And the Samaritan woman, again understanding all of this conversation with Jesus literally, says, “Great, give me that water, so that I won’t have to keep coming back to this well over and over again.”
Two weeks in a row we hear Jesus offering eternal life. The promise made to Nicodemus and the woman at the well, eternal life. Ahhhh.
There are quite a few contrasts between Nicodemus and the unnamed woman, here are just a few.
Nicodemus came at night, in the dark seeking Jesus and we are not sure if he left a follower, Jesus comes to the well and encounters the unnamed woman at high noon and she becomes a follower and in fact brings others to follow. Underlying both these encounters is the promise of eternal life.
Would you say yes to that water of life? I hope I would. Or would I be afraid of being that close to God, would I be distrustful of the promise?
And because our life is at his moment very intertwined with matters of the world I’ve been holding the intersection of the meeting of the woman at the well and a virus. As we continue our Lenten journey we come face to face with the woman at the well, someone outside of society and unnamed, unknown, yet known and loved by Jesus. The current situation of life presents us with a virus
COVINE-19/coronavirus, it has a name and we receive a fire hose of information by the minute.
I and all the staff are fully aware of the call to be vigilant in preventing the spread as we can. As we remain healthy we will be in the office and in the church. How we need to respond may change as we learn more about the virus and discover how we can best respond. All should take the necessary precautions for your situation. We pray for a speedy end to the virus and the related complications and that we can continue to care for those who need our care.
In addition we ask that if you have friends who are not coming to church please call them and then let Rev. Iain and I know how they are faring.
Jesus is living water offering life to all who drink.
Our practices this Lent may not prevent the spread of the virus, they do prevent the spread of fear, of anxiety and hopefully worry. Beloved keep coming to the well of life remembering that which God offers is for all.
and
Can the recent events draw us closer to Christ? Is that even a possibility? Our natural inclination is to pull away, to be distrustful, to assign blame and ill intent. Or can we receive and offer living water a reminder that Jesus comes to all bringing eternal life.
This week reread the story of the woman at the well. These ancient beautiful stories of our faith are not stuck in the 1
st century Palestine they are part of our life today, and every day.
·
Rev. Alison +
