“JESUS TAKES A SELFIE”

JOHN 4: 5-15 NRSV

 

I have a pastor friend who once told me “He woke up late, so he put Red Bull in the coffee machine instead of water. He said he got halfway to the church before he realized he forgot his car.”

 

Have you ever realized that in Kenya the people are better at running than the water?

 

A man goes to his doctor because he’s been feeling very ill for days. The doctor gives him several sets of pills. The doctor instructs; “Take the green pill with two big glasses of water when you get up. An hour later, take the white pill with another glass of water. Take the blue pill with a big glass of water after lunch. Mid afternoon, take the orange pill with plenty of water, and repeat that at dinner. Then, just before going to bed, take the red pill with several big glasses of water.”

 

The man is alarmed at huge volume of medicine he has been given to take, and nervously asks, “What’s the diagnosis? What’s wrong with me?” The doctor says, “You’re dehydrated. The pills are actually M&M’s.”

 

A minister is stopped by a state trooper for speeding. The trooper smells alcohol on his breath and sees an empty wine bottle on the floor. The trooper asks, “Sir, have you been drinking?” And the minister says, “Just water.”

 

The trooper says, “Then why do I smell wine?” And the minister looks down at the bottle and says, “Good Lord, He’s done it again!”

 

George went to visit his elderly cousin Darrel and while eating the breakfast of eggs and bacon prepared for him, he noticed a film-like substance on his plate. So he says, "Cousin, are these plates clean?" Darrel replies, "Those plates are as clean as “cold water” can get them."

 

That afternoon, while eating the hamburgers Darrel made for lunch, he noticed many little black specks around the edge of his plate so again he asked, "Are you sure these plates are clean?" Without looking up from his burger Darrel says, "I told you those dishes are as clean as “cold water” can get them."

 

Later that day, they were on their way out to get dinner and Darrel's dog, who was lying on the floor started to growl, and would not let him pass."Darrel, your dog won’t let me pass." Darrel shouted, "Cold Water, get out of the way!"

 

I have just shared with you these five different illustrations of the use of water in a story. Jesus used many different word examples during His ministry to speak truth to the world. He spoke either figuratively and literally.

 

To discern Biblical meaning sometimes requires knowing which. Today’s Gospel lesson uses the words “living water.” But what the heck is “living water?” And what does a tourist spot and a beautiful woman have to do with it?

 

^S5Hear John 4: 5-15; So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. ⁷A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)

 

⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) ¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

 

¹¹The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹²Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”

 

¹³Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”

 

¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

 

The tourist site is called “Jacob’s Well.” It’s history (from  Genesis 33: 18) is that when Jacob came to Shechem on his return from Paddanaram he camped east of the city, and bought the land on which he had spread his tent, buried Joseph, and dug a well. (Gen 33:18).

 

On the other side of the vale, close to the base of Gerizim, is the well universally known as Bir Ya`qub, "the well of Jacob."

 

Early in the 19^th century the ground was bought by the authorities of the Greek Church, and it has been surrounded by a wall, and a chapel. It’s a tourist site today.

 

Looking at the text the word used for drink is “pinō,” (pē'-nō) which means to figuratively receive into the soul what serves to refresh, strengthen, and nourish it into eternal life.

 

The word translated as water (hydrōō) refers to the primary element, out of and through which the world that was before the deluge, arose and was compacted. It means the water of creation. The text literally tells us that Jesus is the “creative drinking water” of the world, through which things are made whole and perfect, and will last forever.

 

Jesus is announcing His presence at one of the historically blessed places in Israel, and sharing God’s plan to renew His presence and relationship with the whole world, and not just the Jews.

 

There is a beautiful woman there at the well. How do I know the woman was beautiful? The woman had to be beautiful because later on the scriptures tell us she has been married six times. Think of such women of our times: Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor (?).
 

But she is not just a woman. She stands for the “alien” faith (a faith that has strayed away from God) that is among us and how we have forgotten who God our Creator is. This distraction is often very attractive or beautiful to us.

 

But the example of how she responds to Jesus in the rest of Chapter four is the real story for us. She experiences the progressive stages of faith in Jesus we all must go through:

 

She meets Jesus; she learns from and about him; she comes to believe in him; and she goes and tells other people about him in witness.

