Nancy Ferree-Clark - "Encounter at the Well" (March 22, 1987)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Good morning and welcome to this service of worship | 1:20 |
on the third Sunday of Lent. | 1:22 | |
In accordance with tradition begun here a few years ago | 1:26 | |
our service features this morning the historic Great Litany, | 1:30 | |
an appropriate offering for the season of Lent, | 1:37 | |
and we thank David Arcus, who serves as our cantor | 1:41 | |
this morning for the Great Litany. | 1:44 | |
This afternoon at 1:30 the annual CROP Walk for World Hunger | 1:47 | |
leaves from the steps of Duke Chapel | 1:52 | |
and at 5:00 pm there is a concert on | 1:55 | |
the Benjamin N. Duke Memorial Organ | 2:00 | |
at 5:00 pm by Ms. Sandra Sunderland open to the public. | 2:02 | |
On a university campus there are many images | 2:09 | |
of success and achievement. | 2:12 | |
There are many images of the good life | 2:16 | |
for our students to emulate. | 2:19 | |
A few years ago a number of students and faculty | 2:22 | |
came together and sought to recognize | 2:25 | |
a different image of success, | 2:29 | |
namely success not based upon personal achievement | 2:33 | |
but success based upon personal, direct involvement | 2:38 | |
in service to others and they created | 2:45 | |
the Duke University Humanitarian Service Award, | 2:47 | |
which is presented annually through | 2:53 | |
the efforts of Duke Campus Ministry. | 2:55 | |
It is our pleasure this Sunday to present | 2:59 | |
the 1987 Duke Humanitarian Service Award | 3:03 | |
and here is a Duke undergraduate, Kimberly Coglan, | 3:07 | |
who has served on the Selection Committee | 3:11 | |
to introduce this year's recipient. | 3:14 | |
- | This year's recipient of | 3:20 |
the Duke Humanitarian Service Award | 3:22 | |
embodies what the award is meant for. | 3:25 | |
This year's recipient has shown sustained service to others | 3:28 | |
in both her personal and her professional lives. | 3:32 | |
In a professional life is Director of Pupil Personnel, | 3:37 | |
for the Durham City schools | 3:41 | |
she counsels both students and parents. | 3:43 | |
In her personal life she set up | 3:47 | |
a variety of things to help others. | 3:49 | |
She's established a tutoring program on Saturday mornings, | 3:51 | |
she works with the Child Advocacy Board in Durham, | 3:56 | |
she's been very involved with the United Way | 3:59 | |
as the city's representative, | 4:01 | |
she helped establish and serves on the board | 4:04 | |
of the Weaver Street Community Center. | 4:06 | |
She does a variety of other things | 4:08 | |
that take a lot of her time and effort | 4:12 | |
and she continually serves others | 4:14 | |
whether it's answering phone calls at 2:00 am | 4:17 | |
from concerned parents, | 4:19 | |
or tutoring students on a Saturday morning. | 4:21 | |
It is my personal pleasure to award | 4:24 | |
the 1987 Duke University Humanitarian Service Award | 4:26 | |
to Martha Johnson. | 4:31 | |
- | [Rev. Dr. William] Why don't you come on up | 4:42 |
so everyone can see you. | 4:43 | |
Congratulations. | 4:46 | |
Martha | Thank you very much. | 4:47 |
Kimberly | Congratulations. | 4:49 |
Martha | Thank you. | 4:52 |
- | Our congratulations to Mrs. Johnson. | 4:53 |
(applauding) | 4:56 | |
David | Oh God the Father, creator of Heaven and earth. | 5:26 |
All | Have mercy on us. | 5:31 |
David | Oh God the son, redeemer of the world. | 5:34 |
Congregation | Have mercy on us. | 5:39 |
David | Oh God the Holy Ghost, sanctifier of the faithful. | 5:42 |
Congregation | Have mercy on us. | 5:48 |
David | Oh holy blessed and glorious trinity, one God. | 5:51 |
Congregation | Have mercy on us. | 5:57 |
David | Remember not, Lord Christ, our offenses | 6:01 |
nor the offenses of our fore bearers, | 6:05 | |
neither reward us according to our sins. | 6:08 | |
Spare us good Lord, spare thy people | 6:12 | |
whom thou hast redeemed with Thy most precious blood | 6:16 | |
and by thy mercy preserve us forever. | 6:20 | |
Congregation | Spare us, good Lord | 6:25 |
David | From all evil and wickedness, from sin, | 6:28 |
from the crafts and the assaults of the Devil, | 6:32 | |
and from everlasting damnation. | 6:35 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 6:40 |
David | From all blindness of heart, from pride, | 6:43 |
vainglory, and hypocrisy, from envy, hatred and malice, | 6:47 | |
and from all want of charity. | 6:53 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 6:57 |
David | From all inordinate and sinful affections, | 7:00 |
and from all the deceits of the world, | 7:03 | |
the flesh, and the Devil. | 7:06 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 7:10 |
David | From all false doctrine, heresy, and schism, | 7:13 |
from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy word | 7:17 | |
and commandment. | 7:22 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 7:24 |
David | From lightning and tempest, | 7:28 |
from earthquake, fire, and flood, | 7:30 | |
from plague, pestilence, and famine. | 7:33 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 7:38 |
David | From all oppression, conspiracy, and rebellion, | 7:41 |
from violence, battle, and murder, | 7:45 | |
and from dying suddenly and unprepared. | 7:49 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 7:54 |
David | By the mystery of Thy holy incarnation, | 7:57 |
by Thy holy nativity and submission to the law, | 8:01 | |
by Thy baptism, fasting, and temptation. | 8:05 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 8:10 |
David | By thine agony and bloody sweat, | 8:14 |
by Thy cross and passion, by Thy precious death and burial, | 8:17 | |
by Thy glorious resurrection and ascension, | 8:22 | |
and by the coming of the Holy Ghost. | 8:26 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 8:30 |
David | In all time of our tribulation, | 8:34 |
in all time of our prosperity, | 8:37 | |
in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment. | 8:40 | |
Congregation | Good Lord, deliver us. | 8:45 |
David | We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, O Lord God | 8:49 |
and that it may please Thee to rule | 8:53 | |
and govern Thy holy Church Universal in the right way. | 8:56 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 9:02 |
David | That it may please Thee to illumine all bishops, | 9:07 |
priests, and deacons, with true knowledge | 9:10 | |
and understanding of Thy Word | 9:14 | |
and that both by their preaching and living, | 9:16 | |
they may set it forth, and show it accordingly. | 9:20 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 9:25 |
David | That it may please Thee | 9:29 |
to bless and keep all Thy people. | 9:31 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 9:35 |
David | That it may please Thee | 9:40 |
to send forth laborers into Thy harvest, | 9:41 | |
and to draw all people into Thy kingdom. | 9:45 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 9:50 |
David | That it may please Thee to give to all people | 9:54 |
increase of grace to hear and receive Thy Word, | 9:58 | |
and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. | 10:02 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 10:07 |
David | That it may please Thee to bring | 10:11 |
into the way of truth all such as have erred, | 10:13 | |
and are deceived. | 10:17 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 10:20 |
David | That it may please Thee to give us | 10:24 |
a heart to love and fear Thee, | 10:26 | |
and diligently to live after thy commandments. | 10:29 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 10:35 |
David | That it may please Thee so | 10:39 |
to rule the hearts of Thy servants, | 10:41 | |
the President of the United States, | 10:44 | |
and all others in authority, that they may do justice, | 10:47 | |
and love mercy, and walk in the ways of truth. | 10:51 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 10:56 |
David | That it may please Thee to make wars | 11:01 |
to cease in all the world, | 11:03 | |
to give to all nations unity, peace, and concord, | 11:06 | |
and to bestow freedom upon all peoples. | 11:10 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 11:15 |
David | That it may please Thee to show Thy pity | 11:19 |
upon all prisoners and captives, the homeless and hungry, | 11:22 | |
and all who are desolate and oppressed. | 11:28 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 11:32 |
David | That it may please Thee to give and preserve | 11:36 |
to our use the bountiful fruits of the earth, | 11:40 | |
so that in due time all may enjoy them. | 11:43 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 11:48 |
David | That it may please Thee to inspire us | 11:53 |
in our several callings | 11:56 | |
to do the work which Thou givest us to do | 11:58 | |
with singleness of heart as Thy servants, | 12:01 | |
and for the common good. | 12:04 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 12:08 |
David | That it may please Thee to preserve all | 12:12 |
who are in danger by reason of their labor or their travel. | 12:15 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 12:21 |
David | That it may please Thee to preserve | 12:26 |
and provide for all women in childbirth, | 12:29 | |
young children and orphans, widowed, | 12:33 | |
and all whose homes are broken or torn by strife. | 12:36 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 12:42 |
David | That it may please Thee to visit the lonely, | 12:46 |
