St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

February 20, 2005 Lent 2 Series A John 4:5-10

⁵So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.    ⁷When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” ⁸(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)    ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a])    ¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

How smart are you? Pretty smart? I read the papers! How long did the Hundred Years War last? Do you know? 116 years! Did you know that? Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador! From which animal do you get catgut? You know—like for making violin strings. Catgut comes from sheep and horses! In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November! The Russian calendar was 13 days behind ours! What is a camel’s hair brush made of? By now you’re thinking—anything but a camel! That’s right. Camel’s hair brushes are made from squirrel fur! As fine as it is to know all about the things and stuff of this world—it doesn’t really matter! All that matters—all that counts—what is far far more important is how to get to heaven. That kind of wisdom—that kind of understanding has everything to do with eternity! We need to ask ourselves—how much time—how much effort—how much energy and yes how much money do we invest in understanding God’s Word? How much time do we spend every day watching TV? Do you spend an hour Monday through Friday watching Days of our Lives or General Hospital or One Life To Live? Do we have time to watch people who are never content—never content with their spouse—never content with their money—never content with anything about their life? Time to watch people who never ever tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in the very beginning? Then we have time to read God’s Word—God’s unchangeable truth! Do we have time to watch NASCAR? Do we have time to watch cars going zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom around corners—scraping, smoking, catching fire, rolling over—chunks of tires flying into the stands? Then we have time to read what God’s Word says about the rat race that is day to day life in this sin infected world. If we have hours to watch what is called reality TV—to watch people handing out roses—or eating bugs and filth—willing to debase and degrade themselves for a few thousand pieces of wrinkled green paper—then we have time to read God’s Word. We have time to study the ultimate realities of sin and guilt—and to see that Jesus calls his people to aim higher than 15 minutes of fame in this world. If we have time to see which singer will be the next American Idol—then we have time to learn more about the one true God—our only Savior from sin. If we say proudly—I don’t watch TV! Then what do we invest our time and energy in? Do we work at making our home and our yard heaven on earth? Do we invent every waking hour—and well into the night—working and working and working—to make enough green wrinkled papers that when we retire we will be able to take life easy—to eat drink and be merry because we have stored up for ourselves many riches in this world? God’s Word says very plainly our life does not consist in how many things belong to me in this world! Today—this second Sunday in Lent God’s Word encourages us to:

Reach Out With The Gospel!

1. Sin makes you thirsty

2. Only Jesus can take our thirst away.

As we catch up in spirit with the Lord Jesus—his public ministry is just beginning. To be sure—Jesus’ work of saving us from our sins has been under way for some 30 years plus 9 months. Nine months when the one whom heaven and earth cannot contain—was in the tummy of a young virgin named Mary. Jesus had been working to save us—circumcised when he was only 8 days old—the tiniest wound that bled—because Jesus loved us so much. When Jesus was only 12—a 6^th grader—a 7^th grader—he was so grounded in God’s Word—he could sit for days—not minutes—but days discussing law and gospel with the best theological minds in Israel! Do we talk about God’s Word with our children and grandchildren? Now Jesus’ three year preaching and teaching ministry has begun. Jesus did not set up in Jerusalem. He didn’t pick out the biggest and most beautiful synagogue and teach there. Jesus went on the road. He went where the people were—calling them to repentance. Telling them how he had come to wash away their sins. As always context is important. Jesus has worked his first miracle—turning well water into the finest wine. Jesus cleared the Temple—the money changers and the people who sold animals for sacrifice had turned his Father’s House into a place of robbers—thieves and liars and cheats! Jesus’ love for his Father’s House so consumed him—he had to drive them out! Jesus dumped over the tables. He wasn’t kidding! Jesus talked to Nicodemus—in the dark—in the night—because Nicodemus was afraid what other people might think and say. Jesus talked to Nicodemus about being born again. Not back into his mother’s tummy—but born of the Spirit. Nicodemus didn’t understand and he should have! Jesus kept moving from Jerusalem to Judea—and from Judea up north to Galilee. People either loved Jesus or they hated him. They either believed in him—or were jealous of him—and resented him—hated him—wanted him dead! Jesus was continually on the move—preaching where people would listen. If they wouldn’t—he would move on. Jesus spent much of his time with the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But Jesus also shared the Gospel with people who were not blood descendants of Abraham!

