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The Woman at the Well
Moment of Peace
Welcome and Theme:
Good morning and welcome to the Upper Room. This morning, we celebrate the third Sunday in Lent. The concept of Living Water plays a large role in Judeo-Christian imagery and rites. It also exists in other religions and indigenous spiritual traditions. It represents holiness, God’s grace and the presence (outpouring) of the Holy Spirit. Water that running or flowing from a natural source, such as a spring, was most desirable for a well and has always been a requirement for ritual bathing in Judaism. The location for the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is key to the meaning.
Opening Prayer:
Our opening song is the song Water is Life. Let it be our prayer.
Opening Song: Water is Life
https://youtu.be/5rkDa7-vQvQ?si=jUAtYk2dODpyzu4H
LITURGY OF THE WORD
1st Reading: A reading from the Gospel writer known as John (John 4:3-10)
He stopped at Sychar, a town in Samaria, near the tract of land Jacob had given to his son Joseph, and Jacob’s Well was there. Jesus, weary from the journey, came and sat by the well. It was around noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” The disciples had gone off to the town to buy provisions. The Samaritan woman replied, “You’re a Jew. How can you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?” -since Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans.
Jesus answered, “If only you recognized God’s gift, and who it is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him for a drink instead, and he would have given you living water.”
These are the inspired words of the gospel writer known as John and the community affirms them by saying: Amen
2nd Reading: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
These are the inspired words of Mary Oliver and the community affirms them by saying: Amen
Gospel Acclamation: Ancient Words by Michael Smith
https://youtu.be/gqtEtqmjHf4?si=CRdqCFPNZsP5GwpK
Gospel: A reading from the Lost Gospel of the Woman at the Well by Chris Glasser
Have you ever met a stranger who seemed to know you inside and out, but without judgment or romance? One who looked straight into your eyes and saw every wound and hope and fear and love? One who valued you, your questions, your opinions, your relationship with all things spiritual?
That was how I first encountered Jesus, the Jewish prophet avoiding the judgmental Pharisees of Judea en route to his home province of Galilee, who essentially was “slumming it” by crossing Samaria. Prophets are rare in this place. Most Jews do not hold Samaritans in high regard and will have nothing to do with us. They view us as foreigners, mongrels, half-breeds, not fully Jewish, and they believe we worship in the wrong way and in the wrong place.
Too, I am a woman, and holy men such as rabbis do not speak to women lest they be defiled by our perceived impurity, which would prevent them from going into the Temple of Jerusalem, for the same reasons the priest and Levite, on their way to the temple, passed by the man who had been mugged along the road, who was then helped by the Good Samaritan who had no such qualms. Yes, that parable of Jesus spread far and wide among us Samaritans. Here finally was a prophet who recognized our worth, and I too had heard this story.
Jesus also had a reputation of including women in his ministry, which scandalized both Jewish and Samaritan men. In fact, Jesus’ disciples were quite flustered when they found us talking. “What is he doing?” “What will people think?” “Does he even know this woman?”
Jesus knew without me telling him that I had had five husbands—two abandoned me for younger women, three were very old and died, and the man who now supported me refused to marry me. Tough times for women economically dependent on men, but Jesus was primarily concerned with the poor anyway. Somehow he knew my situation and I believe that’s why he had compassion on me, engaging me in a very real conversation about the very nature of things, and eventually revealing his calling from God.
With open hearts, we affirm these words by saying, Amen.
As is our tradition, we will take a moment to consider our readings and theme.
(pause)
Homily and Shared Reflections
During the time of Jesus, it was very risky for men and women to speak in public, especially if they were unrelated. The woman risked further shunning and criticism from her Samaritan community. She was already ostracized which is why she had to go to the well at noon, alone when the heat was sweltering but all of the “respectable” women and come and gone. So too, as a young Rabbi, Jesus would have lost credibility with his followers and potential converts for talking to the women. So why would they both risk their fragile reputations on this encounter? I offer one perspective and that is , it demonstrated the necessity of relationships.
Jesus was hot, tired and thirsty. He asked for what he needed from the woman. He is a person with needs that she could meet for him. He needed a woman with a bucket and also one who would be kind enough and brave enough to give him a drink. If she had turned away and ran from him, as many might have done, his thirst would not have been quenched. He knew the risks as he had faced them many times in his ministry. She on the other hand was probably so very lonely for human contact and kindness. She was an outcast with no earthly hope of the loving gaze or embrace of her community or even a single person. She risked the little acceptability she retained by talking to him. Each of these 2 people needed something from each other.