to strengthen all who suffer in mind, body, and spirit, | 12:50 | |
and to comfort with Thy presence | 12:55 | |
those who are failing and infirmed. | 12:57 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 13:01 |
David | That it may please Thee to support, | 13:05 |
help, and comfort all who are in danger, | 13:08 | |
necessity, and tribulation. | 13:12 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 13:15 |
David | That it may please Thee | 13:20 |
to have mercy upon all people. | 13:21 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 13:25 |
- | That it may please Thee to give us true repentance, | 13:29 |
to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances, | 13:33 | |
and to endue us with the grace of Thy Holy Spirit | 13:39 | |
to amend our lives according to Thy holy Word. | 13:43 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 13:48 |
- | That it may please Thee to forgive our enemies, | 13:52 |
persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts. | 13:55 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 14:02 |
- | That it may please Thee to strengthen such as do stand, | 14:05 |
to comfort and help the weak-hearted, | 14:10 | |
to raise up those who fall, | 14:13 | |
and finally to beat down Satan under our feet. | 14:15 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 14:21 |
David | That it may please Thee to grant | 14:25 |
to all the faithful departed eternal life and peace. | 14:27 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 14:31 |
David | That it may please Thee to grant that, | 14:36 |
in the fellowship of all the saints, | 14:39 | |
we may attain to Thy heavenly kingdom. | 14:42 | |
Congregation | We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord. | 14:46 |
David | Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us. | 14:50 |
Congregation | Son of God, we beseech thee to hear us. | 14:55 |
David | O Lamb of God, | 15:00 |
that takest away the sins of the world. | 15:01 | |
Congregation | Have mercy upon us. | 15:04 |
David | O Lamb of God, | 15:08 |
that takest away the sins of the world. | 15:09 | |
Congregation | Have mercy upon us. | 15:13 |
David | O Lamb of God, | 15:16 |
that takest away the sins of the world. | 15:17 | |
Congregation | Grant us Thy peace. | 15:21 |
David | O Christ, hear us. | 15:24 |
Congregation | O Christ, hear us. | 15:27 |
David | Lord, have mercy upon us. | 15:30 |
Congregation | Christ, have mercy upon us. | 15:33 |
David | Lord, have mercy upon us. | 15:36 |
All | Our Father, who art in heaven, | 15:40 |
hallowed be Thy name, | 15:44 | |
Thy kingdom come, | 15:46 | |
Thy will be done, | 15:48 | |
on earth as it is in Heaven. | 15:50 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 15:54 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 15:57 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 16:00 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 16:04 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 16:07 | |
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 16:10 | |
and the glory forever. | 16:13 | |
Amen. | 16:16 | |
- | O Lord, let Thy mercy be showed upon us. | 16:18 |
Congregation | As we do put our trust in Thee. | 16:23 |
- | Let us pray. | 16:27 |
Almighty God, who hast promised to hear the petitions | 16:29 | |
of those who ask in thy Son's Name, | 16:33 | |
we beseech Thee mercifully to incline Thine ear to us | 16:36 | |
who have now made our prayers and supplications unto thee, | 16:40 | |
and grant that those things which we have asked faithfully | 16:45 | |
according to Thy will may be obtained effectually, | 16:49 | |
and to the relief of our necessity, | 16:54 | |
and to the setting forth of Thy glory | 16:57 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord. | 17:00 | |
All | Amen. | 17:04 |
- | The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, | 17:06 |
and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, | 17:09 | |
be with us all evermore. | 17:14 | |
All | Amen. | 17:17 |
- | Almighty and everlasting God | 17:21 |
who hatest nothing Thou hast made | 17:23 | |
and thus forgive the sins of those who are penitent. | 17:25 | |
Create and make in us new in contrite hearts | 17:29 | |
that we truly lamenting our sins | 17:32 | |
and acknowledging our wickedness may obtain of Thee, | 17:34 | |
the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness | 17:38 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord. | 17:43 | |
Amen. | 17:46 | |
Be seated. | 17:47 | |
- | Let us pray. | 17:57 |
All | Open our hearts and minds, oh God | 17:59 |
by the power of your Holy Spirit | 18:03 | |
so that as the Word is read and proclaimed | 18:06 | |
we might hear with joy what You say to us this day. | 18:09 | |
