Scandalous

Notes from the Pastor...

When I was a senior in High School I broke my left shoulder.  It was nothing too major; the only prescription was Tylenol and restricted movement for eight weeks.  I healed completely, but for a slight restriction when trying to pull weight from behind in a butterfly motion.  While the injury is not chronic, every once in a while it bothers me.  In the same way, John 4  – “The woman at the well,” has bothered me for years!

One of the more shocking elements to this story is the seemingly unqualified acceptance of Jesus.  Jesus challenges the woman to recognize who he is by illustrating his vast knowledge of her life choices without a hint of condemnation or required repentance.  In John 4:26, Jesus does  not say,
“I am the Messiah, now go get your life right – quit living in sin.”
These would be the words that you and I would use.  Contrary to such statements, Jesus’ work with the woman is cut short by the disciples’ interruption.  When the disciples returned to the scene “they were astonished that Jesus was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you speaking with her?’”  We would suspect the disciples’ intrusion to be their entrance into the dialogue, but it seems that they stand silently bewildered.
Regardless of why the interruption takes place, the woman leaves without Jesus commanding repentance; moreover, she begins to work as a missionary – inviting her entire city to come and see the Messiah.

All of this leaves me to question some common “Christian” behaviors:
º   Is our acceptance of the “sinner” qualified by their willingness to repent?
º   Are we more worried about “right living” than recognizing who Jesus is?
º   Do we interrupt Jesus’ working in an outcast’s life because of our overt astonishment?

The first time Jesus reveals himself as the “I am” in the Gospel of John is to an outcast Samaritan woman; not to the disciples, not to the religious authority, but to an outsider.  It does not seem that followers of Jesus have a monopoly on the revelation of Christ.
May we not act with the egocentrism that would say otherwise.
May we join Christ’s work among the outsider and encourage the work of Christ in all of creation!

Grace,  Pastor Ryan