WATCHWORD:
4 He had to go through Samaria on the way, 5-6 and around noon as he approached the village of Sychar, he came to Jacob’s Well, located on the parcel of ground Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jesus was tired from the long walk in the hot sun and sat wearily beside the well. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. 8 He was alone at the time as his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised that a Jew would ask a “despised Samaritan” for anything—usually they wouldn’t even speak to them!—and she remarked about this to Jesus.
10 He replied, “If you only knew what a wonderful gift God has for you, and who I am, you would ask me for some living water!” 11 “But you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this is a very deep well! Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob?” John 4:4-12
Meditation:
Is Our God Too Small?
In the book of John, there is the conversation between the “woman at the well” and Jesus. In a story I am writing, I included that exchange, and I wonder how the woman’s mind-set is so like our own:
“Who are you? I can tell you’re not from here, and since you seem to be traveling alone, I would guess you are from Galilee or Judea. That would make you a Jew. Are you a Jew?
Jesus smiled at her boldness. “You could say that. I don’t live in Samaria, but, since I have a house near Capernaum, you would say I am from Galilee. People call me Jesus.”
“Well, Jesus, you have nothing to get water from this well, and it’s very deep. Where are you getting this water that lives, you talk about? Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well?”
“I agree, your father, Jacob, was a good man, a godly man. He made excellent choices to follow God.”
“How could you have known that? He is the father of our nation, and lived hundreds of years ago.”
“True,” Jesus said with a smile.
The woman sees Jesus as a man that showed up at an unusual time and place and she saw no deity, just flesh and blood, and limitations. J.B. Phillips in his book entitled “Your God Is Too Small” makes a strong case that we, like that woman, underestimate the power and love of God. It is not only that we see and define Him by human terms, it’s a fact that our human minds cannot encompass and grasp the vastness that is God.
Had we been on that hillside when Jesus fed the 5,000, what would we have thought? Maybe we would think it’s a trick! How did he do that? Would you have concluded that it was a miracle? Would you have agreed with some in the crowd that thought this Jesus was a “man of God”? Or, would you, with great insight say, “that is not a man, that is God”? Probably not.
Do we need to see Him walking on water to know that He is not just a man, nor a ghost, and maybe more then spirit? This happened to me a few days ago: I have not been sleeping well, no more than 5 hours a night. I was exhausted. One night, as I got into bed, I prayed that the Lord would help me get a full night’s sleep. I woke up 8 hours later! Rested! What would you call that? Would you say, “Oh, Stan, you were just exhausted.” Yes I was, but I still thanked the good Lord, and I checked that off as an answer to my prayer.
We who believe in the Triune God, live day by day in His graces and everyday miracles. In some ways, we have become a little blinded by all that He does, and we just accept His gifts, His graces that just fall around us. Like the woman at the well, we don’t know how He can draw that Living Water, but we count on it, each moment we live. Our God is an awesome God! Just because we can’t figure it out, doesn’t mean He is not in charge. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
This past Saturday was the fourth memorial service for our family and friends, in the past six weeks. At each one we shared “living water”; the memories, the stories, the tears, the humor, the love, the God-given graces that our departed loved one shared with us in their time with us. We are better for their well-lived lives, however brief or however long.
Closing Prayer:
O God of Peace, you brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd. By the blood of your eternal covenant, make us complete in everything good that we may do your will, and work among us all that is well-pleasing in your sight, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