- | The first lesson is taken from the book of Exodus. | 18:15 |
But the people thirsted there for water | 18:19 | |
and the the people murmured against Moses | 18:22 | |
and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt | 18:24 | |
to kill us, and our children, and our cattle with thirst?" | 18:28 | |
So Moses cried to the Lord, | 18:33 | |
"What shall I do with these people? | 18:36 | |
They're almost ready to stone me." | 18:39 | |
And the Lord said to Moses, | 18:42 | |
"Pass on before the people taking with you | 18:45 | |
some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand | 18:48 | |
the rod with which you struck the Nile and go. | 18:52 | |
Behold, I will stand with you there on the rock at Horeb | 18:56 | |
and you shall strike the rock, | 19:01 | |
and water shall come out of it, | 19:03 | |
so that the people may drink." | 19:04 | |
And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. | 19:07 | |
And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, | 19:11 | |
because of the fault finding of the children of Israel, | 19:15 | |
and because they put the Lord the the proof by saying, | 19:19 | |
"Is the Lord among us or not?" | 19:22 | |
This ends the reading of the first lesson. | 19:25 | |
The second lesson is taken from Paul's Letter to the Romans. | 19:30 | |
Therefore since we are justified by faith | 19:35 | |
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. | 19:39 | |
Through him we have obtained access | 19:43 | |
to this grace in which we stand | 19:46 | |
and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. | 19:49 | |
More than that we rejoice in our sufferings | 19:54 | |
knowing that suffering produces endurance, | 19:58 | |
and endurance produces character, | 20:01 | |
and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us | 20:04 | |
because God's love has been poured into our hearts | 20:09 | |
through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. | 20:13 | |
While we were still weak, at the right time | 20:17 | |
Christ died for the ungodly. | 20:20 | |
Why, one will hardly die for a righteous person | 20:23 | |
though perhaps for good people one will even dare to die. | 20:27 | |
But God shows love for us in that | 20:32 | |
while we were yet still sinners, Christ died for us. | 20:34 | |
Since therefore we are now justified by his blood | 20:39 | |
much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. | 20:44 | |
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God | 20:49 | |
by the death of His son, much more now | 20:53 | |
that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life. | 20:56 | |
Not only so, but we also rejoice in God | 21:01 | |
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom | 21:05 | |
we have no received our reconciliation. | 21:08 | |
This ends the reading of the second lesson. | 21:11 | |
(organ music) | 21:21 | |
(soloist singing) | 21:24 | |
(chorus singing) | 22:28 | |
(chorus singing continues) | 25:27 | |
- | A reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint John. | 26:44 |
So Jesus came to a city Samaria called Sychar | 26:50 | |
near the field that Jacob gave to his son, Joseph. | 26:54 | |
Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, | 26:58 | |
wearied as he was with his journey, | 27:02 | |
sat down beside the well. | 27:04 | |
It was about the sixth hour. | 27:07 | |
There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. | 27:10 | |
Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink," | 27:13 | |
for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. | 27:17 | |
The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, | 27:22 | |
a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" | 27:25 | |
For Jews having no dealings with Samaritans. | 27:30 | |
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God | 27:34 | |
and who it is that is saying to you, give me a drink, | 27:38 | |
you would've asked of Him | 27:42 | |
and he would have given you living water." | 27:44 | |
The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with | 27:48 | |
and the well is deep. | 27:51 | |
Where do you get that living water? | 27:53 | |
Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob | 27:56 | |
who gave us the well and drank from it himself, | 27:58 | |
and his children, and his cattle?" | 28:01 | |
Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water | 28:05 | |
will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water | 28:08 | |
that I shall give him, will never thirst. | 28:12 | |
The water that I shall give the one who thirst | 28:15 | |
becomes for that person a spring of water | 28:18 | |
welling up to eternal life." | 28:21 | |
The woman said to Jesus, "Sir, give me this water, | 28:24 | |
