Exodus 17: 1 – 7
Psalm 95
Romans 5: 1 – 11
John 4: 5 – 42
A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at St. Mary’s Church, Robinson, Illinois on Sunday, March 27, 2011 by Mr. R. J. Rains, licensed Lay Worship Leader.
“WHO’S IN AND WHO’S OUT?”
(Homily text: John 4: 5 – 42)
Today’s gospel text, the very familiar account of Jesus’ meeting with the woman at the well in Samaria, presents us with a question: “Who’s ‘in’ and who’s ‘out’?”
This very question often figures prominently in the events in Jesus’ life.
The question of who’s “in” and who’s “out” has to do with who is “clean”, or “unclean”. This question has to do with who is accepted by God, and who isn’t.
Now, hold that in your mind for a moment, and let’s look at the background and the setting of this encounter.
First of all, we need to remember where Samaria is, and who the Samaritans were.
Samaria is an area which is north of Jerusalem, and south of Galilee, and which is located on the west bank of the Jordan River. Today, it is the area, generally speaking, that is known as the West Bank. To travel from Jerusalem, where Jesus was, to Galilee, to the north, the direct route would have taken a person right through Samaria.
In order to understand who the Samaritans were, we need to step back into history some eight centuries. In 722 BC, the Assyrian army swept into the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the ten tribes that formed the Northern Kingdom were swept away into captivity, and into oblivion. However, not everyone there was taken away. Some remained. The Assyrians resettled other peoples into the region of Samaria (this was a common practice in those days). Eventually, these people married and intermingled. Thus, from a Jewish perspective the Samaritans were half-breeds, or worse. Furthermore, the Samaritans also possessed a version of the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), but the Samaritan version was quite different in some respects from the Jewish version. Finally, the Samaritans worshipped on another mountain, Mt. Gerizim, and not on the holy mountain in Jerusalem, Mt. Zion. And to add to the tensions between the two groups, the Samaritans remembered that a Jewish army destroyed their sanctuary on the top of Mt. Gerizim in 128 BC. (Notice that the matter of where a person ought to worship figures prominently in the conversation between the Samaritan woman and Jesus.)
From a Jewish perspective, there were plenty of reasons to look down on Samaritans:
1. they were racially impure,
2. they had a corrupted version of Moses’ writings, and
3. they worshipped in the wrong place.
So, as John reminds us, Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans.
In fact, in order to travel from Jerusalem to Galilee, a devout Jew would try to avoid Samaria entirely, going either down to the Jordan valley to take an eastern route, or going out toward the Mediterranean Sea, to the west.
But John tells us that Jesus “had to go” through Samaria. The Greek here suggests that Jesus had a specific purpose in mind, in order to take the direct route through Samaria. Put another way, Jesus is deliberately going into “enemy” territory, into an area which is populated by “unclean” people who are “outside” of God’s favor.
With this background in mind, let’s return now to the matter of who’s “in” and who’s “out”, who’s “clean” and who’s “unclean”.
Jesus had plenty of reasons to avoid the woman who had come to the well to draw water at noonday that day.
For all the reasons that Jews had nothing to do with Samaritans, He could have avoided her.
In fact, the woman names one of them, saying to Jesus, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan?”
The conversation could have ended right there. But it didn’t.
Not only in Jesus bridging the gap between Jew and Samaritan, He’s also bridging the gap between men and women. For, you see, in biblical times, men didn’t speak to women in public, nor would a Jewish man initiate a conversation with an unknown woman. (Such manners seem odd to us today, don’t they?). But here Jesus is, at a public place (a well) talking with a woman. Jesus’ disciples notice this breach of common manners as they return, for John tells us that they were astonished that He was speaking with her.
Jesus is also bridging the gap between the “clean” and the “unclean”, between those who are “in” and those who are “out” in another way. Here, I must engage in a bit of speculation: John tells us that Jesus asks the woman to go and bring her husband back with her. To this request, the woman says, “I have no husband.” In response, Jesus says, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband, for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly’.”
