SERMON AT ST. JOHN’S CHURCH WEST GRIMSTEAD AND ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, FARLEY – SUNDAY 12th MARCH 2023 – THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT
EXODUS
17:1-7; ROMANS 5:1-11; JOHN 4:5-42
May I speak in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
and may these words be yours and bless all who hear them. Amen.
Let me start off with a question to you. What do each of the three readings we have
heard from scripture this morning have in common? The answer, apart from the
first and last being concerned with thirst and the provision of water, is that
each of them talks about the need to have Faith in circumstances of difficulty
and oppression. Each of them has such an
enormous amount of material to impart to us that it is almost impossible, in
fact it is impossible, to restrict the lessons they have for us to one
single sermon or talk unless you have three of four hours to spare this
morning! Unfortunately for me, and
fortunately for you, I need to be somewhere else quite quickly after this
service ends this morning otherwise I might have been tempted to talk for a
good deal longer than normal.
So let’s look at each reading from the point of view of the
testing of Faith. In our first reading
we learn that the Israelites, having come through so much adversity since leaving
Egypt, now find themselves in a situation where some of them, the majority in
fact, are totally fed up of wandering, it appears, aimlessly in the dry desert
and thirsty for water. To them their
freedom has come at a great price and they are beginning to wonder why they
left and are beginning to long for a return to captivity in Egypt where, they
argue, they at least had food and drink even if they were oppressed by their
Egyptian masters. They have lost their faith in Moses, and thereby in their Lord
God, questioning why they have been put through all the deprivations they have
suffered. For what? As Moses realises, they are testing him and
their God and he is fearful for his own life. I have often pondered about what
Moses was really thinking at this time.
Was he tempted to go along with the crowd and question God and his
plan? Or was his faith so strong that he
never doubted that God’s will would prevail?
His response to the protests of the people was itself a test of faith
for he asked God directly what should he do?
In doing so he was given a solution – a miracle of water gushing from
rock – but his own faith had been tested too.
The lesson for us here is – do we follow the crowd at times
when our beliefs are challenged? Do we compromise on what we actually believe
to be right? I am sure that if Moses had
faltered in his belief and subsequent appeal to God then the Israelites would
have collapsed into a heap of chaos with many dying or returning to
captivity. As we are seeing in Ukraine
today, it is the belief in justice and what is right that keeps that country in
its fight against oppression and occupation. It is often easier to capitulate
than persevere but the price of capitulation can be a very heavy one. Jesus never told us that following him would
be easy, in fact he often preached the contrary, but the rewards are far
greater for us in the long run than compromising on our Faith.
Paul continues this theme in his great letter to the Romans.
In one of the greatest pillars of Christian doctrine he exhorts his followers,
the readers of his letter and us today, to recognise that our salvation is
through our Faith alone – our belief in Jesus and through him to peace with
God. I have often found this passage of
particular help to when I have been going through rough times or times when I
do not feel particular pious or devotional.
Paul talks to us about suffering leading to endurance and endurance
producing character and character leading to hope and hope not being something
which will disappoint us because it is poured into our hearts by the Holy
Spirit. Faith, Hope and Charity/Love are
the three fundamental characteristics of Paul’s teaching of Christianity with
one leading to the other. If we have Faith then we can have Hope and with Hope
we can express Love (agape) to our fellow humans.
When I was younger I always thought that salvation was
through what we did – with God up in the clouds keeping a balance sheet of our
good deeds and our bad. I felt pretty
helpless as I was always sure that my own personal balance sheet would be in
the red – more bad things, and especially thoughts, than good things – envy,
greed, telling fibs, naughty thoughts etc. etc. and not reading my bible or
attending church as often as I should. Paul’s words give us all hope. By a genuine faith and acceptance of Jesus as
our Saviour we can indeed be saved.
However, that does not mean that we shouldn’t also do good works too.
St. James puts it succinctly in his epistle that whilst we are saved by Faith
we should show that Faith by the way we act in our lives towards others.
In our gospel reading, a piece of scripture which, for me
could be the topic of a huge essay or sermon I can only skim the surface of the
message it carries – a message which I think has enormous significance in the
world we live in today.
The story, I am sure is well known to you all but I do
recommend you read it again later today or at some time when you have a moment
of peace and quiet. There is so much
symbolism and important points to note.
Setting the scene briefly, Jesus and his disciple, Jews, are travelling
through Samaria, through the countryside of a people despised by the Jewish
people. I will not go into the long
history of why, some of which was probably lost in the passing of time – a bit
like why Southampton FC supporters despise those of Portsmouth FC and vice
versa. Needless to say this does appear to have been a deliberate act on the
part of Jesus to cross over the border. It
is the hottest part of the day and a single woman has come to the same well as
Jesus to draw water. The reason we
discover for her coming at this time is because she too, although a Samaritan
herself, is despised by her peers because she has been married five times and
is currently living with another man out of wedlock.
Immediately I spotted that here we have two outcasts, Jesus a
Jew in Samaritan country and a Samaritan woman, an outcast from her own
people. They both have something in
common and both are seeking to quench their physical thirst. And so proceeds
one of the longest exchanges of conversation between Jesus and another in the
whole of the bible and it is between Jew and Gentile.
Jesus reveals to the woman much about herself which she is
amazed he could know and realises that here is indeed someone special. He offers her the gift of the water of
eternal life if she truly believes that he is the Messiah – one of the earliest
occasions on which Jesus reveals his true identity.
The disciples, when they catch up with Jesus express
amazement that Jesus is speaking to a Samaritan and a woman at that. The woman
leaves and goes back to her village proclaiming that she has met the Messiah,
the Chosen one which leads to the conversion of many of the Samaritans becoming
followers of Jesus.
So what do we make of this?
Well, for me, this once again amounts to a testimony that Jesus came for
all, not just for the Jews but also the Gentiles. Not only this, but that he is also here for
the sinner and the outcast. Throughout
the New Testament and in many different gospel accounts this is a message which
is preached loud and clear “I have come for the sick not for the healthy. The latter have no need of a physician” to
paraphrase Mark 2:7.
Sometimes we can forget this.
The reason we have a time of confession and penitence in all our church
services is because we are not Jesus, we are not perfect but at times can be
unhealthy in our thoughts and actions. However, because of our Faith, just like
Moses and the woman at the well, we can be healed because we have already
received the gift of salvation through that faith. Faith, I hasten to add, is not mere
belief. We can believe in the devil too
but having Faith goes above and beyond mere belief.
We learn from each of the readings today that God through
Jesus loves us all and is there for all of us – and especially those who turn
from their unbelief to a strong belief. There are so many other examples in the
bible – Levi, Zacchaeus, the criminal on the Cross, and of course Paul. We who have Faith are so lucky and we should
forever give thanks and praise for the gift of Jesus coming to Earth, dying,
being resurrected and leaving the Holy Spirit with us until he returns in
glory.
So, finally a thought or question for each of you. What can
you do to welcome or tell a stranger about the love of God for them – be it by
word or by an action or inclusivity this wejust as Jesus engaged with the foreign woman at the well?
Amen MFB/09032023/185