that I may not thirst nor come here to draw." | 28:29 | |
Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband and come here." | 28:33 | |
The woman answered him, "I have no husband." | 28:38 | |
Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, | 28:41 | |
"I have no husband," for you have had five husbands | 28:43 | |
and he whom you now have is not your husband. | 28:48 | |
This you said truly." | 28:51 | |
The woman said to him, | 28:53 | |
"Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet." | 28:54 | |
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain | 28:58 | |
and you say that in Jerusalem is the place | 29:00 | |
where people ought to worship." | 29:03 | |
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, | 29:05 | |
the hour is coming when neither on this mountain | 29:08 | |
nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. | 29:12 | |
You worship what you do not know. | 29:15 | |
We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. | 29:18 | |
But the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers | 29:23 | |
will worship the Father in spirit and truth, | 29:27 | |
for such the Father seeks to worship Him. | 29:30 | |
God is spirit and those who worship Him | 29:33 | |
must worship in spirit and truth." | 29:37 | |
The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming, | 29:40 | |
the one who is called Christ, | 29:44 | |
who having come will show us all things." | 29:46 | |
Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." | 29:51 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 29:57 | |
As a little girl growing up | 30:04 | |
on a farm in rural North Carolina | 30:06 | |
I remember the respect with which our family | 30:07 | |
treated the well which was behind our house. | 30:11 | |
The adults in the community seemed interested | 30:15 | |
in talking about whether the local wells | 30:17 | |
would hold out until the next rain, | 30:19 | |
especially in the heat of the summer. | 30:22 | |
Whereas the children and I were more interested | 30:24 | |
in stories we had read about people falling into wells, | 30:27 | |
or of their even getting trapped in them | 30:31 | |
on some inauspicious occasion. | 30:33 | |
We, of course, were secretly hoping such misfortune | 30:36 | |
might befall someone in our backyard, devils that we were. | 30:38 | |
I remember the time my father first picked me up | 30:43 | |
so that I could timidly peer into | 30:46 | |
the cool, damp, seemingly bottomless pit in the ground. | 30:47 | |
Ever since then I've been fascinated | 30:53 | |
by the alluring mystique of a well. | 30:56 | |
Our well was the sole source of water supply for our family | 31:00 | |
as it had been for generations, | 31:03 | |
and so we were utterly dependent upon | 31:05 | |
its ever flowing stream of water. | 31:08 | |
Like all the rest of the world water | 31:10 | |
was essential to us for life. | 31:12 | |
Not only for our consumption and that of our livestock, | 31:15 | |
but for our cleanliness as well. | 31:18 | |
Its presence was never to be taken for granted. | 31:21 | |
In these days of discussions about contaminated water tables | 31:25 | |
and impending water shortages, | 31:28 | |
I feel I have an even greater appreciation | 31:31 | |
of the absolute necessity of good, clean water. | 31:33 | |
And so a good well is deserving of our respect. | 31:37 | |
It is deep, it is dangerous, | 31:41 | |
it harbors a life giving substance. | 31:44 | |
At just such a significant junction as Jacob's well, | 31:48 | |
Jesus chooses to take a break | 31:53 | |
after a weary day of travel in today's lesson. | 31:55 | |
The disciples had gone into town to purchase food | 31:58 | |
leaving Jesus alone for a time, | 32:02 | |
when along comes a Samaritan woman to draw water, | 32:04 | |
a part of her everyday routine no doubt. | 32:08 | |
"Give me a drink," he says to her. | 32:11 | |
As a frequent visitor to the well, | 32:15 | |
certainly she had encountered all types there before. | 32:17 | |
Hucksters, gossips, beggars, everyday people. | 32:20 | |
But a Jew asking a Samaritan woman for a drink? | 32:24 | |
What about the custom that a man was never to speak | 32:30 | |
to a woman in public, even his own wife? | 32:32 | |
Not to mention his suggestion that he | 32:36 | |
should actually drink from her bucket. | 32:38 | |
A clear violation of the Cultic code of purity | 32:40 | |
forbidding a Jew to eat or drink | 32:44 | |
from the vessel of non Jew. | 32:46 | |
Surprised, puzzled, perhaps even a little annoyed | 32:49 | |
she confronts Jesus. | 32:54 | |
"How is it that you, a Jew, | 32:55 | |
ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?" | 32:57 | |
She was not accustomed to such interaction, | 33:01 | |
her culture did not afford her the privilege. | 33:03 | |