Though John doesn’t tell us why the woman has had five husbands, it’s possible that because she had had so many, others in the city of Sychar may have shunned her. It may be that her marital past had made her an outcast. Maybe that’s why it was necessary for her to come and get water at midday, which was an unusual time to come to the city’s well.
Again, I note that this is speculation on my part. Biblical scholars down through the ages have speculated about the woman’s status within her community. At the very least, we can surmise that the woman’s life history was unusual, and that alone may have made her the object of suspicion within the community.
But Jesus bridges the gaps, breaking down the dividing lines which formed those gaps. They all disappear.
The Lord bridges the gaps of race, culture, religion, gender and social acceptability.
No longer will it matter:
• What our race is
• What our cultural background is
• What our religious background is
• What our gender is
• What our social status is
In Jesus Christ, all of these barriers are removed.
And what will remain?
What remains is a new people, who are one in Christ, and who worship the Father “in spirit and in truth”, for such a people are the ones that the “Father seeks to worship Him”.
Wherever we are when we begin our journey with God, God will take us. But God will never leave us where He finds us. Change and growth are inevitable when we walk with God.
God will take what is valuable in us and work with what is valuable in us. Notice how the Lord works with the Samaritan woman’s realization that the Messiah, the Christ, was to come. Jesus, the Christ, is able to expand on her understanding and proceed from there. The Lord will do the same with us.
But what will fade away are all the non-essential parts of our beings, things like the racial, cultural and other aspects of who we are. They will be less and less important as we become children of God, followers of Jesus Christ, and worshippers of the Father in spirit and in truth.
And so, the events that took place at the well should prompt us to ask ourselves, “Am I ‘in’ or am I ‘out’?” We could also ask ourselves, “In what ways has my old identity faded away, in order that my new identity in Christ may take its place?”
AMEN.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
2 Lent, Year A
Psalm 121
Romans 4: 1 – 5, 13 – 17
John 3: 1 – 17
A homily by: Fr. Gene Tucker
Given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, March 20, 2011
"BOUNDARIES”
(Homily text: John 3: 1 – 17)
Let’s book at the very familiar account of Nicodemus’ visit to Jesus from the point of view of boundaries….
Boundaries are important parts of our lives.
For example, we regulate traffic by the use of boundaries such as lane markers, stop signs and lights, and so forth. Boundaries like that allow us to live with one another (and not run into each other!).
Other boundaries allow us to own and keep property with a measure of security. For example, laws about trespassing are written to allow the owner to enjoy the use of their property without interference.
Other boundaries create identity. The boundaries of the United States define (for the most part) who are Americans. Americans (generally) are people who live within the boundaries of the United States.
For God’s people in ancient times, the boundaries that were created by the laws of Moses and the covenants between God and His people allowed God’s people to live with Him and with each other. These boundaries also created an identity for God’s people. “We are children of Abraham,” they would say, claiming their identity because of their heritage as descendents of Abraham.
By the time of Jesus, however, the focus on boundaries had become so sharp that many of God’s people, the Jews, focused on the very boundary itself, and not on the reason for the boundary. It would be as if we kept our eyes firmly fixed on the double lines on the pavement as we drove down the road, rather than focusing on the fact that the double lines allow us to relate to other drivers in safety.
The Jews of Jesus’ day held up the boundaries as a way of preserving their identity. The boundaries consisted of things like: 1. How far could a person walk on the Sabbath day, 2. Did a person wash their hands before eating, and 3. Did a person regularly observe the major festivals in the calendar?
A rigid literal-ness accompanied the focus on boundaries. For people in Jesus’ day, everything was concrete, observable, just as clear as a double line in the middle of a road.
We can see this literal interpretation in Nicodemus’ response to Jesus’ comment that he needed to be “born anew (or again).” “Can a person enter a second time into their mother’s womb and be born?” he asked.
But, of course, Jesus is referring to another sort of birth, an inward one.
