Lent 3

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church-Friedheim
Celebrating our 170th Year
Chartered February 25, 1838

A 21st Century Parish with a 1st Century Faith
Acts 2:42

Lent 3
February 24, 2008
John 4:5-26
“I am the Water of Life”
Who is the Man Going to the Cross?

“Eternal Lord, Your kingdom has broken into our troubled world through the life, death, and resurrection of your Son. Help us to hear Your word and obey it, so that we become instruments of Your redeeming love.”

Today is an import day in the life of our congregation. We commemorate this day 170 years of mission and ministry. Today is a day for us to recall and remember and for us to consider the sacrifices our fathers in the faith made for us. Milestones of faith happened here. People will say in this coming year, “This is the place where I was baptized, confirmed, and reared in the faith.”

This is the place where it all started – where the seeds of faith were planted and nurtured - by faithful pastors and teachers – kingdom workers – servants of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we have dedicated the new Lutheran Service Book this day we pray that this resource will be a blessing to us and that our worship would remain Christ centered.  Our Savior addresses the true roots of worship in our Gospel lesson for today. Worship according to our Savior does not depend on vestments, settings, or liturgies. The only two requirements are that our worship be rooted in spirit and truth. Thus, in our worship, may Jesus Christ be glorified. May He remain at the center of all that we do.   

In Lent we ask the question, “Who is this man going to the cross”? Jesus is known as a friend of sinners. He associated with them because He knew they needed Him for a fuller life. In our Gospel lesson, we find Him talking with a loose woman of a despised race.

It is interesting to see how Jesus deals with this woman as He desires to bring her to faith in Him.  As the Messiah His desire is to change her life. The power of life-giving water is given to a Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at a well.  As Jesus has an encounter with this woman He offers to her a changed life as she exchanges her life for His. On this Anniversary day – this is our story too, experiencing that great exchange – God‘s mercy and forgiveness purchased at the cost of His own Son. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  

Today we witness and hear the dialogue between Jesus and a woman at the well.

I.        What Jesus might have done — He could have had a monologue.

A.     Jesus could very well have refused to speak to this Samaritan woman. Such was the custom of the day. Samaritans and Jews had little to do with each other. Each viewed the other as having compromised the faith.    

B.     Jesus could have condemned her for her immoral life and nationalism. He chooses however to deal differently. He breaks through the moral problem by accepting a woman of doubtful character. He does not isolate Himself from a sinner. He addresses her sin and calls her to repentance.

Transition: Jesus in dealing with this woman illustrates how He chooses to deal with each of us. On this day in which we thank the Lord for the many blessings He has showered down upon our Friedheim family may we be especially thankful for the forgiveness of sins, life, salvation which each of us receive as a gift.

II.     Notice how Jesus guides the conversation.

A.     He begins on common ground: water  (Vv. 7-9.)  

The passage gives an insight into the human-divine Jesus. We see His humanity: He is tired from walking and thirsty from the noonday heat. Like any of us, He asks for a drink of water. On the other hand, His divinity shows: He offers living water of eternal life, as He teaches about true worship of God, and admits that He is the Messiah.

B.     A transition to spiritual water (Vv. 10-15.)  

The woman’s respect for her past prevented her from seeing the great opportunity of the present. She asks, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?”  Yet, the Savior offers her the greatest gift of all – the Father’s grace through Christ. Jesus gave us His life and He gave it freely that any who comes to Him He will certainly not cast out.

C.     Next, the moral question (Vv. 16-19.) 

We can not longer hide or equivocate.  We can’t quibble or fudge. We are dead to rights. Our own sin condemns us, especially when Jesus through the preaching of the Law shows us our sin. “Sir, the woman said, “I can see that You are a prophet.” Thus, what is wrong in our life must be made right if we are to have satisfaction. 

Jesus stimulates in us a desire for the gift of God. “But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (V. 14)

D.     Religious questions (Vv. 20-24.)

Jesus shows us where to find God’s gift. We may be perplexed as to which church is right.  “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 

Both Samaritans and Jews claimed to know the perfect will of God yet they argued as to where He was to be found.  The true church is present where God’s Word is taught purely and the sacraments are administered according to Christ’s command.  There we find the gift of God – salvation.

True worshipers are not bound to any particular place or ritual. Jesus declares, ‘Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.’ (V. 21) The worship of God is in spirit and in truth. He is not bound to any outward group or building. Church organizations can cease to exist. What a wonderful promise – on this our 170th anniversary – True worshipers, who make up the church, will continue throughout time.

E.      Jesus reveals Himself - The Messiah (Vv. 25-26.)

Jesus reveals Himself to us in the Word. “I who speak to you am He!” We can have Him now, as we are, in our emptiness and thirst, for He is the gift that satisfies.

Conclusion:  John reminds us, “Then leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Our meditation begins with the woman’s question. “Could this Jesus be the Christ?  Do you know the gift of God? As He spoke to the woman so He speaks to you this day. “I who speak to you am He.”

 +Soli Deo Gloria+