Even as the woman questioned him, | 33:07 | |
Jesus was willing to take her seriously | 33:09 | |
and so he turns the discussion about a drink of water around | 33:12 | |
into a theological exposition. | 33:16 | |
"If you knew the gift of God and who it is | 33:19 | |
that is saying to you, give me a drink, | 33:21 | |
you would've asked him and he | 33:23 | |
would've given you living water," Jesus explains. | 33:25 | |
This theological reference almost passes the woman by, | 33:30 | |
so accustomed was she to thinking | 33:34 | |
and being concerned about material concerns. | 33:36 | |
And though she challenged him as to | 33:40 | |
how he would obtain water, | 33:42 | |
"The water that I shall give the one who thirst | 33:45 | |
will become in him a spring of water | 33:47 | |
welling up to eternal life." | 33:50 | |
Her response, though probably without much understanding, | 33:53 | |
is a positive one. | 33:56 | |
"Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst | 33:58 | |
nor come here to draw." | 34:01 | |
And so go many of our own theological discussions. | 34:04 | |
God speaks to us about one thing, | 34:07 | |
and we speak to God about something else. | 34:09 | |
Misunderstanding God's word, hoping for an easy solution, | 34:12 | |
curious, but almost afraid to find out | 34:17 | |
the true meaning of God's will for our lives. | 34:20 | |
We seek in our faltering ways to know God. | 34:23 | |
Such request are not uncommon in my experience, | 34:26 | |
nor perhaps are they in yours. | 34:30 | |
"Yes, Pastor, we desperately want to have our child baptized | 34:32 | |
but we don't feel quite ready | 34:37 | |
to become members of a local church." | 34:39 | |
"Yes, Pastor, we'd like to have a Christian wedding | 34:42 | |
but we've never really thought about | 34:45 | |
our religious convictions or why | 34:47 | |
we want to be married in a church." | 34:49 | |
"Yes, Pastor, I want to feel closer to God | 34:52 | |
but I've never studied scripture or prayed very much | 34:55 | |
and I just don't seem to have time at place like Duke." | 34:57 | |
And haven't most all of us waffled our way through Lent | 35:02 | |
at least one time or another | 35:07 | |
striving to cultivate deeper religious disciplines | 35:09 | |
yet torn between sincerely motivations | 35:12 | |
and the habitual search for the easy way out. | 35:15 | |
Conflicted in our interest, hesitant in our commitment, | 35:19 | |
unsure of our intentions we wait for God. | 35:23 | |
Jesus responds to the Samaritan woman in a straightforward | 35:29 | |
and rather surprising manner. | 35:32 | |
"Go call your husband and come here." | 35:34 | |
Obviously a test of her readiness | 35:37 | |
to receive this living water. | 35:39 | |
Her reply is honest and direct, "I have no husband." | 35:41 | |
And so a moment of tension, | 35:46 | |
as tension often accompanies a moment of truth, | 35:48 | |
surrounds what could have been the end of a good story. | 35:52 | |
You see, Jesus already knew her marital status. | 35:55 | |
Will he chastise her? | 35:59 | |
Preach to her on the evils of cohabitation? | 36:01 | |
Will he tell her to beg forgiveness for her sins? | 36:04 | |
No, rather by simply acknowledging her truthfulness | 36:08 | |
he reveals his intimate knowledge of her, | 36:12 | |
which in and of itself is enough. | 36:14 | |
"You've have had five husbands | 36:17 | |
and he whom you have now is not your husband. | 36:19 | |
This you said truly." | 36:21 | |
Flushed with embarrassment she turns, in my imagination, | 36:24 | |
to stare into the deep well. | 36:28 | |
"Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet," she mutters. | 36:31 | |
In a moment of keen perception she beings to grasp | 36:36 | |
the true identity of Jesus, | 36:40 | |
realizing that he has somehow known her all along. | 36:42 | |
Who is this stranger that knows her better | 36:47 | |
than she knows herself? | 36:49 | |
Who is this kind man that acknowledges her shortcomings | 36:52 | |
and still does not reject her? | 36:55 | |
Who is this Jewish prophet that offers her, | 36:58 | |
a Samaritan woman, a drink of living water? | 37:01 | |
It's very difficult to imagine the drama | 37:05 | |
of this encounter at the well | 37:08 | |
not only because of the things that were said, | 37:09 | |
but even more so for the things that were experienced. | 37:12 | |
As a woman and as a Samaritan she had | 37:16 | |
two strikes against her in the eyes of the law, | 37:18 | |
not even a second, but a third class citizen. | 37:21 | |
She was invisible in her culture | 37:24 | |
as are so many in our own, and by that | 37:27 | |
I mean anyone who is treated in condescending manner | 37:30 | |
not because of who he or she is, | 37:33 | |