He goes on to say, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To add more clarity to the intent of what He is saying, Jesus adds. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
So Jesus’ emphasis isn’t on the observable, literal aspect of our existence. I think that’s what Jesus is getting at by talking about the flesh. He is picking up on Nicodemus’ remark about entering his mother’s womb again.
No, Jesus is focusing in on the spiritual aspect of our existence.
Let’s reflect on this just a moment.
What Jesus seems to be saying is that God seeks to break down the walls of the boundaries that we create. Put another way, Jesus seems to be telling Nicodemus that in order to be a citizen of the kingdom of God, a person must allow their boundaries to cease to exist, in order to come into a close relationship with God. That relationship forms the only boundary necessary for identity. Coming into God’s boundaries allows us to live with Him.
And how does a person become a citizen of the kingdom of God? Through baptism, of course, and through belief in God’s Son. Jesus seems to have baptism clearly in view as He says that this new birth will come through water and the Spirit. (By the way, this is as close as we will ever come in John’s gospel account to a reference about baptism. We do know that Jesus’ disciples were baptizing, so we know that the Lord encouraged baptism from this report.)
So, in baptism, the boundaries which exist between us and God come tumbling down, and we are accepted as “naturalized citizens” (if I may use this way of describing our new relationship with God) of the kingdom of God. We do this by accepting the offer to become citizens of the kingdom. Jesus finishes His discourse with Nicodemus by saying one of the most familiar verses in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3: 16)
God takes up residence within us. The boundaries are gone.
And once that happens, we are able to live in close relationship with God, as we learn more and more of what it means to live without boundaries which can separate us from God, but in a life which allows us to become more and more transformed into the image of God by our actions, our words, and our beliefs.
This transformation amounts to a totally new way of relating to God. Our identity becomes more and more like His. Our identity is transformed from within, and works its way outward.
Jesus brings with Him a new way of relating to God. We now relate personally, through belief and baptism, through Him. No longer will we relate to God through laws which regulate our conduct, through laws which create boundaries that create identity, but which can also shut us off from the inner transformation those laws were originally designed to promote.
Now, we will relate through the New Covenant which Jesus ushers in, becoming citizens of the kingdom of God, being reborn into the likeness of God.
AMEN.
Romans 4: 1 – 5, 13 – 17
John 3: 1 – 17
A homily by: Fr. Gene Tucker
Given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, March 20, 2011
"BOUNDARIES”
(Homily text: John 3: 1 – 17)
Let’s book at the very familiar account of Nicodemus’ visit to Jesus from the point of view of boundaries….
Boundaries are important parts of our lives.
For example, we regulate traffic by the use of boundaries such as lane markers, stop signs and lights, and so forth. Boundaries like that allow us to live with one another (and not run into each other!).
Other boundaries allow us to own and keep property with a measure of security. For example, laws about trespassing are written to allow the owner to enjoy the use of their property without interference.
Other boundaries create identity. The boundaries of the United States define (for the most part) who are Americans. Americans (generally) are people who live within the boundaries of the United States.
For God’s people in ancient times, the boundaries that were created by the laws of Moses and the covenants between God and His people allowed God’s people to live with Him and with each other. These boundaries also created an identity for God’s people. “We are children of Abraham,” they would say, claiming their identity because of their heritage as descendents of Abraham.
By the time of Jesus, however, the focus on boundaries had become so sharp that many of God’s people, the Jews, focused on the very boundary itself, and not on the reason for the boundary. It would be as if we kept our eyes firmly fixed on the double lines on the pavement as we drove down the road, rather than focusing on the fact that the double lines allow us to relate to other drivers in safety.
The Jews of Jesus’ day held up the boundaries as a way of preserving their identity. The boundaries consisted of things like: 1. How far could a person walk on the Sabbath day, 2. Did a person wash their hands before eating, and 3. Did a person regularly observe the major festivals in the calendar?
