Sermon Tone Analysis

Let us pray.

Most holy, Lord God, you visit us when we are unprepared; but in our unpreparedness we awake to your presence and take note of your message: may those moments be stories that we share with others, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

“When you were a child, how many times did you beg your mom or dad ‘Please give me another list of rules and regulations.’”

That’s what I thought.

“But how often did you try to put off bedtime by begging to hear ‘Just one more story.

Please!?’

“What do we do at family reunions and holiday celebrations?

We trot out the same old stories, initiating each new generation in the stories of the ancestors.

In their telling and re-telling, we make them living history, not just dead facts.

“Stories are how we learn who we are, where we’ve come from, and where we are going.

A mature human being lives a well-storied life.

“There are stories that teach us about our identity as Americans — George Washington stories, covered wagon pioneer stories, North and South stories, Great Depression stories, December 7, 1941 stories, hippy-dippy sixties stories, 9-11 stories, Katrina stories,” C.C. Peirce stories, and especially in our diocese, Bishop Haden stories.

“There are still other stories that teach us about our family identity.

Ellis Island stories, proud moment stories, scandalous secret stories, celebration stories, triumph and tragedy stories, new love stories, old grudge stories.

“Christians are more than just our country’s stories.

Christians are more than our family’s stories.

Christians have the “greatest story ever told.”

We have the story of Adam and Eve.

We have the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

We have the story of Jesus.

“Our most basic identity as Christians?

We tell the story of Jesus to the world.

“But do you know the living story of your faith?

“The truth is that we Christians are woe-fully under-storied.

A few months ago a Pew study of religious knowledge (http://religions.pewforum.org/reports)

found that our knowledge of the Bible, world religions and what the Constitution says - about religion in public life is embarrassingly low.

How low?

“Atheists and agnostics scored better than evangelicals or Catholics.

Bible belt Southerners who (sic) scored the worst.

Those who believe the Bible is the literal word of God did slightly worse than average, while those who say it is not the word of God scored slightly better.

A lot of Americans think Deuteronomy is a rock group.

More Christians than you’d care to imagine think Joan of Arc was married to Noah.

“In today’s gospel text Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman as he rests in the shadow of Jacob’s well.

According to tradition and culture, these are two people who should not speak to each other.

In fact, except for Jesus’ initial request for a drink of water, he and the woman do not really ‘speak.’

Did you catch it when” the text was read this morning?

“You say, well if they didn’t speak, what did they do?

“They told each other stories….”

(Leonard Sweet)

Today we not only hear stories being told, but we also see stories told in movies and TV.

The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is on You Tube.

After this sermon is posted on our web site, you’ll find a link to the video in the sermon text

Jesus meets woman at a well .

Jesus is feeling that the Pharisees may be after him.

Last week we heard from John that Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover and he overthrew the money changers.

This would have brought attention to Jesus from people who didn’t like what he did.

So rather than take the Jordan Valley to home in Galilee, he went by way of Samaria where no respectful Jew would travel.

At Jacob’s well, Jesus asks for water, which surprises the Samaritan woman.

Jesus tells her that if she knew who she was talking to and if she were aware of what God is offering her, then instead of questioning Jesus she would ask him for living water and he would give it to her.

Living water is, literally, running, spring water.

Jesus is talking about living water from baptism giving the Holy Spirit to the one baptized.

Well, she’s not clear on what Jesus is saying to her.

Like Nicodemus, she is taking Jesus literally when Jesus isn’t talking literally.

So she tells Jesus that he has no bucket, the well is deep, so just where does he think he’s going to get some of this living water.

Now, if someone came to your door and was peddling living water, would you buy it?

The woman continues by explaining that Jacob dug the well for them (presumably not for the Jews) soooo do you think you’re better than Jacob?

She is challenging Jesus and is trying to make him look foolish.

After all, nobody can be greater than Jacob, who is Israel and father of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus explains by saying that he wants nothing to do with this well.

People who drink from Jacob’s well will get thirsty again, be they Samaritan or Jew.

The water Jesus is offering is a spring of living water that leads to eternal life.

This was indeed good news to the woman!

She asks for this living water so she doesn’t have to come back to this stinking well every day to get water.

Jesus next tells her to go and get her husband.

Jesus gives her the right answer (ding) and tells her that she was wed five times and the man she living with is not her husband.

This greatly impresses the woman.

Maybe this guy is as important as Jacob.

She calls Jesus a prophet.

It could be that John is telling us not about five literal husbands, but that the Samaritans intermarried with five foreign peoples and thereby married their gods, too.

The man she is with now may be referring to the Roman occupiers.

The woman says that her ancestors worshipped on that mountain, but you Jews only worship in Jerusalem.

Jesus then tells her that she and the Samaritans will neither worship on that mountain or in Jerusalem.

Those old traditional worship sites will no longer be important.

Jesus then tells her that she and the Samaritans don’t know what they are doing, religiously.

The Jews do know how to worship and it is through the Jews God will save the world.

True worshippers will be lead by the Spirit to worship in truth.

It is those people God seeks.

God is spirit.

God is not a physical being, like we are.

And the spirit will lead people to worship God in spirit and truth.

The woman expressed a hope for the coming of the messiah, the Christ, to tell the people everything.

Jesus said that he is that very person.

It is about this time that the disciples get back from grocery shopping and they are surprised to find Jesus talking to a Samaritan woman.

They also seem to think that it’s best not to say anything about it.

The woman than leaves her water jar behind running to the town to tell everyone that maybe she found the messiah.

Her water jar is now obsolete.

In spite of a probably less than stellar reputation, the townspeople go with her to see who this could be

While she was gone, the disciples press Jesus to eat.

Jesus is in a puzzling mood and tells the disciples that he has food they know nothing about.

Now the disciples are puzzled and ask themselves where Jesus got any food.

Jesus says that his food is to do God’s will and Jesus is going to do just that!

The disciples are still on an earthly level.

The Samaritan woman recognizes Jesus.

His disciples are still in the dark.

Then Jesus shares a parable, “You may think that there are four more months to the harvest, but take a good look.

It’s harvest time now!

Even now the reapers are gathering the harvest that will lead to eternal life.

Then the sowers and the reapers will together rejoice after the harvest.

So the saying is true, ‘Some plant the seed and others harvest the crop.’