but because of his or her station in life. | 37:36 | |
And therefore the opportunity to claim a true identity | 37:39 | |
is virtually denied them. | 37:42 | |
I think of my friend, Clinton, in this context. | 37:44 | |
Clinton and I first met through the bars | 37:49 | |
of the Hillsborough Oregon county jail about 10 years ago. | 37:51 | |
He was being charged with first degree burglary | 37:54 | |
and it wasn't his first time. | 37:58 | |
In fact at the ripe age of 28, | 38:00 | |
Clinton had such an extensive criminal record | 38:03 | |
that the judge was threatening this time | 38:05 | |
to send him down for good. | 38:07 | |
Clinton had spent much of his life in jail, | 38:10 | |
mostly because of burglaries he continually committed | 38:13 | |
to support his debilitating drug habit. | 38:16 | |
Back in the familiar surroundings of the Hillsborough jail, | 38:19 | |
Clinton greeted the public defender, | 38:22 | |
for whom I was working at the time, and me. | 38:24 | |
My job was to interview Clinton | 38:27 | |
as his alternatives case worker in order to propose | 38:29 | |
some kind of alternative to incarceration | 38:32 | |
at the time of his sentencing. | 38:35 | |
He intended to plead guilty. | 38:37 | |
I'll never forget my first impressions of this man, | 38:39 | |
his long, flowing, wavy, red hair | 38:43 | |
was the wildest I'd ever seen and so was he. | 38:47 | |
I started asking a series of | 38:51 | |
the usual questions about his background. | 38:52 | |
When I asked about family, "Oh sure," he answered, | 38:55 | |
"I have a two year old son. | 38:59 | |
The last time I saw him I taught him to roll a joint." | 39:01 | |
Unable to believe my ears I stared at him through the bars | 39:05 | |
before exclaiming, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" | 39:09 | |
I'm not too sure just what Clinton | 39:14 | |
may have thought at the time, he didn't seem too impressed. | 39:15 | |
The next week though, he told me he'd been thinking | 39:19 | |
about my reactions and that he hadn't minded it really. | 39:22 | |
It made him feel like a person somehow. | 39:27 | |
Rather than always being treated like a number, | 39:30 | |
which was literally the name | 39:32 | |
he was given in jail and in prison, | 39:34 | |
he had been confronted, at least for a moment, | 39:36 | |
as a human being with responsibilities and commitments, | 39:39 | |
who's presence in the world was valuable. | 39:43 | |
Over the course of the next two years, | 39:47 | |
Clinton did a great thing for himself. | 39:48 | |
He saw the way clear to graduate from a very demanding | 39:51 | |
residential drug treatment program | 39:55 | |
and to return to his wife and his son clean and sober. | 39:57 | |
He explained it by saying that the more | 40:01 | |
he was treated like someone who mattered, | 40:04 | |
the more he could believe that he did. | 40:07 | |
Quite a statement for a man who had spent most of his life | 40:10 | |
on the road to self-destruction. | 40:13 | |
What's more he then had something to give back to the world | 40:16 | |
rather than constantly taking from it | 40:19 | |
and it meant the world to Clinton that he could do this. | 40:22 | |
In a similar way the woman at the well | 40:26 | |
glimpsed something of her own significance | 40:29 | |
in her encounter with Jesus, not because of her actions, | 40:31 | |
but because of God's gracious acceptance of her. | 40:35 | |
Paul Tillich used a phrase, | 40:40 | |
"The courage to accept acceptance" | 40:42 | |
in his definition of faith. | 40:45 | |
By that he meant acceptance by God, | 40:47 | |
for God is the only source of unconditional acceptance. | 40:50 | |
What amazing amounts of energy we often invest | 40:55 | |
trying to disguise our less than secure self-image, | 40:58 | |
our less than perfect performance, | 41:01 | |
our less than generous attitude toward others | 41:04 | |
in a search for acceptance. | 41:07 | |
And often with good reason. | 41:10 | |
We know we live in a fragile world | 41:11 | |
where the idea of commitment seems to be in constant crisis. | 41:14 | |
We fear rejection or desertion, | 41:18 | |
even within our most important relationships. | 41:20 | |
The pressure to excel, especially in a community | 41:24 | |
such as our own, is great. | 41:26 | |
Yet the love and acceptance of God is never debatable. | 41:29 | |
We cannot fail to measure up to God's love, | 41:33 | |
for that love is immeasurable. | 41:37 | |
God's love for us existed even before the world began. | 41:39 | |
That I am who I am is due to God. | 41:44 | |
Therefore any true self-esteem should never be based | 41:48 | |
on what we have, or what we have done, | 41:51 | |
or are capable of doing. | 41:53 | |