So Jesus came to a town in Samaria, called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Samaritans! These were not children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. At least not completely. They maybe had some blood of Abraham and then some blood from somebody else! They were all mixed up—their skin all different shades—their eyes all different shapes—their noses all different shapes—their hair all different textures! Can you imagine? And their religion was all mixed up, too! They believed the first five books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy but that was it. Add to that teachings and superstitions and traditions from a bunch of pagan religions and you had a pretty nasty fruit salad of teachings and customs. The children of Israel despised the Samaritans. They considered them trashy people. And the Samaritans had no time for the arrogant, self-righteous—puffed up—we’re better than anybody—children of Abraham. Most Jewish people wouldn’t walk through a Samaritan neighborhood—and vice versa, too! What do you think? Are we racists? Oh, we would be quick to say—I am not! I don’t know anyone who would say—yes, I am a racist—a bigot—a person with racial prejudice—judging people simply by the color of their skin. I don’t know anyone who would say they are a racist! The fact is, though—many people are! There is danger if we think—I don’t want to sit by them in church—because they are different! If we put people into clumps and bunches—like—they are all good at sports—or they are all in organized crime—or they are all good at electronics—or they are all arrogant—or they are all lazy. Or if we say—I know one of them—and you know what? They actually had a job and actually kept up their house—and actually mowed their lawn—they were really surprisingly normal! How about that? We are in danger if we think—if they have a beard or their wife has her head covered or they wear a knitted hat then I bet they are a terrorist! We are in danger if we think they smell funny and eat food we would never eat—and they talk too fast—and don’t belong in this country! That’s what they used to say about many of our German relatives when they first came here. During WWI there were those who thought Germans here were all spies for the Kaiser! That we couldn’t be trusted to be good Americans because our roots were back in Deutschland! We sang German hymns and taught Heaven only knows what in our Catechism classes—all taught in German! How unpleasant was that! And again—was it our great grandfathers who helped carry out the Holocaust? We need to be very careful! We will have very real opportunities to have attitudes like Jesus in the weeks to come—when we have guests and visitors in church—maybe with peach colored skin—but with special needs. We will have opportunities to show Jesus’ love—if we have opportunity to sit in Church with people who have arms and legs that don’t sit calmly and quietly. How will we do—if we sit by someone who has trouble sitting quietly—someone who might say something—not with a very quiet church whisper—but pretty loudly? What will we do—if we sit by someone who has a body that is 30 or 40 or 50 years old—but their thoughts and emotions are from someone only 2 or 3 or 4 years old? It is easy to be comfortable by someone who had a nice raspberry body wash shower—who has antiperspirant—deodorant and cologne and a freshly dry cleaned suit and silk tie. It is to be more like Jesus to be kind and comfortable and considerate by someone who is not! Jesus is both the reason and the ability to show love to people who are different from us. The fact is—in a moment—from accident or disease—in a moment—each one of us could be the one who does not have the control of our body and our thoughts—control of our words and our behavior that we have taken so for granted for such a long time! In a moment we could be the one in need of the patience and love of our neighbor! In the meantime—let us show love for Jesus’ sake!

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” The Samaritan woman—was not a lady! You know this story. Jesus tells her to go and get her husband and she says—I don’t have a husband. That’s right, Jesus tells her. You have had 5 husbands and now you are living in sin—living like a wife with a man who is your husband. That’s wrong! That’s a sin! It’s not old fashioned. It’s not traditional. It’s God’s Word that says lust is as sinful as adultery. It’s God’s Word—God’s will—that sex is for a husband and their wife—and not for anyone else! It’s God’s Word that says it’s sinful and unnatural for men to have hugs and kisses with men—or women to have hugs and kisses with women. That’s not homophobic. It’s not a fear or becoming gay or being exposed as gay. It’s God’s Word that says to throw yourself into promiscuous homosexual activity or committed one on one homosexual union is sinful and wrong! It’s God’s Word—the scroll of the prophet Malachi where God says, “I hate divorce!” Malachi . Notice how gentle Jesus is! He doesn’t scold or shame or shout at her. He talks to her very carefully—yet firmly—pointing out her sin—her wrongful attitude—and the sins—the bad, hurtful, risky behaviors that come from her sin! Jesus never ever excuses sin. Jesus never makes light of sin. Jesus confronts sin. Jesus works repentance—a sincere sadness about our sins. Then Jesus forgives our sins—and makes us strong to overcome temptation in the future. The Gospel works change—powerful life altering change! You can’t spend time with Jesus and stay the same. You can’t! Jesus’ forgiving love is like the purest, coldest most refreshing water—that satisfies the most parched heart and soul. Only Jesus can give us living water—the kind that keeps you from ever being thirsty again! This is water to drink—and water to share!

How smart are you? Pretty smart? The Canary Islands—where? In the Pacific are named after what animal? The Insularia Canaria—is Latin for the Island of the Dogs. King George the 6^th’s first name? Albert. But when he came to the throne in 1936 he respected the wish of Queen Victoria that no future king should ever be called Albert. The color of a purple finch? Obviously crimson! Chinese gooseberries are from—New Zealand. How long did the 30 years War last? Thirty years! What were you thinking? The simple is not always so simple—the obvious not always so obvious. And when we make mistakes—it’s easy to become discouraged—to doubt yourself—to give up without even trying. What matters is not trivia. It’s God’s Word—God’s truth! You know that truth. You are minded of the essential Scriptures every time you come into this building! You have opportunity to share that Gospel all the time. Live your life more and more like Jesus. People will notice. And when they do—point them to the cross and the empty tomb. Point them away from your self—point them to Jesus. Amen!

To God alone all glory!

Rev. Anthony E. Schultz