 

Can you see Jesus and this woman meeting by the tourist site, taking pictures and discussing matters of faith? Can you see Jesus and the woman taking a quick photo (a selfie) to hang on the mantle?
 

Friends Jesus was God and Jesus was a man. Jesus lived on earth and travelled around in ministry to others. He went out into the community, and met people in their places in society. Some interactions are more figurative than literal. Jesus meeting a foreign woman is literal and Jesus telling her who He is figurative.
 

We have to see both to understand the concept of living water. Jesus is the source of living, creative water, that restores us to eternal life.

 

Let’s read the rest of the Samaritan woman’s story:

 

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” ¹⁷The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!”

 

¹⁹The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”

 

²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

 ²⁵The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

 

²⁷Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?”

 

²⁸Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” ³⁰They left the city and were on their way to him.

 

³¹Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³²But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” ³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’?


But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. ³⁶The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.

³⁷For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.

⁴¹And many more believed because of his word. ⁴²They 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.”    Amen.

A Short Meditation on God's Word

“IF I TELL YOU THEN …” John 3: 1-17, NRSV

Three people were once arrested for trying to sell the secret formula for Coca Cola (Coke) to the Pepsi Company. Even through we've been able to split the atom, figure out the evolution of time, decode DNA, yet we're still baffled by the secret ingredients in Coca Cola.

Well here they are: cola nuts, water, seltzer, a ton of sugar, and a whole lot of gullible Americans. Americans will buy anything they're told to. And don't get me started on Starbucks. Their secret for success: coffee, milk, sugar, and the same stupid, gullible Americans who pay 5 dollars for 20 cents worth of stuff!

"When we become too sure of what we know about Jesus (or think we understand the Trinity), when we believe that we have grasped him at last, that is when we can perhaps expect to get challenged like Jesus did to Nicodemus."

"Imagine studying all your life to be among the elite and powerful only to be told that all of your theories are wrong. The unfortunate thing is that many of us do experience this reality at some point in our life when we finally realize that life is really not all about me, and that God could care less what I know but instead wants to know who I loved!"

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. ²He came to Jesus^* by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ ³Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’

^{* 4}Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ ⁵Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. ⁶What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.^{* 7}Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You^* must be born from above.”^*

⁸The wind^* blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ ⁹Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ ¹⁰Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 ‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you^* do not receive our testimony.

¹²If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.^{* 14}And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.^*

16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John Wesley said, "If any doctrines within the whole compass of Christianity may be properly termed fundamental, they are doubtless these two, -- the doctrine of justification, and that of the new birth."

"To be more clear. The logic of John is NOT that “if you believe, then God will love you and save you,” but rather that God's salvation is not a reward for belief that we will ever earn. Nor does God withhold God's love, forgiveness and salvation until we believe. On the other hand, since love is not coercive, we do have to accept the invitation in order to actually be part of the family."

"The purpose of God and the purpose of Jesus and the purpose of Christians is to save the world. That is, people and institutions around us that have fallen away from the Lord God and the godly values of love, justice and goodness and their consequence of peace."

Wesley spoke in 200 year old prose to people smarter than we were. Wesley means that becoming a Christian is a discovery process that is driven by God’s Love.  The person doesn’t build their own truth or faith but discovers that God has already done everything for us to learn faith and trust and that He is waiting for us to simply ask for it.

Some people never learn this. They often think there is some secret truth (why did Nicodemus come to Jesus at night when he couldn’t be watched by his peers?) that they must discover.

The same truth holds for everyone and it is relatively simple one – you must die to your own needs and wants and petty human desires and embrace Jesus. Literally the old adage about “if I told you I’d have to kill you” is changed by the reality of Jesus saying “when I tell you then you’ll have to kill your old self off to be replaced by the new creature you become in me.”

(I'm on vacation but here is a bonus sermon for you on what the Scripture was this week - wrote just for you!)

EVEN Jesus needed help.
Matthew 4: 1-11 (NRSV)

These warnings, among others, are found on consumer products:

    
     •  on a Duraflame fireplace log: “Caution: Risk of Fire.”

•  on a Batman costume: “Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly.”

     •  on a bottle of hair coloring: “Do not use as an ice cream topping.”
     •  on a cardboard sun shield for a car: “Do not drive with sun shield in place.”
     •  on a portable stroller: “Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage.” 

