ENCOUNTERING AND SHARING GOD

The Rev. R.C. (Bob) Garvin

March 19, 2017

Scripture readings: John 4:7-30; 39-42; Psalm 95:1-7

It was an unexpected encounter, but it changed her life forever. Who would have
thought that, in the midst of the drudgery of hauling water, one would encounter God?
For most of us there is not much room for God in our everyday lives and we certainly
don't expect to have some great religious experience as we wash the kitchen floor,
shuffle papers at our desk or enjoy coffee with a friend. We tend to keep God on a
leash, as it were, so our expectations of time with God are restricted to Sunday morning
and our daily devotions. But God chooses not to function that way.

The account of the woman of Samaria at the well reveals a common thread in John's
Gospel. Frequently when people encountered Jesus they failed to grasp his teaching.
They, as we, seemed able to consider God only in light of their present experience and
understanding. Nicodemus, for example, couldn't grasp what Jesus meant in their
discussion about being born again or born from above. So the Samaritan women that
day at the well came for water and she knew only one kind of water--good, cold, well
water. She had no idea what Jesus meant by living water.

In that account Jesus asked her to go and bring her husband back with her. She
responded that she did not have a husband. Jesus responded, Yes, I know, for you
have had five husbands and you are now living common law. She must have wondered
how on earth Jesus knew so much about her personal life and concluded he must be a
prophet. Being uncomfortable with this situation she did what many do she quickly
changed the topic and asked him a question about a long standing religious argument
of the Samaritans and Jews regarding the correct place to worship. Once again she was
confronted by an enigmatic Jesus who said place was not important but rather that true
worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

The more they talked the more confused she became. Who is this Jesus? Her
encounter with Jesus ended when the disciples returned from their shopping trip. She
left her water jug and quickly returned home. She said to the people, "Come and see a
man who told me everything I have done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" Her
routine trip to the well opened the door to the reality that God may meet people amid the
"everydayness"" of life, revealing a depth and glory not previously imagined. We can
have a very narrow comprehension of the glory and power of God thereby
understanding God in a box of our own making. By so doing, we make our God too
small.

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Have you ever experienced a Bible study or religious discussion in which there were
marked differences of understanding? Discussion can turn on the meaning, translation
or interpretation of words resulting in significantly different understandings. I believe we
need to be a thinking people who study and wrestle with our faith and with scripture.
That takes work and it also takes grace to accept the reality that we must give others
the right to hold different opinions from our own. Some prefer the simplistic way as, for
example, the chap who had no patience with theological discussions and in-depth
study. He said, "I think it can be summed up by a bumper sticker I saw the other day,
"The Bible said it, I believe it, that settles it.'" If you get your theology from a bumper
sticker you really do have a pathetically small understanding of God and a minute faith.

Our God is too small if we restrict him to our understanding. Many query how an
intelligent adult can believe Jesus was born of a virgin. Reason says that's impossible
because it is outside our experience. Again, how can an educated person believe Jesus
rose from the dead. He died and was buried. Dead people don't come to life three days
later. Reason says that's impossible because it is outside our experience. Hear the word
of the Lord Jesus: For mortals it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Is
God restricted to human ability? Can the Creator not create afresh or create differently?
Is God God, or is he merely man writ large? Jesus said, with God all things are
possible.

The Samaritan woman had God in a box of her own making. Jesus challenged that box.
Things started off in an unusual fashion as Jesus broke with tradition in two ways: men
did not talk to strange women, and the Jews and Samaritans were not on speaking
terms, regarding each other with disdain. He confused her by talking of "living water"
which was more refreshing and life-giving than the well water. Then there was the
matter of Jesus knowing her marital situation. Clearly he must be a prophet, a man of
God, so she posed the question regarding the right place to worship. Jesus didn't
answer as she expected but stated it was not where but how one worshipped that
counted. She referred to the coming Messiah and Jesus bluntly told her he was that
promised Messiah. To her Jesus was increasingly enigmatic. Her comment to her
friends was: He cannot be the Messiah, can he?

