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I remember, years ago, the introduction of HD technology on tv’s. It corresponded roughly with flat screens becoming mainstream. For awhile, HD was a premium feature for many of the providers and you had to remember to select the better picture from an entirely different channel list. Channel 2 for the standard picture which was more fuzzy and grainy and then 1002 for the hi-def version. But man, there sure was a difference and it could be distracting as you noticed the incredible detail of the better picture which made you feel like you were in the scene.
Gospel stories like the woman at the well are the hd moments that give us a vivid image of Jesus’ heart and the way he practiced his ministry. There are so many details, rich and full of meaning, that hold our attention captive. As a preacher, it is overwhelming because I want to tell you about them all but we simply don’t have enough time. So, for us, for today, let’s simply focus on the hope offered by Christ to this woman and also, to us.
Before we can talk about hope, we must first consider despair. Despair is more than one bad moment or a single setback. It is the surrender of hope, the belief that things will not get better and also that the pain and darkness I feel now is as good as it gets. And more than likely, it will get even worse. The woman at the well had been married 5 times. This means she had 5 wedding nights where she believed this person was the one, the one who would make her happy, fulfill her as a person, treat her right, and be her partner. On their wedding night, no one thinks, “well, this probably won’t work out” or “I can always get married again”. 5 times this woman had been excited, believing: “I can finally be complete and loved!” That also means 5 times she was disappointed, devastated, and disillusioned by another failed commitment. When someone endures this level of pain, rejection, and humiliation, a part of them dies and becomes afraid, cynical, and jaded. Certainly this happened to the samaritan woman who doesn’t even bother to marry man #6. She has lost hope in what she wanted, despair has filled her heart when it comes to marriage, and perhaps she no longer believes she is worth the effort. Happiness is for others but not for her. The best she can do now is survive and do whatever it takes to see another day. This is what disappointment does to the human heart and this is what despair looks like.
The woman’s search for happiness and love, to matter and find meaning is something we all relate to. But her repeated failed relationships have made her a joke, a punch line in her town. So much so that she now comes to the well at the hottest time of the day so she will not have to see or be seen by others. Only shameful people came to draw water in the middle of the day in the hopes of dodging judgment and mockery. This is why the woman is so surprised that Jesus would even talk to her, much less ask her, for a drink of water.
How has our search for happiness led us to places, to choices, to relationships that have belittled us? How has rejection from others or the self-hatred that sabotages us made us doubt that joy is possible and part of God’s plan for us? How has life’s pain and disappointment kept us from believing that God wants us to be happy and whole? How many of us struggle to accept that we are worthy of love, a love which is not earned but given freely and unconditionally? How have our breakups, letdowns, failures, and bad decisions made us feel like a joke to others and made us wonder if pain and sadness are as good as it gets?
None of this unworthiness, despair, or pain scares away Jesus; in fact he seems to be drawn to it! He lowers himself to meet us in our need. Even though he can do all things as lord of heaven and earth, he becomes thirsty in order to enter into conversation with this woman. He needs nothing from her but he wants to give her everything, all she has been longing for. Can we imagine the humility of Jesus, the source of living water, the one who created water itself, asking for a drink to take away his thirst, which is both physical and spiritual. He takes this woman seriously; she is no joke to him, and he does not see her as beyond hope. In return for a sip of simple H2O, Jesus offers her the living water, the happiness, fulfillment, and purpose she longs for. He goes into her past, not to shame her but to heal her, to fix the cracks that would cause his life-giving grace to be lost. Jesus is like a skilled surgeon who must first open the wound to remove the infection so it can heal completely.
And look what happens! The woman believes! She experiences the indescribable certainty of being loved and cared for, —- she receives the kindness and dignity she was searching for her entire life and she cannot keep it to herself. St. John tells us she leaves her water bucket behind and goes into town, so urgent is her mission. What she originally came for no longer matters. How beautiful that the woman goes to the people who had been a source of fear, rejection, and despair and invites them to experience for themselves what Jesus has done for her.
We can only imagine how she must have been completely and undeniably transformed because the people of the town follow her back to Jesus. And in short order, they too are changed, healed, inspired, and filled with the same holy spirit that only Jesus can give.
Friends, Jesus offers us the same living water he gave to the Samaritan woman and the people of her town. Christ’s love is the only thing that satisfies our hearts. He wants to take away our spiritual thirst with his grace; his grace which never fails, never goes away and never has to be earned. But we have to believe and be willing to leave our sins behind.
As we continue to journey through this Lenten season, let us ask Jesus to give us the living water of the gospel. Let him in by spending time in prayer, opening our past to him in confession, and doing good for others. Finally, as we prepare to approach this altar and receive the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ let us remember that no matter how we look at ourselves or our past, Jesus sees something good, something hopeful, something beautiful, something worth dying for!
