One Conversation

Third Sunday of Lent

~~~ Exodus 17:3-7 ~~~ Psalm 95 ~~~ 

~~~ Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 ~~~  John 4:5-42 ~~~

Most of us are familiar with the woman at the well.

She came to the well late in the day.

She came for water as she did most days.

This was her normal routine.

She was not expecting to meet anyone at the well, 

surely not a man and absolutely not Jesus.

Imagine what was going through her mind 

when this Jewish stranger spoke to her.

Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

Some might say she was the least likely 

person for Jesus to befriend.

He saw something within her...she had longing in her heart.

She came for water but got so much more.

Following her conversation with Jesus 

the Samaritan woman left her water jugs and ran back to town.

The woman left her water jar 

and went into the town and said to the people, 

You might say she left everything behind 

once she learned about this Jew called Jesus.

Do you remember some others in the Bible

 who left everything behind to follow Jesus?

(I think they may have left their nets on the beach.)

"Come see a man who told me everything I have done.

Could he possibly be the Christ?"

This woman can now extend the invitation to 

'come as you are...'

Jesus was eager to come into her town...

eager to meet her neighbors.

She was not someone who ever went 

around enthusiastically engaging others.

This conversation with Jesus

changed her life forever.

Drawing water from the well 

will never be the same for her.

Now she understands the meaning 

of  'living water'.

What are you willing to leave behind?

Who will you tell to 

'come and see'?

Whatever we leave behind

must be as a result

of what we learn from Jesus.

Jesus comes to each one of us...

when you are least expecting him.

Be Blessed this week.

~~~Peace~~~

In the Heat of the Day

~~~ Third Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~Exodus 17:3-7~~Psalm 95~~Romans 5:1-2, 5-8~~John 4:5-42~~

...the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

The Samaritan woman came to the well as she routinely 

did to draw up water from the well.

It was a gathering place for the whole community.
She came alone in the heat of the day.
She was an outcast; she isolated herself.
Most others did not come to the well in the middle of the day,
 but rather in the cool early morning.

She may not have even been thirsty at that particular time,

but she came to carry the water back to her home for later.

It was her only choice, she would need water for later in the day.

She had no idea this day would not be like every other day.

Her routine was about to be changed forever.

The woman at the well was given grace 

as she listened to the words of Jesus.

His words flowed into her heart and soul and she was satisfied.

The thirst she did not identify was satisfied.

All living creatures need water to survive.

Without water a person quickly becomes dehydrated.

We find this woman dehydrated by her previous life of sin...
she had had at least five previous partners not necessarily her husbands.

 Jesus satisfies our thirst with living water.

Water that quenches our thirst for all of eternity.

This living water is not felt and has no taste.

Jesus comes to relieve us from our own dehydration.
He offers us water that will never subside...
water that will always satisfy our thirst.

Jesus met this woman at the well...
the well was a central meeting place...the well was significant.
Things happened at the well...friendships were made.
Even marriages took place at the well.

Jesus, a Jewish male, reaches out to this Samaritan woman.
He breaks open all social boundaries.
Jesus never let perceived boundaries prevent him
from reaching out to a soul in need.

The next time someone asks you for a drink...
who knows it just could be Jesus reaching out to you.

Blessed as Jesus comes to us when we are attempting to be invisible.
The woman at the well did not intend to meet anyone that day.
What a surprise God had in store for her.

Her soul was saved through her encounter 

with the source of the water...

Jesus Christ.

Peace.

No Ordinary Day at the Well

~~~ Third Sunday of Lent ~~~

~~~ Exodus 17: 3-7 ~~~Psalm 95~~~Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8~~~John 4:5-42~~~

Moses cries out to the Lord for help in fear of his life.

The people are filled with discontent over the lack of water.

Water sustains life...without water we die in just a few days.

Recently a woman caused the death of her son.

As a punishment, she withheld water from him for too long.

Needless to say she was not very bright.

God heard the plea of Moses with a miracle.

Water was brought forth form a rock.

All things are possible for God he has shown this to us many times.

Oh, that we should hear the Lord as well as he hears us.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Lent is a time to really focus on listening for the voice of the Lord.

What do you hear him saying to your heart.

We should pay more attention to what comes from our heart.

'...the love of God has been poured out into our hearts

'...hope does not disappoint, 
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts 
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us...'

The woman at the well, that solemn afternoon,
 was given the gift of love pouring into her heart.

She was not really loved by either her many husbands
 or any other women in the town.

She was an outcast evidenced by the timing
of her drawing water from the well so late in the day.

The women normally came early in the day to draw the water.
They came before the heat of the day.
They used this time to socialize together...
to catch up with each others from the day before.

She had no one with which to share her joys and sorrows.

Having someone speak to her at the well,
even a Jewish man, was a big deal.
Why was he there at the well that day?
He was not expecting to draw water up for himself;
he had no bucket.
To her surprise Jesus began a conversation with her.
Why would he care to talk to her?
She was definitely one of those sinners
Jesus so often found himself keeping company with.

But as they talked she began to sense something
very different about this man, Jesus.

She began to sense in her heart a rare kind of pure love.
A love she had not experienced before,
surely not with any of her five husbands.
She came to accept in her heart that Jesus
cared about her in spite of knowing
everything about her wretched life.

He offered her something utterly life changing...
unconditional love and forgiveness.
The woman knew of the coming of the Messiah,
but until Jesus said the confirming words to her she was unaware.
"I am he, the one speaking with you."

She not only heard the voice of God that day
she also experienced a total eclipse of the heart.
Her heart was eclipsed by the holiness of the Messiah.
She was a changed woman.
She was filled with the joy of hope
 maybe for the first time in her life.

I can hardly imagine the joy she felt
the day she came to the well alone.

Jesus wants to give you that same unconditional love.
Let him touch your heart.