Many people go through life not realizing that evil and potential evil exists as an actual real presence in the world that they need to be aware of and protected against. As we often say pre-warned is prepared!  

One of the reasons I am not endorsing the movie “Son of God,” is that all references to Jesus’ temptation and interaction with Satan in the Wilderness has been removed due to political correctness (The actor portraying the devil looks too much like Barack Obama). This censuring of evil happens far too often. 

C. S. Lewis, writing in the Screwtape Letters, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence, the other is to believe and to feel an unhealthy interest in them!” 

Jesus, by example, tells us to do good and resist evil where we find it. In a small town, there were two brothers who, over the course of many years, cheated, swindled, robbed and generally stole from everyone that they ever did business with.

The community reviled and despised these two brothers as everyone was aware of just how disreputable and dishonest they were. One day, one of the brothers mysteriously died.

      
Although they had never attended church, the one remaining brother went to the local pastor and offered vast sums of money if he would come to the funeral and say the appropriate words, AND, a large bonus, but ONLY if he would - during the course of the eulogy, refer to his brother as "a Saint."  

The pastor was troubled by the request, however, it was a very poor church and the church desperately needed repairs. The Parishioners had heard about the pastor's dilemma and were curious as to what he would do.

The Funeral began, the church was packed, and the pastor started with the usual prayers and followed the rites and traditions as required by the churches teachings. In closing, after referring to the man in the box, he paused and turned to face the remaining brother.

He began, "As you all know, the departed was an awful individual who robbed, cheated, swindled and stole from everyone he ever did business with. However, compared to his Brother, he was - "a Saint!" 

Hear the words of Matthew 4: 1-11 - Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

 

He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of god, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down: for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your god, and serve only him.’” 

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. 

St. Augustine once said, “God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist.” (So we could laugh at Obama’s looking like evil, right?) 

J. Von Miller summarized “Good has but one enemy, the evil; but the evil has two enemies, the good and itself.” 

How we deal with evil is an important question each of us must face. It is a question of two parts: recognizing evil and then dealing with it.  

If we learn to recognize evil by learning to living a Christian worldview, that is by knowing and understanding God’s laws and commands, and using the examples of Jesus we should easily recognize evil. But there still is temptation.

 

The Huntington River Gorge, near Richmond, Vermont, is beautiful but deadly. In the last forty years, twenty persons (mostly young adults in their twenties and thirties) have lost their lives in the gorge, with hundreds injured.  

On the surface the water of the gorge looks calm, but beneath it are strong currents that run swiftly over treacherous waterfalls and whirlpools. Public safety officials have designated the gorge “the single most deadly place in the state.”  

Warning signs have been posted on a side of the gorge, reading, “When the water is high due to rain or snowmelt, especially powerful currents can easily sweep you over the falls and trap you underneath the water.” 

Many people are debating about what to do about the gorge. Some argue for more public information about the gorge’s risks. Others want to ban anyone from visiting the place. Meanwhile, swimmers continue to be attracted to the scene.  

One college student attending the University of Vermont — just fourteen miles from the gorge — said she had heard about the beauty of Huntington River Gorge and wanted to see it. She said people already know about the dangers and try their best to be careful. “You can’t change the water, and you can’t stop people from going in,” she said.  

You just have to learn to recognize the perils of temptation, including the dangers it poses to your mental, physical, and spiritual health.  

How do we deal with evil? 

The most important piece of advice Israel Gaither, national commander for the Salvation Army, gives to instill employees with a sense of motivation about Christian living and values as a life mission:

Ø Begin the day with prayer. 

When asked about the tip, “Can it be that simple? Can everyone stay out of trouble with a morning prayer?” Gaither responded, “I serve in a world weakened by sin. That’s the context in which I serve, and I have to ask God to protect me — my mind, my thinking, and my behavior. Is that the path to help an organization and a person to do what is right? Yeah, I think that’s the way to do it.” 

Jesus was ready to allow His Heavenly Father be His protector when faced with evil and temptation. Why should we do any different? Amen.

“A PAT ON THE HEAD”

Matthew 17: 1-9 (NRSV)
             A little boy decided he was going to read the Bible, so he opened his grandma’s huge, old leather-bound bible that had been passed down through the family for generations. As he turned the pages, a fragile, old pressed leaf fell out.

He gently picked it up and ran to his grandma, “Grandma! Grandma! I found Adam’s underwear!”

