Generous Portion/ John 4:5-26 / Pr. Lucas Andre Albrecht / Sunday March 15th 2020 / Season Of Lent / Mount Olive Lutheran Church

COVID-19 Update 

Text: John 4:5-26
Theme: Generous Portion

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Intr - When we drink a little bit of water, a small quantity of pop or a little dose of alcohol we don't usually have problems(Except for pre-existing conditions). When we eat a little portion of rice, meat or fried food the same holds true. A little of almost everything hardly hurts anyone.

With something poisonous though things are completely different. You just can't take a little bit of insecticide, cyanide or heavy drugs and have no problems. There will always be some type of complication.

For our heart the rule is similar. A little bit of gossip, a little bit of malice, a little bit of envy and various other everyday poisons served before us in generous portions will always do harm. Especially since we usually come to enjoy taking these doses and, in a very short time, they tend to stop being small. To make things worse, these do not harm only people taking them but also those who are around being affected by the consequences of such harm.

For example, if you don’t contain those small doses of greed and money lust that come down your heart every so often, you may end up being one of those persons that during a world pandemic clean up store shelves of basic needs only to resell it later with marked up prices online.

In the Gospel today, we see the consequence of small doses of poison being poured out for centuries upon the theological view of people. Small amounts that became big and lead people away from the true promises of the OT.

Jesus takes the occasion to straighten things out and share the generous dose of the Water of Life with that Samaritan woman.

_The wrong Messiah – “bigger than Jacob?”/ “If you knew” – Jesus is before us, before the World in His Word and Sacraments. But the world doesn’t recognize him, unless faith is present. That reports us back to John 1 (he came to the world and the world didn’t recognize Him).

_The wrong hope – The earthly kingdom

_The wrong place of worship – “which mountain?” - Mounts and definite places worked in the OT foreshadowing what was to come. Now that the Messiah came, specific places, while they can be used, they are not necessary as they used to be anymore. No place is holier in itself, but Christ’s presence makes it Holy.[1]

_The wrong social distancing - Jesus talks to a Samaritan an offers water, something forbidden for male Jews. They wouldn’t speak to a woman in public, let alone a Samaritan one.

“They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”  - When Jesus is doing something in our life, even if we do not understand, we need to remember that it is Him doing it. He cannot fail and make mistakes, so we can trust He is doing something good.

Jesus brings the Water of life that quenches the thirst of our dying soul. Now, what if that water wouldn’t be available anymore?

When it comes to our natural world, according to some experts, the biggest problem for our children and grandchildren will not be overcrowded roads, computer blackouts or paper rationing. It will be the water reserves. It will be terrible, being that true, if our descendants need to pay a high price or even fight to be able to havesomething so basic for life. I believe that there is nothing more important than that. We can survive longer without food than without water.

Jesus' speech to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, in the city of Sychar, Samaria says: "The person who drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty again." Can there be such a thing? yes, it actually alrady exists. The Word of Jesus Christ is a source of water of eternal life. That woman knew Him on that moment and later shared it shared with many people, who later came to believe in the Master and his words that quench the thirst of the soul.

So worse than if our grandchildren do not have water for their bodies, it would be if they wouldn't have the Water for their souls. Our role, therefore, is not just to preserve aquifers and terrestrial reservoirs. It is also to continue to transmit the Word that quenches thirst forever from the Saviour who gave his life so that ours is constantly hydrated and preserved.[2]

In Jesus we have the Water of Life, which saves us, and nurtures and feeds us generously to strengthen us against the poison of sin - the source of all others. By faith in Him we receive lavish portions of His forgiveness and love from His Word which strengthen us against the flesh-appealing doses of the Evil one. For this reason, generous doses of love, faith in action, forgiveness and hope are fruits that follow and that are always a god and generous portion to be shared with many.

What does it tell us in times of anxiety and fear in which we live right now? Among many things we might have read or listened to in the last so many days, here are my three small contributions:

_We have a dose of sin big enough inside us to make us frail and susceptible to diseases. Faith is not guarantee of constant health. Nor is health our god to the point to be considered “the most important thing”. There are things above it, and there is God above all.

_Christ’s water is the one who washes us clean from sin and assures us life eternal. Doesn’t matter what happens to our body here, we are saved, and we will be perfectly healthy forever

_Times like these usually awake the best and the worst in humans. Usually, the worst. As Christians we know that our faith is not idle but acting. We are the ones who can show care, concern and love for our neighbour. Showing love, helping the needy, refraining for helping the virus to spread. Especially, sharing generous portions of the water of life that is in Christ, and in Christ alone.

 Cc - Christ's Water of life. This is the generous portion we need every day; for it always and every time is healthy nourishment for our hearts and lives.

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[1] God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” Essence of Christian-Lutheran Worship. We like order and we need order. We have liturgy and we should preserve it. But we can never forget they are means, not ends. Worship happens in spirit and Truth – Christ. That’s why we have a variety of Services, forms, ways in the Christendom pointing to the one and immutable thing – Christ.

 
[2] Jesus is the one who turns dirty water from error into clean water of faith and life. To continue to preserve and believe that there will be no shortage of water. Neither for the faith, nor, who knows, for the body.