Flora First Christian Church - Flora, IN

Oct. 14, 2007

John 4: 5-20, 28-30, 30- 41

Story at Universal Studios

Twelve summers ago, our family visited Universal Studios theme park while on vacation in Florida. Our twin daughters were 11 years old. The MUST-SEE attraction for them was Nickelodeon Studios where some of their favorite TV shows were filmed. Are there others who have been there? So . . . we stood in line for nearly two hours to get inside. As we wound through the lines in front of the studio in the brutal Florida heat, we had a perfect view of that huge mechanical fountain, called the Green Monster. The fountain looks like an old time boiler with all kinds of gadgets that explode neon green water unexpectedly every few minutes.

As I made my way through the lines, I noticed two moms and their young kids walk by the fountain with a park map in hand. A little boy about six strayed over to the fountain, and was having a great time hoping it would go on, so he would get soaked. He didn’t hear his mother say, “Let’s go.” A few moments later the boy discovered that his mother was gone and that he was all alone! With tears running down his face he began to shout “Mommy, Mommy,” as he ran around the crowded fountain hoping to find her. Shortly she showed up. He said, “I was scared and I thought I was lost forever.” His Mom answered, “Didn’t you know I was looking for you all the time? I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” She hugged her son, and as they were walking away, then she whopped him on his bottom.

Our Scripture reading this morning was about a woman who had someone looking for her all the time. She just didn’t know it.

She was no doubt what we call a seeker.

What is a Seeker?

In contemporary Christian terms a “seeker” is looking for more out of life, and they generally don’t have a church background. They know that there has to be more to life than what they presently have. So, seekers often turn to God, willing to give Jesus Christ a chance. They too, like those in the Bible, have heard all kinds of things about Jesus. Some seekers show up at the church apprehensive about “organized religion.” Some have attended church at some time in the past and in their words they found church irrelevant, or it just didn’t meet their needs at that time, so they didn’t stick around. In my estimation . . . all of us are seekers. We all have our own unique life experiences that bring us to seek out the face of Jesus Christ.

Woman at the Well: A Classic Seeker

Jesus and his disciples were traveling from the big city of Jerusalem in Judea back to their home turf in Galilee, approximately 80 miles away. Those two regions were separated by the region of Samaria. It was noon, and Jesus and the disciples had been doing some hard traveling. They stopped for a water break at the famous well just outside of the town of Sychar in Samaria.

Jesus was hot and tired, so the disciples left him at the well while they went into town to bring back lunch. While Jesus was taking a break, a woman showed up to get some water from the community well.
That a woman would go there to get water wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. But it was unusual that Jesus would strike up a conversation with her. The woman was a Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew. They were even considered two different races of people, and the two peoples generally stayed clear of each other. When Jews traveled from Galilee to Judea they generally headed east to the Jordan River and traveled around Samaria. This particular day Jesus and the disciples took the direct route home and went straight through Samaria.

A Classic Seeker

From the woman’s conversation with Jesus, we discover that society had not been kind to her. She had been in and out of so many relationships with men only she, Jesus and her hairdresser knew for sure. She had five former husbands and she wasn’t married to the man that she was living with.
She was shopping for acceptance, security and love, but in all of the wrong places. Security, acceptance and love; isn’t that what we all want? People often jump in and out of relationships when they aren’t content with where they are in life.

Jesus Crossed the Barriers

Jesus had crossed both gender and racial lines by speaking to the woman. She was taken back by his speaking to her and she said to Jesus: “How is it that you, a Jew, are asking for a drink of water from me, a woman of Samaria?” Jesus ignored the racial issue, and got to the heart of the matter. He said: “If you had known who was asking you for water, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Jesus was, of course, speaking in spiritual terms, but the woman could not get beyond his literal words. “Oh, yeah, this is a really deep well and you haven’t even got a bucket,” she snipped at him.

The Woman Was Suspicious

Did you notice that at first the woman was suspicious of Jesus but then . . . she took a different approach? She became curious. She wanted to know what he was really taking about.
It’s obvious that . . . . she wanted something different. She wanted more out of life. So she made the move to respond to Jesus.
That is one thing of noted importance in this story. She WENT there looking for water. But Jesus offered her something much deeper than H2o. At first she did not know what he meant. She said, “Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst and have to walk all this way every day.

Jesus Gave Her What no Other Man Had

Jesus offered her something no other man had ever given her. Men had no doubt taken advantage of her and used her. My personal hunch is that the woman also didn’t conduct too many background checks when it came to dating.

Many Expressions for Love

She had known all kinds of expressions of love, but that was nothing like what He was offering her. Jesus was different.
She then made the response to discover more when she said: “I know that when the Messiah comes, he will show us all things.”
Jesus then put all of his cards on the table and said straight ahead: “You’re speaking to the Messiah, I’m the One.” At that moment she found something she had never known before - the one thing she needed the most.
There is one thing spiritually we need more than anything else. That IS a forgiving, loving, eternal relationship that gives us the ultimate meaning in life. Jesus called it living water.

The Woman didn’t find Jesus, He found her.

The woman at the well didn’t find Jesus—He found her.

What Sets Christianity Apart

The key ingredient to our faith in Christ is not so much that we have a means to find God, but that God always seeks to find us. This is what we call GRACE—the free gift of God’s forgiveness, love and unmerited favor.
You can’t buy it. You don’t deserve it. God gives it to you freely. It’s priceless.

The Woman Did Nothing to Earn Jesus’ Attention

The woman at the well did nothing to earn Jesus’ attention. She was willing to reach back. I’m convinced that her outstretched hand—saved her life. She was so excited about what she had received from Christ that she left her water jar… and ran to town to tell her friends that she had met the Messiah.
How did this happen? It happened because Jesus accepted her, respected her, and cared about her. This is the point that we often don’t get. Jesus never judged her nor condemned her about her past. He pointed it out, she was honest about it and he still gave her something better. That’s one of the greatest things about our Lord’s love. He doesn’t wait to be asked. He seeks people out.

Roy’s Runaway Daughter’s Returns

In one of his books, noted Methodist minister and author James W. Moore, tells the story of his friend Roy and his wife who went through some extremely tough years with their teenage daughter. She was constantly in trouble, but Roy never gave up loving his daughter and praying that she would some day soon “get her act together.” At age sixteen his daughter ran away from home. They had no idea where she went and they lived in fear. Roy got word that somebody had seen her in Memphis, Tennessee. So he headed there to look for her.
On the streets of Memphis, Roy showed people the picture of his daughter and asked if anyone had seen her. They either hadn’t seen her or they weren’t talking. BUT everywhere he went that day, Roy stuck a copy of a picture of his wife and himself with the caption on the poster that read: “Debbie, all is forgiven! We love you! Please come home!” They didn’t find Debbie that day, but two weeks later she came home, dirty, worn out, hungry, but safe. She said to her parents: “I couldn’t believe my eyes. I walked into this bar one night… and saw my mom and dad’s picture and that note. And then, I went to another place and another and another… and everywhere I went, there was my mom and dad’s picture… and that note forgiving me and pleading with me to come home… and for the first time in my life, I realized that night how much you love me. I hurt you so many times … and still you came looking for me… and you still loved me.”
That’s what Christ is saying to us: “I know about your past and your stained reputation… and I still forgive you, love you, and I care about you. I want to give you a new beginning.”

With His unconditional love, Jesus changed that woman’s life. Christ can change your life beginning today. He knows all about us, and still Christ loves us, and he offers forgiveness and reconciliation. Amen!