The well in the story is Jacob’s Well. It is very sacred to both Jews and Samaritans of the era because it was built over running water. This made the water healthier and cleaner. It also means it is “ritual grade” water. The water in the well represents the spirit of grace and blessings , it signifies the holy spirit is present in the midst of them. . It signifies the presence of God but also the history of the people, the forefathers and foremothers for generations. The fidelity of a people to tradition, faith and rituals. At this holy site, Jesus found rest. The woman received deep healing. In the face of the stranger who knew of her “shame”, she saw only love and compassion. She saw no condemnation, only the love that surpasses all understanding. Stale stagnant water, like stale stagnant religion or rules is unhealthy for people and unfit to offer to God. I have had many encounters in my life where I have met someone and felt an instant connection, familiarity and bond. I suspect others here today have as well. The experience of truly being seen without shaming, loved without needing to earn it and the “knowing” from a deep place is sacred and transformative. It is an experience always available to those with eyes to see, hearts to hear and hands to make it happen.
Please share your thoughts about the readings or theme.
Statement of Faith
We believe in the Holy One, a divine mystery
beyond all definition and rational understanding,
the heart of all that has ever existed,
that exists now, or that ever will exist.
We believe in Jesus, messenger of the Divine Word,
bringer of healing, heart of Divine compassion,
bright star in the firmament of the Holy One's
prophets, mystics, and saints.
We believe that We are called to follow Jesus
as a vehicle of divine love,
a source of wisdom and truth,
and an instrument of peace in the world.
We believe in the Spirit of the Holy One,
the life that is our innermost life,
the breath moving in our being,
the depth living in each of us.
We believe that the Divine kin-dom is here and now,
stretched out all around us for those
with eyes to see it, hearts to receive it,
and hands to make it happen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Prayers of the Community
Presider 1: As we prepare for this sacred meal, we are aware of our call to serve, and just as Jesus is anointed, so is each of us. We bring to this table our blessings, cares and concerns.
Intentions read
Presider 1: We bring these and all deeply held blessings, cares, and concerns to the table of friendship and peace.
Presider 2: Let us pray our Eucharistic prayer with open hearts and hands:
We are grateful for our brother Jesus teaching us the way of compassion through entering into the suffering of others. May we care for ourselves as Jesus cared for us, seeing humanity through the eyes of “Love”. Through his loving eyes we are healed and we open our hearts to the pain and suffering of others.
Because of your empowering unconditional loving Presence Beloved, we are aware of your presence in and among us. Your love radiates from our hearts, minds, and bodies. The nurturance of ourselves and one another empowers your embodied presence. “We are not the survival of the fittest but the survival of the nurtured.” (Cozolino)
With joy and gratefulness today and always, we sing:
Holy, Holy, Holy: Here in This Place by Christopher Grundy
Holy One, you speak to our hearts and say “I don’t need anything from you for me to love you - I don’t need you to evolve for me to love you - I don’t need you to grow for me to love you - I don’t need you to succeed for me to love you - I will stay with you in any circumstance. I was here at the beginning, I am here in the middle, I will be here in the end. There is nothing you can do to lose me.” “Just your being is love to me”.
We thank you for Jesus who heard the Divine voice of deep love for him as “this is my beloved son”. Jesus showed us a path to comforting ourselves as the Divine Beloved would comfort us and as we would nurture our own children, family and friends. May we hear God’s voice as Jesus did to love and forgive ourselves so that we may more fully love and forgive each other.
Presider 1: Please extend your hands in blessing.
All: We call upon your Spirit that is present in us at this Eucharistic table. We are grateful for the bread and wine that remind us of our call to be the light of Christ to the world.
All: On the night before he faced betrayal and death, Jesus shared supper with his friends. He reminded them of all that he taught them, and to fix that memory clearly with them, he bent down and washed their feet.
Presider 1 lifts plate as the community prays the following:
When he returned to his place at the table, he lifted the bread, spoke the blessing, broke the bread and offered it to them saying:
Take and eat, this is my very self.
(pause)
Presider 2 lifts the cup as community prays the following:
Then he took the cup of the covenant, spoke the grace, and offered it to them saying:
Take and drink.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
(pause)
Let us share this bread and cup to proclaim and live the gospel of justice and peace.
All: What we have heard with our ears, we will live with our lives; as we share communion, we will become communion, both Love’s nourishment and Love’s challenge.
Presider 2: Please receive the bread and the cup with the words: I am radically loved.
Communion Song/Meditation: You Say by Lauren Daigle
https://youtu.be/N8WK9HmF53w?si=LLMwyRCKbRUMJqrg
Post-Communion Prayer: Holy One, your love transforms us so we love and heal each other. We resolve to love as Jesus loved. Jesus loved the marginalized, the poor, the homeless, the mentally ill, the immigrants, and the stranger. Amen.
Presider 2: Let us pray as Jesus taught us:
Holy One, you are within, around and among us.
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come; your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us,
now and forever, Amen. Adapted by Miriam Therese Winter
BLESSING
Presider 1: Please extend your hands in blessing.
ALL:
May the infinite beauty and joy of Creation continue to astound us
May the Presence of the Divine always comfort and inspire us
May we be the face of the Holy One in all we say and do, and
May we be a blessing in our time. May we be ever willing to be the eyes of
compassion on a hurting world.
AMEN.
Closing Song: Sing The Water Song
https://youtu.be/KC2FHciQ0sU?si=i9_MVetVzKfbdDan
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