A rigid literal-ness accompanied the focus on boundaries. For people in Jesus’ day, everything was concrete, observable, just as clear as a double line in the middle of a road.
We can see this literal interpretation in Nicodemus’ response to Jesus’ comment that he needed to be “born anew (or again).” “Can a person enter a second time into their mother’s womb and be born?” he asked.
But, of course, Jesus is referring to another sort of birth, an inward one.
He goes on to say, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” To add more clarity to the intent of what He is saying, Jesus adds. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
So Jesus’ emphasis isn’t on the observable, literal aspect of our existence. I think that’s what Jesus is getting at by talking about the flesh. He is picking up on Nicodemus’ remark about entering his mother’s womb again.
No, Jesus is focusing in on the spiritual aspect of our existence.
Let’s reflect on this just a moment.
What Jesus seems to be saying is that God seeks to break down the walls of the boundaries that we create. Put another way, Jesus seems to be telling Nicodemus that in order to be a citizen of the kingdom of God, a person must allow their boundaries to cease to exist, in order to come into a close relationship with God. That relationship forms the only boundary necessary for identity. Coming into God’s boundaries allows us to live with Him.
And how does a person become a citizen of the kingdom of God? Through baptism, of course, and through belief in God’s Son. Jesus seems to have baptism clearly in view as He says that this new birth will come through water and the Spirit. (By the way, this is as close as we will ever come in John’s gospel account to a reference about baptism. We do know that Jesus’ disciples were baptizing, so we know that the Lord encouraged baptism from this report.)
So, in baptism, the boundaries which exist between us and God come tumbling down, and we are accepted as “naturalized citizens” (if I may use this way of describing our new relationship with God) of the kingdom of God. We do this by accepting the offer to become citizens of the kingdom. Jesus finishes His discourse with Nicodemus by saying one of the most familiar verses in the New Testament: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3: 16)
God takes up residence within us. The boundaries are gone.
And once that happens, we are able to live in close relationship with God, as we learn more and more of what it means to live without boundaries which can separate us from God, but in a life which allows us to become more and more transformed into the image of God by our actions, our words, and our beliefs.
This transformation amounts to a totally new way of relating to God. Our identity becomes more and more like His. Our identity is transformed from within, and works its way outward.
Jesus brings with Him a new way of relating to God. We now relate personally, through belief and baptism, through Him. No longer will we relate to God through laws which regulate our conduct, through laws which create boundaries that create identity, but which can also shut us off from the inner transformation those laws were originally designed to promote.
Now, we will relate through the New Covenant which Jesus ushers in, becoming citizens of the kingdom of God, being reborn into the likeness of God.
AMEN.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
1 Lent, Year A
Genesis 2: 15 – 17; 3: 1 – 7
Psalm 32
Romans 5: 12 – 19
Matthew 4: 1 – 11
A homily by: Fr. Gene Tucker, given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, March 13, 2011
“NEWS REPORT”
(Homily texts: Genesis 2: 15 – 17; 3: 1 – 7 & Matthew 4: 1 – 11)
(This homily is written as if it was a televised news report.)
(Television news anchor) “And now, we go to our correspondent, who reports to us on location in Mt. Vernon, Illinois….”
(News Reporter – AKA your preacher) Good morning from Mt. Vernon, Illinois. I am here with a group of worshippers at Trinity Episcopal Church. They are gathered on what Christians the world over call “The First Sunday in Lent”. Traditionally – in times past - the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday was a time of sorrow, darkness and mourning. However, those you see behind me have received reports from two correspondents – Moses and Matthew - which have caused alarm, but also rejoicing. So it might be fair to say that – in the 21st century at least – perhaps Lent’s traditional gloominess is giving way to another sense about this season, which is so holy to Christians around the globe.
Before we hear from our correspondents this morning, we ought to join with the members of Trinity to consider the theme that is before them today.
Their opening prayer is something called the “Great Litany”. For Anglicans such as those gathered here at Trinity, this ancient prayer, which first appeared in 1543, and which is the oldest part of Anglican Prayer Books around the world written in English, asks God to deliver Christians from “the crafts and assaults of the devil.”
Indeed, this is the theme of the day. The “Collect of the Day”, sort of a theme-setter for the theme of the day, captures the sense of the day’s focus very well. The two reports convey and failure, and then a victory, in the struggle against the “crafts and assaults of the devil.” The first report heard this morning came from the ancient prophet Moses, who recounted the failures of Adam and Eve as they fell victim to the “crafts and assaults of the devil.”
Moses, writing in his book called Genesis, recounted how the evil one came in the form of a serpent to tempt the two. Moses reported that the serpent was “more subtle” than any other creature. He went on to say that the serpent tried to sow doubt about God’s instructions when Eve was approached, saying, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
Moses seems to want Trinity’s listeners to know that it was through an appeal to the senses, our most basic human needs and wants, that the serpent used as his approach. Moses reports that when Eve considered the serpent’s suggestion that she eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, she saw that its fruit was “good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desired to make one wise,” she ate of the fruit, and then gave some to her husband, Adam.
Worshippers here at Trinity also noticed in Moses’ report that the serpent seems to have used an old scheme called “Divide and conquer”. It looks as though the serpent succeeded in separating Eve from Adam. Moses’ account seems to suggest that Adam was standing there, right beside his wife, but said nothing!
I could see on the faces of those gathered here this morning the dismay that Moses’ report caused. Perhaps it’s because – as they reflected back on human history - that history is filled with stories like the one that Moses’ report reported….human failure in the face of temptation.
But, I am happy to report, that Moses’ report was not the only one received this morning.
Our correspondent Matthew also filed a report with Trinity congregation.
I am happy to say that Matthew’s report is filled with hope.
Matthew reports that Jesus went into the Wilderness (some suggest that it was in a desolate area north and west of the city of Jericho), and there, He was tempted in a very similar way to the approach used on Adam and Eve.
Matthew says that the devil approached Jesus, and appealed to his need for food. Now, mind you, Matthew had already told us that Jesus had not eaten for a very long time. It seems like the devil knew just the right appeal to make.
Oddly enough, the devil’s appeal is very much like the appeal made to Eve….an appeal to food.
Trinity’s worshippers are noticing a pattern here. The pattern reminds them of the old Greek legend of the Trojan Horse!
Sure! Make something appealing, and present it to the people. That’s exactly what the story of the Trojan Horse is all about: Present an attractive gift to people, but – only when it’s too late – show them that the “gift” was nothing of the kind…it was meant to trick them and to be used against them.
Well, there’s encouragement in Matthew’s report, for Matthew tells us that Jesus doesn’t fall for any of the devil’s schemes….Not an appeal to food, nor an appeal to personal safety, nor an appeal to power and control, trick Jesus into falling for the trap that the devil had set that day in the Wilderness.
Trinity’s people’s faces sure lightened up when they heard Matthew’s report.
You could just see it in their faces. It was as if they seemed to be saying to each other, “If Jesus can overcome the tricks of the devil, then so can we, with His help.”
May be this Lenten season will be one which is filled with victory for Trinity’s people, after all. They sure seemed to be excited about claiming the same victory that Jesus did.
“Reporting live from the scene here in Mt. Vernon, now, back to you in the studio.”
Psalm 32
Romans 5: 12 – 19
Matthew 4: 1 – 11
A homily by: Fr. Gene Tucker, given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, March 13, 2011
“NEWS REPORT”
(Homily texts: Genesis 2: 15 – 17; 3: 1 – 7 & Matthew 4: 1 – 11)
(This homily is written as if it was a televised news report.)
(Television news anchor) “And now, we go to our correspondent, who reports to us on location in Mt. Vernon, Illinois….”
