who sinned?

Who sinned? I sometimes wonder how much things have really changed in the past 2000 years:  The finger pointing, the wanting to put other people down, so we feel better about ourselves. People who are poor, or homeless or unemployed must be responsible for the situation they are in.

There are lots of questions in this reading, but there are ways of asking questions, and I wonder if the disciples, or the Pharisees, really wanted an answer to the questions they posed.

Asking if someone who is born blind, or who is disabled, or homeless, or unemployed, did something to deserve their lot in life, implies that those of us with a roof over our heads, food in the cupboard, an income and eyes that work, at least some of the time, are blessed for being good!

Just by asking the question, we already have an answer in mind, and we have already judged that person.

Who sinned?

The tricky part of this reading for many people is where John reports Jesus saying that the man was born blind so that God’s power could be seen – this is unlike any other statement we have from Jesus in the gospels. God’s power and mercy are shown in the healing, but I doubt this man was born blind for that reason.

Whether the historical Jesus would have seen the needy as opportunities for promotion is doubtful. We don’t need to be able to explain poverty, illness, unemployment and disability in terms of God’s benefit.

Some background -

John’s gospel was written down about 100 years after the death of Jesus, the people who followed Jesus thought of themselves as Jews, still attended their local synagogue when possible, and were having difficulties with the religious leaders. Jews, who made statements of Belief in Jesus, and their close associates, were excluded from the synagogue, and that meant being an outsider in your own community. This gospel was written to this group of Christians, early followers who were being expelled from the synagogue. For them, this story would have been an affirmation to keep being faithful to Jesus, even if it meant they were unable to worship in the synagogue, and people in the community looked at them strangely.

Also in John’s gospel, seeing Jesus, is believing in Jesus, there is always the connection between seeing and believing. It is only when we see Jesus for who he is, that we can truly believe.

Back to the story; Who sinned?

This happened on the Sabbath, so by making mud and placing it on the man’s eyes, and healing him, Jesus broke the religious rules of the day. To the Pharisees, Jesus was a sinner. Not only did Jesus break the rules by working on the Sabbath, he also touched a person who is likely to have been ritually unclean, thus making himself unclean. When you think about it, in making mud and putting it on the man’s eyes meant he actually was dirty.

Who sinned?

After the man is healed, the Pharisees and neighbours are not sure of his identity –how often do we only identify someone by a particular characteristic, such as an illness or disability; the man on the corner, the old lady with the walking stick, the boy in a wheelchair.

Who sinned?

The response to the healing elicits not praise, not celebrations, but questions about the validity and the possibility of such a thing happening. The man has been healed, he has been blind since birth, and the religious people are arguing about the nature of sin, the neighbours can’t identify this person and his parents are too scared of the religious officials to get involved.

Who sinned?

When we read passages like this one today, it is easy to think of ourselves as the man born blind, but today I want us to think about the ways in which we are like the other characters in the story.

We will start with the disciples, they are travelling with Jesus, but still so conditioned by their culture that they ask, what to them is an obvious question, who sinned?  The culture we live in can determine how we look at people, how we respond to people, and which people we exclude. This still happens in the church today.

Then there are the neighbours of the man, people who have only seen him as the blind beggar, they may have even given him money or food, but they have never taken any notice of who he is, as a person.

His parents were scared of the religious authorities, they knew that if they said anything that suggested Jesus is from God, then they were at risk of expulsion, and that would lead to being shunned by people in the community. Are there times when it is easier to not mention Jesus or God?

The Pharisees, the people who were experts in the law, stayed in their heads, they couldn’t see what was happening, because they were so busy looking for an explanation, any explanation other than that Jesus healed the man born blind, because then they would have to acknowledge who he is, and that doesn’t fit their world view. How often do we stay with what we know, rather than embracing a new touch from God?

Another thing with this passage is that even though we think about it in terms of the man gaining his sight, he first heard Jesus, then smelt the mud and then felt his touch. Jesus comes to us in all our senses, hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell.

And when we meet Jesus, when we allow him to touch us, we are transformed people. This isn’t easy today, any more than it was 2000 years ago. The people in the community John was writing to knew that this was a dangerous and risky thing to do. Jesus comes to us, gets dirty in healing us, welcomes us, and transforms us. At the end of this passage, the man born blind was in a very different place to where he started, not only can he see physically, but he sees Jesus for who he is. The other people are still in the same place, asking the wrong questions, judging, blaming, scared and not seeing. In what ways are we transformed by seeing, hearing, believing in Jesus? Are we more in tune with our society, counting who is in and who is out, seeing people as objects of pity or problems of their own making; or are we transformed to be open to seeing people as God sees them, people of dignity, worth, offering God’s love and mercy to those rejected by others.

Last week we heard about the woman at the well, this week’s story is another where there is an encounter between Jesus and a person who was considered an outsider, and in both stories Jesus sees the person as an individual of worth, a child of God, beloved and known.