I once heard a preacher talking about the power of prayer and how important it was to always remember that simple words and requests are best.

He gave the following illustration: A hurricane had struck in Texas and people were huddled together listening to a preacher praying with great gusto and wonderful theological precision in the midst of the horrific storm. He cried out, “Send us the spirit of the children of Israel, the children of Moses, and the children of the promised land.” 

At this an old man with less theological skill but more practical directness prayed, “Lord, don’t send nobody. Come yourself. This ain’t no time for children.”

Jesus is getting to the point in his ministry that will not be a time for children or the faint of heart. The disciples will be going through a terrible time where they’ll be dazzled, confused, and uncertain. Jesus knows they need some reassurance.

 

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.

Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.

Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

While he was still speaking, suddenly, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear.But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

 

The Greek word translated as "transfigured" is meta-morp-hoo-mai. The Gospel of Mark uses the same word for the transfiguration. The Apostle Paul also uses this word to talk about a transformation that is to take place within us.

What catches my attention most about this passage is Jesus’ order to not talk about what they saw until after Jesus dies and is resurrected. Also it’s interesting to see God slap down Peter’s suggestion by interrupting him. This illustrates, like most things, the disciples didn’t get why they were there.

Matthew Henry thought that the disciples experienced the Transfiguration because "It was intended to support their faith, when they would have to witness his crucifixion; and would give them an idea of the glory prepared for them, when changed by his power and made like him."

Was the Transfiguration a message for God’s glory or man’s? I believe it was a message of God’s Glory through His Son Jesus. God is figuratively patting Peter’s head, as we would a child who is struggling to understand something beyond them, and suggesting that age and time will help the understanding process.

Let me explain: An old minister who survived the great Johnstown flood loved to tell the story over and over in great detail. Everywhere he went he would talk about this great historical event in his life.

One day the minister died and went to heaven (yes even boring people will go to heaven!). He was invited to attend a meeting with all the saints gathered to share their life experiences. The old minister got all excited and ran to Peter and asked if he might tell the exciting story of his survival of the Johnstown flood.

Peter hesitated for a minute and then said, “Yes, you may share, but just remember that in our audience tonight will be Brother Noah.

           I tell you that story for a couple of reasons. First of all, I thought it was funny. But more important, there is a lesson we need to learn in it.

Every story, every situation, every incident has at least two levels to it. The first level is what happened, the facts of what occurred. (Who, what, when, where and how).

Though sometimes the bare facts are interesting if they are outrageous or off-beat, most often the bare facts of a scenario are that, pretty bare. What adds spice and interest to the facts of any situation is the motivation. It seems to me that why things happen is usually more interesting than what happened, even if what happened is an extraordinary event.

If you use that type of thinking process, the Bible becomes very exciting reading to me. Events and situations that could seem like dusty old ancient history come alive with interest and intrigue when you look behind the scenes to the rest of the story.

Back in 1884 John Henry Patterson formed the National Cash Register Co. and he led the company to prominence and profitability. He made it successful because he paid attention to details and kept an eye on each part of the company.

At one point, it became apparent that the factory was having a high number of burglaries. Patterson was convinced that the security staff was not doing their job.

So, one night, he put on a phosphorescent suit and rode up to the plant on a white horse. He jimmied opened the door to the tool room, helped himself to several spare parts and rode off, without being challenged. The next morning, he fired the security staff.

Now, why did Patterson fire the security staff? He did that because they weren’t doing their job. They weren’t paying attention and were asleep during the night.

Here in Matthew 17, we have God trying to get the attention of Peter, James and John. It’s fairly obvious that this was the reason Jesus brought them here. A lot of times, Jesus would take his men aside for a time of teaching or prayer, but this time, it’s a little different.

No sooner had they reached the pinnacle when Jesus turns around… and his entire appearance has changed. His face shines like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light.

As if that weren’t enough, two men appear beside Jesus. We’re not told how the disciples knew who they were but they suddenly realized these two men were Moses and Elijah, two legendary Jews. And it got their attention, but they related to it in human terms or at least Peter did.

God wanted them relating in His terms.

When you read what happened to Jesus and His disciples, it is always interesting to ask the question, "How come God allowed that to happen?" or "Why did God act like that?" Now you know the simplest explanation is usually right. Amen.