"Thirsty No More" - John 4:7-30 - February 27, 2005

One evening I was thirsty and I complained to my wife that there wasn’t anything to drink in the refrigerator. My wife said, jokingly, "There is plenty of water." I was hoping for something with a bit more life to it than ordinary water. A Diet Pepsi perhaps, orange juice or even flavored water would be good. I was thirsty and tap water didn’t sound very appealing.

Have you ever been thirsty and wanted something that would really quench your thirst? I’m not talking about sodas for the stomach, I’m talking about refreshment for the soul. Are there times when your life is all dried up and you just can’t get going?

I believe many people today thirst for satisfaction but they are coming up empty. Some thirst for love. Others thirst for freedom. Some thirst for fulfillment and happiness. And some just want relief. What do you thirst for? Has your well run dry?

Jesus told the woman at the well that he could supply her with "living water…a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." Her life was dry. She had five failed marriages. Her self esteem had reached an all-time low. Here she was in the middle of a day, not a normal time of day for a woman, out fetching water. The woman was alienated from society and any thought of her thirst being quenched was hopeless. Her life was so bad she had to go to the well when no one else was around in order to escape her feelings of guilt and loneliness.

Her excursion to the well, however completely transformed her life. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all we had to do was go to the drinking fountain at work or the faucet in the kitchen to quench our thirst? Is God’s love for us that close that a simple walk to the well could change our lives forever too? My guess is we limit the power of God to the spectacular and never anticipate that God is everywhere.

What happened at Jacob’s well that day that gave this woman hope? Why did she thirst no more?

First of all, the woman, whose name is not given, was performing an every day task. This could have just as easily been a trip to the coffee pot or the vending machine. The well was a place where everyone in the community had to go. Jacob’s well was located at a crossroads which meant many travelers and strangers would pass by. She had no expectations except for filling her water jar with water. In the process she meets Jesus who was sitting beside the well. He had journeyed form Judea and was on his way to Galilee. He was tired and rumors were spreading that he was competing with John, his friend. This was not what Jesus intended. He too needed a bit of refreshment from the strain and pressures of his mission. On the other hand, the woman was thirsting for faith.

One morning I was preparing to run a mile on the running track at the "Y." I always stop by the drinking fountain and get a drink before I start my run. This particular morning the water fountain was out of order. I could have gone to another part of the building to get a drink but decided to go ahead without it. During my run I forgot all about the fact that I had not taken in any water before I started. Others were on the track running too. They were all younger but I still managed to lap most of them before I finished my run. At the end of my run I passed by the water fountain again. I thought to myself, "Hmm, I guess something else must have given me the nourishment I needed to finish the course."

That "something else" was "living water." We all need the "living water" that Jesus gave the woman at the well. For me it is faith. Without faith we are dried up, unable to accept a challenge. We are stuck, afraid or feeling dejected and worthless like the woman from Samaria. Jesus gives us the faith we need that quenches our thirst for life.

What we have is two strangers who meet each other at a common place. Perhaps we could call it the "Cheers" of Palestine. Jesus breaks the ice and tells the woman to give him a drink. In other words, Jesus, invites this dejected and dried up individual to do something for him. Ironically, the woman and Jesus needed each other.

We all are proud when we do something for folks who are less unfortunate than ourselves. Who of us thinks that "those" people could possibly do anything for us? But, Jesus asks the Samaritan Woman to give him a drink. She is totally taken a back by this. She is a Samaritan and Jews and Samaritans were enemies. She is a woman and the last thing a Jewish man would do is have a conversation with a Samaritan woman. Then there’s her reputation. She is an outcast of society. For anyone to make a request from her would be totally preposterous. But Jesus saw her differently. He saw her as a person of worth, capable of doing him a favor.

Secondly, Jesus breaks through the barriers of sex, race and status in society. No one is outside the boundaries of the living water of God. Jesus makes the woman feel good about herself because Jesus believes in her. She feels unworthy but Jesus restores her sense of worth by asking her to help him. She thirsts no more because she is now whole again.

The living water of God flows through others when they feel needed and accepted. The living water of God rinses away feelings of uncleanness. The living water of God is like a stream of forgiveness which gives hope and assurance.

Jesus treats the woman as a whole person. He makes no judgment about her in any way. He doesn’t say, "Go and sin no more," which implies he didn’t see her as sinful. Her thirst for acceptance has been satisfied. Her self-worth is restored and she has a new sense of dignity. And, her spirit has been refreshed.

Something quite remarkable follows. The woman leaves the well, without her water jar, and goes and tells others about her encounter with Jesus. The woman who was dejected and disenfranchised from society becomes one of the regions’ best disciples. Having received the living water of God she is energized and becomes a woman who is completely transformed. She no longer thirsts because she is now quenching the thirst of others.

God meets us in the everyday places in our lives. God is waiting at the water cooler where we are invited to give of ourselves. There we are challenged to use what resources we have to come to the aid of others. The love of God has no boundaries. God sees everyone as people of worth. Jesus came not to judge us but to forgive. We are restored to wholeness when we are accepted for who we are. Race, sex and the details of our past do not prevent the flow of God’s living water. Disciples are not those people who do everything right, but those folks whose lives have been transformed by the living water of God.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio