“Directing Others to Jesus”

John 4:7-15, 39-42

A brief summary of John 4: The woman at the well was a Samaritan with a questionable sexual history. No good Jew would ever speak to a Samaritan. No devout Jewish male would ever speak to such a shady lady; much less ask for a drink of water out of her cup. Jesus did both.

His conversation with her started out being simply about water. Then it moved on to living water, which the woman understood to be free flowing water. Finally Jesus let her know he has the true living water, the water of life. He is there to offer her the gift of salvation. She accepts.

Along the way they discuss her marital status. Jesus quite matter of factly and without a hint of condemnation lets her know that he is aware of her marital history and her live-in arrangement with a man who is not her husband. They move on from there to a discussion of true worship. Then she goes back to town and tells everybody about her experience with Jesus. Many of them flock to Jesus and become believers.

Before going forward I will share some applicable quotes. The first four deal with both the spiritual hunger that is part of the human condition and the church’s appropriate response to it:

Anonymous: Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread (or in light of today’s text, water).

Robert Obach and Albert Kirk: Within each of us is a quest, a thirst for understanding and union with God.

Clint Loveall: We live in this time when more and more people around us don’t know that God loves them, [that] God searches for them. [Every community] has people in it who don’t know the truth of the Gospel… [Every church] has an opportunity to share the good news of redemption with someone… in the midst of that reality the church is often majoring in minors and caught up in things that have no Kingdom significance.

The next three deal with Jesus’ response to the woman at the well:

William Barclay: For one of the very few times in her life she had found [someone] with kindness in his eyes instead of critical superiority; and she opened her heart.

Doug Bixby: When this woman initially approached the well, she expected that Jesus would treat her as if she were invisible, but he did not. He asked her for a drink – from her cup no less. Jesus just did not talk to her. He spoke with her about some rather deep theological and personal issues. Jesus demonstrated a type of respect she did not expect – especially after he revealed that he knew everything there was to know about her life. He uncovered her shame, yet he stayed. The testimony that she shared later with the Samaritans in the city was “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!” Jesus set her free from the prison her life had become.

James E. Carter: In Jesus there [was] a new inclusiveness. The relationship of the Jews to the Samaritans demonstrated exclusiveness. And women were also excluded. But the actions of Jesus proved inclusiveness. The Savior of the world included all people in new life who would respond to him in faith.

The next two quotes deal with the church’s misunderstanding of grace and a pastor’s comment about how prayer has changed his outlook:

Bixby (again): The church has traditionally thought about grace as a cure for guilt when, in reality, it is the salve we apply to the deepest wounds of our souls.

Martha Gay Reese: A pastor told me, “The more I pray, the more I just love people with tattoos.”

Lastly I want to share a paraphrased version of some words spoken by a ministerial colleague in West Virginia as he explained why he was no longer a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. I shared these words in the first sermon I preached here as your pastor:

A colleague: I’m tired of dealing with people who are so very, very careful about protecting their theological orthodoxy, yet who will not walk across the street to share the love of Jesus with someone who needs to hear it.

Having said all that, I want you to join me in a game of “what if?” What if the story told in John 4 were to happen in the here and now? What if the location was the cafeteria of a drug rehab center somewhere in the USA? What if the woman in question were to be somebody like Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, or Paris Hilton? What if Jesus stopped in front of her and asked for a bite of her sandwich?

Would she be surprised? Probably – and even more so when he sat down and talked with her in a compassionate and non-judgmental way. What if, as he talked with her, he matter of factly let her know that he was aware of her addictions and promiscuity, making it obvious that his awareness did not equate with condemnation? What if his conversation with her moved from her need for bread to her need for the Bread of Life? What if she finally recognized him for who he was, asked for and received the Bread of Life he offered, and then went from person to person in the rehab center sharing her life-altering experience with Jesus and directing others to him?

We’ll never know. Jesus no longer walks the earth in a physical form. He is with us by the power of the Spirit, commissioning, enabling, and empowering us to go out into the world as his disciples – as people in and through whom others can experience him. You know, people like us.

Let’s play some more “what if?” What if a Britney, Lindsay, or Paris, half-drunk and half-dressed walked into this sanctuary some Sunday? Other than some coffee and some clothes what would we offer her? Condemnation? Snide whispers and snickers behind her back? Crude comments about her revealing clothing? Maybe some of us guys sneaking a lustful peek? Or maybe envy of her wealth and fame coupled with greedy thoughts about how we can get hold of some of her money for the church, or even thoughts as to how we might as a church get some good publicity out of her being here?

What would Jesus do? Would Jesus condemn her? Would Jesus make snide or crude comments about her? Would Jesus look upon her as an object of lust or covetousness? Would Jesus hit her up for a big check or photo op? No, he would not. And if we truly want to be known as his disciples, then neither should we.

She and others like her abound in our culture and in our communities. She and others like her are hungry for the Bread of Life and thirsty for Living Water. She and others like her long to be looked upon with kindness and respect rather than condemnation. She and others like her need to know that God and his people love them – passionately! She and others like her are in desperate need of that healing salve that is God’s grace – along with a strong dose of our redemptive compassion. She and others like her need to be prayed for and prayed about until we as pastor and people can come to love them – whether they have tattoos or not.

Over my 30+ years of ordained ministry I’ve dealt with issues much more serious than tattoos. I’ve learned that good people do bad things and that otherwise intelligent people do stupid things. Early on I learned that at times even the best Christians struggle with drugs, alcohol, pornography, promiscuity, and adultery, hurting themselves, destroying their relationships, and damaging the Body of Christ.

Concurrently over the years I have been humbled by my own failures and hypocrisies. In the process I’ve learned to be less judgmental of others and more forgiving of myself.

I’ve discovered that, although I must preach and teach the truth of God’s Word with honest conviction, I must also be pastorally sensitive to those sitting in the pews, those who are dealing with sinfulness or are the victims of it. I’ve found out that it’s easy to condemn divorced people until you or someone you love becomes one or criticize other people’s parenting until your own child goes down the prodigal path. I’ve even learned that it isn’t kosher to look down on people with tattoos after my own daughter got one. And yes, I still love her.

Whether I’m preaching, teaching, or giving pastoral care I want to be sure that those receiving it – whoever they are, whatever their sins - experience what William Barclay described in his commentary on today’s text: someone with kindness in his eyes instead of critical superiority. I want to be the pastor of a congregation where kindness, compassion, grace, and forgiveness are extended to anyone and everyone who walks through the doors of the church: a church that doesn’t waste its time, energy, and resources majoring in minors or fritter them away on things that have no significance in the Kingdom of God.

I will close with one final “what if?” What if the woman at the well stood before us today? How Christ-like would we be in dealing with her? How much of Jesus would she see in us? Amen.