Fifth Sunday after Pascha. Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, Tone 4; the Nine Holy Martyrs of Cyzicus (313-24); the Venerable Memnon the Wonderworker
Read
Acts 11:19-26, 29-30; John 4:5-42
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Every once in a while you come across someone who has read a book or two about history or Christianity and claims that “Jesus was just a product of his time.” Whichever books they may have read, they certainly haven’t read this chapter of John! A respectable Rabbi did not sit with a woman alone at a well. To sit with a Samaritan woman at a well and talk with her was unheard of. Here was see the first lesson for us, His disciples, go out of your comfort zone. Jesus was not afraid of eating and drinking with sinners. He ran the risk of being misunderstood (and of course He was misunderstood, many, many times!) He did not condone her sins, but this did not stop Him from talking to her, in fact, it necessitated the conversation. We cannot share the Gospel if we are ignoring people or are afraid to make people uncomfortable. The cross is uncomfortable. If we are comfortable with the cross we either came down from it, or ran away.
Next, we must get personal. When Our Lord shows a deep insight into the life of this woman, the embarrassing fact of her unchastity, her response is to change the subject. She begins a conversation about the proper location of worship. She moves it away from herself and starts talking about Christ’s peopleverses her people, but Christ brings the conversation back to her. He wants to give her Living Water. He is interested in her salvation. It is easy, brothers and sisters to love concepts and much more difficult to love people. I can love Canada and hate her citizens. But Christ didn’t die for Canada but for you and me. Christ is Risen- take it personally!
Finally, rejoice in the mission! The disciples return part of the way through this startling conversation and implore their Master to eat. He responds by stating that He is satisfied to do work for the harvest of the Gospel, and that they should be too. The disciples will have the joy of collecting a harvest that they did not plant. This is a good reminder for us in this world of confusion. We don’t need to save the world, God already did that, we have the joy of telling people that it is saved, and inviting people into what Christ has already accomplished.
As we continue our journey towards Pentecost, let us go out of our comfort zones and get personal in preaching the Gospel. Then we may truly enter into the joy of the Lord who offers us His salvation!