We too are loved by God, known, offered healing, wholeness and forgiveness. As we journey toward Easter, and the sacrifice of Good Friday, may we reflect on how loved we are. And may we reflect on the ways in which Jesus comes to us in our humanity, connecting with us by sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. As we come for communion shortly, we acknowledge Jesus reaching out to us; may we be transformed by our encounter with Jesus,  encouraged and empowered to reach out to others.

Barriers to Compassion

Gospel John 4: 3 - 30

This passage from John’s gospel is one of my favourite Bible stories. The woman is an outsider, - as a woman, a Samaritan, and someone who has had  rough time in life. Last week we heard of Nicodemus coming to Jesus, Nicodemus, male, Jewish, religious elite - he had it all, he still had trouble getting his head around what Jesus was saying to him. He went to Jesus at night, hiding under the cover of darkness.

This week we hear of the woman, who is ‘other’ in so many ways. She doesn’t come to meet Jesus, they both happen to be at the well at the same time, noon. Hot, dry and thirsty.

Some background: Samaritans traced their lineage back to ancient Israel, BUT, they had intermarried with the Assyrians when under occupation in 580’s BCE. They were therefore considered unclean by the Jews, and their land was polluted or defiled, because they were.

And in the time of Jesus, women needed to be in the protection of a man: father, husband , brother, or some other male relative. A woman was of similar status to a slave. 

This woman, we aren’t told her name, is often portrayed as being immoral, a loose woman, but there is nothing in the reading to suggest that. Jesus doesn’t call her to repentance, he doesn’t mention her living situation as a sin.  As a woman, if your husband died, divorced you, or abandoned you, the outcome was that you needed the security of a household headed by a male, otherwise begging and prostitution were the only ways you could survive. 

Think back, it is not that long ago that women were unable to get a home loan without their husband’s approval; and think back to Henry the Eight, a wife was only as good as the male heirs she produced.

So it is quite feasible that this woman had a sad history, rather than an immoral history.

…..

Back to the encounter between Jesus and the woman. Jesus had stopped to rest at the well, while his disciples went to town to get food. The woman came to get water, it is an unusual time of day, but with a long sad history, maybe she isn’t welcome with the other women, maybe she is thought of as bad luck, or maybe she ran out of water, and just needed to get some more.

Jesus breaks the cultural and religious codes by asking her for a drink – a Jew would not speak to a Samaritan, especially not to ask for help; a man and woman who were not related should not speak to each other. Here Jesus is asking her for a drink, and he doesn’t have anything to drink from – this is wrong on so many levels. But it is Jesus who is breaking the rules, not the woman.

When Jesus offers life giving water, her first thought is physical, concrete, no more carrying large pots of water. But she stays in the conversation.

Jesus speaks to this woman, knows who she is, asks her for help, and she believes. When she says “I see you are a prophet”, that is a statement of belief. She sees that Jesus is a prophet, because he has seen her, as a person, as someone with dignity, she has worth and value, and she is not used to being treated that way. Jesus has seen her, and she has recognised something special in him.

Then, again, against all the rules, Jesus and the woman have a dialogue about faith and worship. It was considered foolish to waste your time trying to teach a woman, or even having a discussion with a woman.

So astonished was the woman, that she ran back to the city, leaving her water jar behind, and told everyone; now that means the men who were discussing politics and religion in the town square.

….

Jesus speaks to us with compassion, understanding and the offer of living water, water gushing from inside us like a spring – an image of abundance and constancy.

But from speaking with people I know some of us don’t feel like there is a never ending, abundant, continuous source of living water within us, there are certainly days when I don’t.

What stops us from accepting the offer of life-giving water? The woman could have insisted that it was inappropriate to speak with a Jew, or a male, and especially a Jewish male, and never found out what Jesus had to offer her. She could have stuck to the idea that water came from the well and was carried in jars. She could have not continued the conversation, and never come to the realisation that the man she is speaking to is a prophet from God.

How often does our social conditioning, our aversion to people different to us, our unwillingness to share our resources, our attempts to be self-dependent, our  reluctance to discuss questions of faith, prevent us from being open to new experiences, to new learning, to new opportunities and to relationship with God.

This is a story for anyone who has ever been put down, because of their age, their gender, their educational level, their job or lack thereof, their choices in life; this is a story for those with few options. This is a story for people who are marginalised, for those who carry shame. This is a story for those who don’t even know they are searching for something better, because life is about putting one foot in front of the other, of doing whatever is necessary to survive. This is a story about compassion, about hope, about that which binds all people, the need for water, the need for life, the need for identity.

This woman not only receives life giving water, compassion and the answer to the hottest issue of her day - where to worship - she also has a new found sense of herself. 

This is a story of the transforming power of compassion and love. While we all need that transformation in our lives, we can also be agents of healing and hope by offering that compassion and love to those who need is most. Because when we have that life giving water, we, like the woman, will want to tell others; it will show in our lives.

What prevents you from receiving the compassion and love that Jesus offers you? What prevents you from showing that compassion and love to others?

* some ideas from UCC SAMUEL  and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose/misogyny-moralism-and-the_b_836753.html