One of the commencement traditions at Harvard University is Senior Class
Chapel. On the morning of their graduation, seniors gather in Memorial
Church to hear the minister offer words of solace and encouragement as they
leave "the Yard" to take their places in the world.
The 1998 senior class heard the unvarnished truth from the Rev. Peter Gomes,
minister at Harvard and the author of several books on the Bible, including
The Good Book and Sermons. In his gentle ringing tones, that call to mind a
cross between a Shakespearean actor and the TV sitcom character Frasier, the
inimitable Doctor Gomes took no prisoners as he began:
"You are going to be sent out of here for good, and most of you aren't ready
to go. The president is about to bid you into the fellowship of educated men
and women and," - and here he paused and spoke each word slowly for emphasis
- "you know just - how - dumb - you - really - are."
The senior class cheered in agreement.
"And worse than that," Doctor Gomes continued, "the world - and your parents
in particular - are going to expect that you will be among the brightest and
best. But you know that you can no longer fool all the people even some of
the time. By noontime today, you will be out of here. By tomorrow you will
be history. By Saturday, you will be toast. That's a fact - no exceptions,
no extensions."
"Nevertheless, there is reason to hope," Doctor Gomes promised. "The future
is God's gift to you. God will not let you stumble or fall. God has not
brought you this far to this place to abandon you or leave you here alone
and afraid. The God of Israel never stumbles, never sleeps, never goes on
sabbatical. Thus, my beloved and bewildered young friends, do not be
afraid."
What Doctor Gomes did for the senior class at Harvard, Jesus does for the
woman at the well. Before we take a look at the story let me let you in on a
fascinating fact. You can go to Israel today and take a journey to Samaria
to the town of Sychar. A place the passage of time seems to have forgotten.
Not many people live there, about 300, and they still consider themselves
Samaritans.
The primary structure in town is a kind of cellar, which houses a well, the
only source of water for miles. Archeologists estimate its date upwards of
4,000 years. Weary travelers have quenched their thirst there since the time
of Jacob. But even more fascinating than its archeological significance is
the fact that this place historically validates for us the precise location
where the Samaritan woman had an encounter with the Christ. It's hard to
believe but the authenticity of the well is undisputed. Samaritans, Muslims,
Christians, Jews all agree that this is the place where the story took
place.
It was noonday at Sychar. The disciples went on into the village, we are
told, to buy food. Someone has suggested that they were seeking out the
stores that gave the clergy discount. Jesus stopped at the well on the
outskirts for a brief respite from the sun's blistering rays. When a woman
of the village walked up Jesus addressed her: "Woman, give me a drink."
She was taken back that Jesus spoke to her for two reasons. First, men did
not publicly speak to women. Two, she was a Samaritan and Jews had no
dealings with Samaritans. They considered them unclean-- ritualistically
speaking and probably in terms of personal hygiene as well. They were dogs.
Thus, Jesus had crossed both a gender and a racial line by speaking to this
person. She replied: "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of water from
me, a woman of Samaria?" Jesus ignores her question, ignores the racial
issue, and gets to the heart of the matter. He said: "If you had known who
was asking you for water you would have asked him and he would have given
you living water." Jesus is, of course, speaking theologically, which is the
only significant way to speak, but the woman cannot get beyond the literal.
"Oh, go on," she snips. "This is a deep well and you haven't even got a
bucket.
The woman appears to be poking fun at Jesus: "You have nothing to draw with
and this well is deep. Just how did you suppose to drawn this living water
of yours? Our father Jacob drank from this well. Do you think that you are
better than he is?" You can't miss the irony in her sarcasm. Here she is
speaking to the Master of Life about depth, when her own life was so
miserably shallow.
In a sudden change of direction, Jesus startles the woman and asks her to go
get her husband. With this one question he has exposed her dark side. We all
have a dark side. You see, by any standard of ethics this woman was living
an immoral life. Of course, we already have a hint of that because she has
come to the well by herself at noon.
Now the woman is in quite a predicament. Jesus has talked here into a
corner. She can walk away with her earthly water or she can stay and receive
lasting water. What steps must be taken for her to find the latter:
1. First, she is honest and admits the truth about her life.
2. Second, she is open and accepts the truth about Jesus' life.
3. She is enthusiastic and tells others about the truth she has found.
The
rest of this sermon following the outline can be obtained by joining
eSermons.com. When you sign up you will get immediate access. Sermon Prep
resources are offered by www.sermons.com