I love a good story which has a nice ending. One of the things I really enjoy is a good book. The kind where you are desperate to know what is going to happen but the book is so enjoyable you also don't want it to end. One of my favourite authors is Jane Austen. A while ago there was a short TV series called, ‘Lost in Austen.’ In this series a fan of the novels accidentally ended up in the world of Jane Austen, meeting the characters from her books.
As I looked at the gospel reading for this Sunday (John 4:5-42) I thought that this could be a story that could be entered into.
In the reading there are moments of suspense and excitement. In the reading, Jesus enters into enemy territory by going to a Samaritan city. Samaritans and Jews were basically the same, but they thought differently on some aspects of their faith. This made them seriously doubt and dislike one another.
With this in mind, Jesus’ actions of talking to a Samaritan woman, asking for water and having a debate could be seen as a suspense filled encounter.
In the discussion Jesus was able to point out that the woman should have asked Him for water. The water Jesus was talking of was metaphorical, it was a water which would save the woman and give her life for ever. It was the gift caused by turning to Him. It was the gift of salvation, the gift of eternal life.
Entering into the story we could almost be sat on the edge of our seats as we think about the wonder of salvation. Except there was more to come. Jesus asked the woman to get her husband. The woman replied that she did not have a husband. Jesus was then able to point out that He knew she had been married 5 times and was now with someone who she wasn't married to!
The woman ended up having a deep theological conversation with Jesus about the difference between Jews and Samaritans over where they should worship. Jesus took a different route to the one she expected by saying that it would not matter where they worshipped.
The woman took almost a last ditch attempt at conversation as she said that she knew the Messiah (the chosen One) was coming. However, Jesus responded in a way perhaps greater than all the other parts as He said that He was the Messiah.
This is wonderful news for us as well. Because of what Jesus did on the cross, by dying for us, we can also enjoy this peace and grace. We can enter the reading knowing that we can be lost in the grace and forgiveness of God as we enjoy a relationship with Him.
It is more incredible than any story teller could create and yet it is completely real. We are invited into relationship with God. Frankly, I can't think of anything better than being lost in God’s love and grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment