This morning we hear the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman. There is a lot going on here, more than I can unpack in a single sermon. But one important thing to know is that the main difference between the Samaritans and the Jews was about where to worship. The Jews worshipped at the Temple in Jerusalem. But the Samaritans worshipped on Mt. Gerizim.
When the woman brings this up to him, Jesus says, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.”
Jesus cuts through this whole conflict about where to worship by pointing to the future time, when worship will not be limited by our location. How ironic that this comes up for us this particular week. As we know, this Sunday we have been asked to worship in our homes instead of our parish as a way to try and protect the most vulnerable amongst us.
Though this feels quite different from how we normally do things, it is completely in keeping with Jesus’ teaching here. Our worship is not limited by our geography, instead it is always centered on Christ, who has ascended, and who we can worship anywhere.
I know that Covid 19 is on our minds. We are washing our hands and trying to be prepared. But I think, in moments like this, we all have different reactions. We may be fearful, we may be overwhelmed, we may be sad or angry or grieving about things being upended in our lives. There is a lot of disappointment in the world now, a lot of frustration, and a lot of anxiety.
And so, I think our call in this moment is to worship. For it is in worship that we remember that we are God’s children. We remember his promise to always be with us. In worship we remember that we are all bound up with one another, all connected with each other in this human family. In worship we are reminded that this isn’t all on our shoulders. We can let our cares down for a time and ask Christ to fill our hearts with that peace that passes all understand. We may be sitting on couches or at our kitchen table or in our backyard, but where we are doesn’t change one tiny thing about what God is capable of doing in our lives.
As we pray this morning, we also hear words of hope and of comfort from Paul. Paul knew a thing or two about suffering. He was shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, and eventually killed for his faith. In our reading from Romans this morning he writes, “and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
Paul’s words remind us that we are not the first Christians to face challenges and difficulties, nor will we be the last. But I hope, that when folks look back on this time, our stories reflect something of the grace that has been given to us. I hope that we can find new and different and creative ways to be the church in the midst of all the difficulties. I believe that we can be people of peace in an anxious world, people of compassion in a fearful time, and people of hope in a community desperate for good news.
And how can we do this? Jesus says the true worshippers will worship him in spirit and in truth. I do believe that worship is at the heart of who we are. And to worship Jesus we need truth, we need to be honest with ourselves and one another about the challenges we face. And we most definitely need the Holy Spirit. We need God’s guidance, God’s grace, God’s love and encouragement and empowerment to see us through.
So let us look for ways to care for one another, to connect with the lonely, to feed the hungry, and to follow Jesus in this time of great challenge. But let us not neglect to pray and to worship, to form those old familiar words and open our hearts to God’s transforming love.
Navel Gazing 