I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When the Gospel is proclaimed at mass, it’s an event, which is to say that it is happening now. It’s not the mere retelling of something that happened two thousand years ago but it is something that is taking place in our midst, here and now, at this parish, at this moment. And as we try to listen and understand this long Gospel, it is worth calling to mind again.

This is not merely the dialogue of Jesus and some strange woman at a well two thousand years ago at a place none of us have ever been. This is a dialogue Jesus is trying to get into with you and me now.

It is the longest dialogue in all the Gospels and it is very odd. So, I want to just bracket off all the things at the end and focus our attention on what’s happening at the beginning of the discussion between Jesus and this woman so that we can understand not only what he is saying to her but what it is that’s he’s saying to you and me at this moment.

In order to understand it though, I would suggest we need know something that was said earlier. Somehow, it was omitted despite the fact we had all these verses. It’s the verse immediately before this which I think is the key to the whole passage.

Immediately before this, it says, “He had to pass through Samaria.” Picture a clock face. Jesus is at 6 on the clock. He’s heading to 11. Geographically, he has to pass, if he wants to go the quickest route, through the center of the clock to get to where he wants to go. The center of the clock is where Samaria is.

But no one goes that way. No one goes that was because Jews and Samarians hate each other and so Jews avoid Samaria. So they would go up and do a big “C” and go back up towards the 11. What does it mean that he has to pass? He has to pass because he had to go to that well. Because he had to see that woman. Because he wanted that woman.

That’s going to come back to play when we consider what it is Jesus is saying to you and me, here and now. So if we just focus in on the dialogue, hopefully we will see that it is very strange and the oddest part is the most important part.

So, Jesus is at this well and a woman walks up to him. Men and women don’t talk to each other in the Middle East, even to this day, at least not in public. And as the woman walks up, he says, “give me a drink.” And she goes, “why are you talking to me? Why are you asking me for a drink?”

And he says to her, “if you knew who was asking you for a drink, you would’ve asked me and I would’ve given you living water.” “Huh? Well, why are you asking me for a drink if you got this living water?” And she looks at him and says, “you don’t even have a bucket. It’s a hundred feet deep well, where are you going to get this water?”

And he says, “everyone who drinks from this well will be thirsty again. But everyone drinks from the water that I’m going to give, the living water, it will be like a spring which bubbles up within them which gives them everlasting life.” “So why are you asking me for water if you have everlasting life?” “Ah, because maybe because the whole point of the conversation is not because you want water. It’s because you want me!”

And she looks at him and says, “sir, I would love to have that water so that I don’t have to keep coming back to this well every day. Give me that water.”

And he says, “go get your husband.” - Where does that come from!? Is that not the greatest non-sequitur in dialogue or is it perhaps the point? I think it’s the point. So what’s the point? What’s happening? Again, men and women don’t talk to each other in the Middle East. Women are the ones who go to the well to get water but they go in the morning. If you live in a desert, you go to get water when it’s cool. And you go when everybody else is there so that you can catch up. You can talk about what’s happening. So you can see friends. She doesn’t go in the morning. She goes at noon. When she knows no one will be there. Why? She doesn’t want to see anybody. Why? Her life’s a mess.

So, this woman who is filled with thirst, with hunger, with unsatisfied desires, longing for life but can’t find it but is trying to find it in men encounters Jesus and Jesus says, “I have what you want.” And she says, “I want it.” And he says, “go get your husband.”

He says that, “because before I can give you living water, he’s saying to her, you need to acknowledge that what you’ve been trying to do to find happiness doesn’t work. You’re trying to find fulfillment in all these men you’ve been with. And it’s just left you chewed up. If you want the abundant life that I have to give you, you have to acknowledge that. You have to see it as not working. And then you have to put me first because what you really want. What you’re looking for in these men is really only ultimately found in me.”

What’s that have to do with us? Well, just like Jesus had to pass through Samaria to see that woman, so too Jesus had to come here this morning to see you. And me.

Some of you might be here by chance. Maybe you got dragged by your parents. Some of you maybe just wandered into mass. “I haven’t been to mass in a couple of weeks” and all of a sudden you’re here again. Some of us are here despite all the facades that we have up about how great life is, knowing deep down “gosh, there must be more! What is it?” And Jesus knew just as he knew the woman at the well would be at that well so you and I would be here today and he’s trying to get into a conversation with us. Why? Because he thirsts. Because he wants you. And whether you and I know it or not, we want him.

There are I think two types of people who can be here based on age. Those of us who are younger, “the reason I’m not really fulfilled is because of all of these goals that I still have in front of me, I haven’t yet accomplished. I’m still looking forward to reaching the pinnacle of my career, I’m still looking for that beautiful spouse, still looking for that dream house, still looking for whatever.” Nothing wrong with any of those.

But some of us who are older are thinking, “I got the great career. I got the beautiful spouse. I got the great house. I’ve traveled. Why am I still hungry?” Here’s why: because what we want is God. And nothing, and no one else will satisfy us.

Nothing wrong with a great career. Nothing wrong with a great wife or husband. Nothing wrong with a wonderful family. Nothing wrong with a beautiful place to live. All of those things are good. They’re just not it. God has made us with an insatiable desire for him.

And so hopefully we understand that what we just heard in the Gospel is not some cute, nice, little story. It’s instead Jesus saying to you and me, “if you want real happiness, then you can’t keep me on the margins of your life anymore. You can’t have me just as an addendum. I can’t be one of many things. You can’t just come to church. You got to put me first.

Henryetta First Christian Church

Sunday School begins at 9 a.m. followed by worship service at 10 a.m. Come join us for worship! Everyone is welcome and invited to attend. Henryetta First Christian Church is located at 412 N. 5th Street.

“Whispers” by Mary Morris

“He said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.’ So He said, ‘Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.” (1 Kings 19:10-12) Elijah was hiding out, fearing for his life. And after what he had done - bringing the Lord’s fire down onto the sacrifice that was completely water soaked - you’d think he’d have no fear. After all, he was doing the Lord’s work and should have realized that he was favored by the Lord, protected by Him. But he wanted proof, feeling like perhaps he’d earned that privilege. How God revealed Himself is very important and is what we’ll focus on today.

We have storms that rage around us. Sometimes it seems like the ground beneath us is just crumbling. And when fires bring our lives to ashes, we throw up our hands and cry, “Why me, Lord?” Well, guess what - like Elijah looking for God, if we focus only on the disasters, we’ll miss His presence. In order for us to actually hear His still, small voice, we must be very close to Him. And that voice can even be heard when we’re amid cacophonous distractions (think present day). But we have to be close enough to God to hear Him.

That closeness comes from desire and practice. 60 minutes on an occasional Sunday won’t cut it. Deliberate contact through constant prayer, daily Bible study (whether alone or in a group setting), making choices of which we’re certain God would approve, and acts of love which we’ve learned through Jesus are ways which can become second nature to us. Shutting off extraneous noise can be challenging but not impossible. Only when we tune out everything but God’s will can we hear God’s soft whisper: “You are mine. You are forgiven. You are loved. You are safe.”