Rather, the very real dignity of my being myself | 41:55 | |
is a dignity which has been received | 42:00 | |
as a gift from God who will never desert us. | 42:03 | |
The Samaritan woman recovers from the shock | 42:08 | |
of Jesus' amazing knowledge and acceptance of her | 42:11 | |
and now asks him a question about God, | 42:14 | |
a sign of her dawning consciousness. | 42:17 | |
"Where are we to worship," she asked, | 42:20 | |
acknowledging the differences between | 42:23 | |
the Jews and the Samaritans in such matters. | 42:25 | |
Jesus reassures her that true worship | 42:28 | |
is not related to any particular sanctuary, | 42:30 | |
but rather depends on the worshipers themselves. | 42:34 | |
The authenticity of their worship depends upon | 42:37 | |
their relationship to God, not on their liturgies. | 42:40 | |
Only those who acknowledge themselves as children of God | 42:45 | |
can worship in spirit and in truth. | 42:49 | |
Only those who recognize their utter dependency | 42:52 | |
upon the one who made us. | 42:55 | |
The story concludes as the disciples return | 42:59 | |
and they marveled that Jesus was talking with a woman, | 43:03 | |
but none of them said, "Why are you talking with her?" | 43:07 | |
So she left the water jar by the well, | 43:11 | |
and went away into the city, | 43:13 | |
and told the people all that she had seen. | 43:15 | |
"Can this be the Christ," she queried. | 43:19 | |
And she was never the same again. | 43:23 | |
The power of the one who knows us better | 43:28 | |
than we know ourselves is eternally transforming. | 43:30 | |
As he died on the cross but rose again on the third day | 43:35 | |
Christ offers to us a drink of living water | 43:39 | |
which shall become a spring welling up into eternal life. | 43:41 | |
It comes to us as gradually as trickling stream, | 43:46 | |
or as powerfully as a rushing geyser | 43:50 | |
in places as near as our own backyard. | 43:53 | |
It is deep, it is cleansing, it is mysterious, | 43:56 | |
it is never ending, and it is life to our very souls. | 44:01 | |
Come and gaze into the depths | 44:07 | |
of Christ's own living water and be at rest. | 44:09 | |
God awaits you there to love and accept you as you are, | 44:13 | |
and you shall be healed. | 44:18 | |
Thanks be to God. | 44:22 | |
(organ music) | 44:36 | |
(chorus singing) | 45:27 | |
- | [Rev. Dr. William] The Lord be with you. | 48:09 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 48:10 |
- | Let us pray. | 48:12 |
Be seated. | 48:13 | |
Gracious God who walks with us during these 40 days of Lent | 48:23 | |
that we might forsake ourself, vain, and false ways | 48:30 | |
and turn in humility to Your way. | 48:33 | |
We come before you in prayer. | 48:37 | |
Your way is one of humble service to those who suffer | 48:42 | |
therefore we pray for those who suffer, | 48:49 | |
the sick, | 48:53 | |
the homeless, | 48:55 | |
the hungry, | 48:58 | |
the doubting, | 49:00 | |
the oppressed, | 49:04 | |
the bereaved, | 49:07 | |
and any who suffer affliction this day | 49:10 | |
knowing that you suffered, | 49:15 | |
that you hurt and know what it is like | 49:18 | |
to be forsaken, alone, and in pain. | 49:20 | |
Receive our prayers, | 49:28 | |
our groans, our doubts, and our cares, oh God | 49:31 | |
even as Thy son Jesus received the woman at the well. | 49:38 | |
Take us into Thy heart. | 49:42 | |
Hear our prayer for others, | 49:49 | |
a prayer which we make in the name of Jesus | 49:53 | |
who for our sake became one of us | 49:57 | |
and stood beside us in all the cares | 50:01 | |
and trials of this life. | 50:03 | |
Amen. | 50:07 | |
As a forgiven and reconciled people reminded of the service | 50:11 | |
which God has rendered to us on the cross | 50:17 | |
let us render our service for God's work | 50:20 | |
through our gifts of our money and ourselves. | 50:25 | |
(organ music) | 50:35 | |
(chorus singing) | 52:50 | |
(organ music) | 53:53 | |
(chorus singing) | 54:05 | |
(organ music) | 55:21 | |
(chorus singing) | 55:50 | |
(organ music) | 58:30 | |
(chorus and congregation singing) | 58:49 | |
Let us pray. | 59:34 | |
Gracious God we thank you for all the gifts of this life, | 59:36 | |
for this time of worship, and praise, and self reflection, | 59:40 | |
and most of all for Your Word, | 59:44 | |
which we carry as a sign of Your presence | 59:48 | |
through the coming week. | 59:51 | |
Amen. | 59:53 | |
(organ music) | 59:56 | |
(chorus and congregation singing) | 1:00:20 | |
(organ music) | 1:03:04 | |
Now may the grace of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, | 1:03:37 | |
the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit | 1:03:40 | |
be with you now and always. | 1:03:43 | |
(chorus singing) | 1:03:46 | |
(organ music) | 1:04:45 |