NOTE FROM PASTOR J R FOR SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023
Sunday will be 3rd Sunday IN Lent and the 2nd Sunday of Women’s History Month. The assigned gospel text is the lengthy Story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan Woman from John 4.
In this story, Jesus strikes up a conversation with a Samaritan woman and the encounter leaves her transformed, and she rushes to share her wonderful experience with others. In short, the Samaritan woman encounters Jesus and has a profound experience of God’s grace, love, and mercy. It seems that Jesus is the wholesome interaction with a male that didn’t take advantage of her. Jesus treated her with respect. Her journey to get water became a journey of getting to the real issue in her life.
A quick summary of this encounter would be she develops trust in the man (Jesus) who dares to speak to her, who, as a Samaritan and a woman, who was a marginalized person in Jewish society. Not only does Jesus quench her thirst for water, but He quenches her thirst for “living water” (John 4:10).
The same can happen for us if we allow our encounter with Jesus to be as hers. First, we must be aware that Jesus understandingly listens to us no matter where we are on the journey of life. Then, we need to know that Jesus listens understandingly because God already knows everything there is to know about us. And the good news is that even knowing it all, God doesn’t condemn us but is with us to help us be open to change, that benefits our lives. And finally, Jesus is with us on the journey to encourage us to look up and see the light.
So, for us, Lent is “A Journey of Getting to the Real Issue” so we will not live in darkness and shame, but “40 Days With Jesus” brings into our lives, light and hope.
Join us for worship this Sunday as we continue our Lenten Journey for 2023, in-person, by Zoom or Facebook Livestream. My sermon is “A Journey of Getting to the Real Issue” based on “John 4:5-30, 39-42.”
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