(News Reporter – AKA your preacher) Good morning from Mt. Vernon, Illinois. I am here with a group of worshippers at Trinity Episcopal Church. They are gathered on what Christians the world over call “The First Sunday in Lent”. Traditionally – in times past - the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday was a time of sorrow, darkness and mourning. However, those you see behind me have received reports from two correspondents – Moses and Matthew - which have caused alarm, but also rejoicing. So it might be fair to say that – in the 21st century at least – perhaps Lent’s traditional gloominess is giving way to another sense about this season, which is so holy to Christians around the globe.
Before we hear from our correspondents this morning, we ought to join with the members of Trinity to consider the theme that is before them today.
Their opening prayer is something called the “Great Litany”. For Anglicans such as those gathered here at Trinity, this ancient prayer, which first appeared in 1543, and which is the oldest part of Anglican Prayer Books around the world written in English, asks God to deliver Christians from “the crafts and assaults of the devil.”
Indeed, this is the theme of the day. The “Collect of the Day”, sort of a theme-setter for the theme of the day, captures the sense of the day’s focus very well. The two reports convey and failure, and then a victory, in the struggle against the “crafts and assaults of the devil.” The first report heard this morning came from the ancient prophet Moses, who recounted the failures of Adam and Eve as they fell victim to the “crafts and assaults of the devil.”
Moses, writing in his book called Genesis, recounted how the evil one came in the form of a serpent to tempt the two. Moses reported that the serpent was “more subtle” than any other creature. He went on to say that the serpent tried to sow doubt about God’s instructions when Eve was approached, saying, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
Moses seems to want Trinity’s listeners to know that it was through an appeal to the senses, our most basic human needs and wants, that the serpent used as his approach. Moses reports that when Eve considered the serpent’s suggestion that she eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, she saw that its fruit was “good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desired to make one wise,” she ate of the fruit, and then gave some to her husband, Adam.
Worshippers here at Trinity also noticed in Moses’ report that the serpent seems to have used an old scheme called “Divide and conquer”. It looks as though the serpent succeeded in separating Eve from Adam. Moses’ account seems to suggest that Adam was standing there, right beside his wife, but said nothing!
I could see on the faces of those gathered here this morning the dismay that Moses’ report caused. Perhaps it’s because – as they reflected back on human history - that history is filled with stories like the one that Moses’ report reported….human failure in the face of temptation.
But, I am happy to report, that Moses’ report was not the only one received this morning.
Our correspondent Matthew also filed a report with Trinity congregation.
I am happy to say that Matthew’s report is filled with hope.
Matthew reports that Jesus went into the Wilderness (some suggest that it was in a desolate area north and west of the city of Jericho), and there, He was tempted in a very similar way to the approach used on Adam and Eve.
Matthew says that the devil approached Jesus, and appealed to his need for food. Now, mind you, Matthew had already told us that Jesus had not eaten for a very long time. It seems like the devil knew just the right appeal to make.
Oddly enough, the devil’s appeal is very much like the appeal made to Eve….an appeal to food.
Trinity’s worshippers are noticing a pattern here. The pattern reminds them of the old Greek legend of the Trojan Horse!
Sure! Make something appealing, and present it to the people. That’s exactly what the story of the Trojan Horse is all about: Present an attractive gift to people, but – only when it’s too late – show them that the “gift” was nothing of the kind…it was meant to trick them and to be used against them.
Well, there’s encouragement in Matthew’s report, for Matthew tells us that Jesus doesn’t fall for any of the devil’s schemes….Not an appeal to food, nor an appeal to personal safety, nor an appeal to power and control, trick Jesus into falling for the trap that the devil had set that day in the Wilderness.
Trinity’s people’s faces sure lightened up when they heard Matthew’s report.
You could just see it in their faces. It was as if they seemed to be saying to each other, “If Jesus can overcome the tricks of the devil, then so can we, with His help.”
May be this Lenten season will be one which is filled with victory for Trinity’s people, after all. They sure seemed to be excited about claiming the same victory that Jesus did.
“Reporting live from the scene here in Mt. Vernon, now, back to you in the studio.”
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