Monday thoughts toward Lent 3a

Link to the full texts of all 4 lessons is here. The link at each lesson goes to that lesson with verse numbers in the Oremus Bible Browser©

Exodus 17:1-7 NRSV text
“From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?’” (vs. 1-2)

This is not the first problem the Israelites had along the way of this 40 year journey. Earlier, after three days in the desert without water, they came to Merah where there was a well, but the water was bitter. They complained to Moses, who after calling on the Lord made the water sweet, and then led them to a place where there were twelve good springs, and plenty of palm trees for shade. (not that palm trees are very good for shade)

This time the water was just gone, the well dry. Where the text says “The people quarreled with Moses” and “Why do you quarrel with me?” - the word translated as quarrel is a legal term. They are in essence bringing a legal charge against Moses, for having brought them out into the wilderness where there is no water, but it is also a charge against the Lord, for having brought this about. The question of Moses, “Why do you test the Lord?”, could be read as being an indication of the concern of Moses about how the Lord would react to this complaining, this charging him with wrongdoing, this lack of faith.

 
Psalm 95 NRSV text
“O come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (vs. 1-2)

Bob Deffinbaugh writing in bible.org titles his offering on psalm 95 “A Warning About Worship.” Read his introduction to find out why the title - I will use one sentence of his now to begin:

“Let us now look to the message of this psalm in order to become better worshippers, as well as to avoid the unpleasant consequences against which the latter part of this psalm warns.”

The psalm begins with an invitation to worship, one that people will instantly recognize. The author insists that worship should be a “joyful noise”, that we enter his presence in the temple with thanksgiving. Many are the hours that pastors have spent in developing their worship style, working on ways to make worship more joyous and inviting. But through the years, I don’t think many have come up with better invitations than this.

 
Romans 5:1-11 NRSV text
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.” (vs. 1-2)

More of Paul’s letter to a church he had never visited. There must have been some news coming out of the church that inspired him, or urged him to write, and it is another of those losses we can never rectify that we have no record of what brought this letter on other than what is in the letter. Now in our day when everything is saved, when copies are easily made, and when letters still on our computer can be linked to the letter which they are answering or referring to,

This week we have more of Paul’s explanation to the Christians in the church in Rome of justification by faith, its results and source. Paul reminds his readers that it is through Christ that they have access to the grace that fills their lives. I have always had a problem with the “boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God”, but it seems that the meaning is closer to “bask in the glory”. That I can deal with, but I have always had a problem with boasters, even if they had a right to boast.

John 4:5-42 NRSV text

“So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of  Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’” (vs. 5-12)

I believe that most people see in this lesson a clash between two belief systems, but don’t actually realize how large the difference and complicated the problem was. We often hear it being as simple as the surprise of Jesus being willing to drink from the water jar of a Samaritan woman, because the Jews considered the Samaritans to be unclean. The rift must have gone far deeper, because Josephus in his Antiquities writes of a clash between Jews and Samaritans in the first century AD that was so bad it could only be solved by Roman intervention. Apparently there was a lot more at stake than even this lesson hints at, and this note that “(Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” may have been added later by an editor or copyist who felt it needed to be explained.

Brian Stoffregen has an interesting take on this lesson in his Exegetical Notes at CrossMarks. He suggests that though the Samaritan woman was not actually “seeking” Jesus, in his way of relating to her Jesus turned it into a “seeker” situation. Brian says:

“He tells her what she should be seeking. She "finds" what has been revealed to her by Jesus. Part of her "finding" is to share the news and invite others into the same experience.”

 I find this an attractive approach. Most preachers and church members have found at one time or another a visitor to the church who is in a way a “seeker”, but is not sure just what he or she is seeking. How many times has someone in that position been approached with friendship, eagerness, invitation, but without understanding of their stance? It seems in some congregations there is an eagerness to bring in new members which almost bypasses any need for understanding, so long as there are seats in the pews (and preferably money in the offering plate as well.)