To that point she did not realize God had confronted her in the midst of the mundane.
He was expected to do that in the Synagogue on the Sabbath. William Willimon related
a story of a woman who worshipped in his congregation during the summer holidays.
She was a black woman and his congregation in that American resort center was the
only one in which she felt welcome. That pleased him. She then told him that the past
year had been very tough. Her husband of many years had died a very painful and
prolonged death. Her only son had become mixed up in questionable dealings with a
bank and had been incarcerated. Now she had assumed the responsibility of caring for
her two granddaughters even though she was getting on in years and had limited
resources.

William intimated that in visiting her he was overcome by a sense of futility. How could
he help? What would become of her? How could she possibly cope? But in her pain,
anxiety and need, she expressed a profound faith that in the midst of this tough
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scenario, God was and would be present. Her words were these: I know God will
make a way for us. I've found that when I've reached out to him, he'll be there. Not
always when I wanted him, but always when I absolutely needed him. He doesn't
always come on time, but he always comes. I'll make it, with his help. Yes, I will.
William confessed his initial reaction was negative. This woman was not facing facts: on
her own; a dead husband and jailed son; the sole care giver for two little girls. To top it
off she was not young and was pushed financially. He thought, "After all you've been
through, get real, lady!"

But she was for real! She had a calm, confident trust that God would meet her basic
needs. She believed that God's life-giving abilities were not restricted by a little box
labeled "POSSIBLE" from a human perspective but rather God's abilities were in a box
labeled "ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD." That woman had a sense of God's
presence and a depth of faith which placed God squarely in the mundane affairs of her
daily life. God was not restricted to Sunday worship and devotional meditation.

Go back to that Samaritan woman. She did not yet possess the powerful faith of that
black woman. She still had God in her little box but she was being stretched to consider
something much greater: He cannot be the Messiah, can he? God comes to us at
times and in ways that are other than we expect. Remember a dying criminal on the
cross encountered God and received eternal salvation. Remember Saul on the dusty
road to Damascus in his mission to stamp out the fledgling Christian movement. His
God-box was smashed when he was confronted by the living Christ through which his
life was transformed. Remember unbelieving Thomas. He had seen Christ die and he
was not about to believe the tale of the disciples that Christ was alive. He needed to be
able to see and touch for himself. Jesus came to him in the ordinariness of a house,
calling Thomas to satisfy himself by not only seeing but touching. Thomas had his God-
box shattered as he proclaimed, My Lord and my God!

All of this says to us you never know when you will encounter God. But there is another
important message from Scripture for us today. The Samaritan woman was not certain
who this Jesus was. A prophet? Yes. A rabbi or teacher? Yes. The Messiah of God?
Perhaps. In the midst of her uncertainty she talked to her friends, sharing her incredible
encounter with Jesus, complete with her query regarding possible Messiahship.
Remember, she wasn't totally convinced, but shared what she had seen, heard and
experienced. Their reaction was fascinating: They left the city and were on their way
to him. Her story was enough to compel them to head to the well and see for
themselves this Jesus. She aroused their curiosity and interest.

The conclusion to this account is this: Many Samaritans from that city believed in
him because of the woman's testimony, He told me everything I have ever
done....They said to the woman, It is no longer because of what you said that
we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the
Savior of the world.

My point is simply this: the Samaritan woman had a fledgling faith but shared what she
knew. Because of this, her friends encountered Jesus and, by the work of the Spirit of
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God, they came to faith. You and I are called to share what we know and have
experienced of God. We don't have all the answers; indeed, we may well have some
lingering questions and doubts. But the miracle of salvation is that God can take our
witness and through it bring others to faith in Christ. We do the sharing and God does
the saving.

So what is the word of the Lord to us today? Believe and expect that God will touch your
life any time, anywhere. There is never a circumstance when God forgets you. Be open
to his surprising presence. And the second word is this: Jesus called us to be his
witnesses, to share what we have experienced. Out of the simplicity of telling our faith
story, God will reach others for Christ.

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