Good Monday morning! I'm back, you're back, and we are all ready to go this week. Sidney lost, Nebraska lost, the Broncos lost, and when we throw in Jeff's team, the Buccaneers lost too. We just had a bad weekend for our football teams. Nebraska's play looked like a video of football dropsy; footballs bounced all over the ground in that game. Texas got off to a great start and put 'er in cruise mode. Nebraska gave Texas a great start and then put 'er in 'oops' mode. We just couldn't win this weekend. So what better to do than to look in God's word for some refreshment for the week?
The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?" John 4:9
What can we glean from this one verse? The racial differences between the Jews and Samaritans were apparently quite obvious to the eye. She knew immediately and apparently without doubt that Jesus was a Jew. The racial problems were deep as this verse also states that Jews refused to have anything to do with Samaritans. (Unless they were hungry it seems from our previous verses). We also can assume that Samaritans return the favor as she is surprised that Jesus is asking her to serve him a drink. I wonder if the disciples will even be able to buy food in the village? What will Jesus say to this woman?
Today, we would probably respond with, "I know my own race; what's your problem girl?" The unspoken idea is of course to try placing the blame for the problem entirely on the speaker. The verse states that the woman is surprised. Her question is one along the lines of: "Are you nuts?" The stating of the obvious is probably much like Nicodemus in her attempt to buy some time for her poor brain to catch up. Jesus seems to have been a very surprising man in his first century time. Jesus took a learned teacher of the Jewish law and surprised him; Jesus surprised the Samaritan woman; and the Pharisees already wanted to kill him for the words Jesus spoke in and near Jerusalem. Not many traveling preachers have started so quickly and startled so many as Jesus did. Who is this man who speaks such things and what will he say to this surprised woman?
What is Jesus saying to you today? Have you been surprised by anything you have read in the Word of God? We know that in another place, Jesus told the disciples to do good to those who hurt you and to pray for those who hate you. These also were surprising things to hear. Even today we do not often make up a list of people who hate us and place it beside our beds as a prayer list. But that is what Jesus said to do! The actual words of Jesus are even more surprising as I have it just a little off in my memory. "But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who have hurt you." (Luke 6:27-28) We are to do good to those who hate us, not just pray for them. And we are to pray for those who have done more than just hate us, but have moved on to hurting us. Wow! I don't think that I need to remind each of us that this will not come naturally. We are wired from Adam's fall to hate 'em back, and to repay those who hurt us in kind. Actually, I doubt that anyone has ever taken revenge in exact measure. We hear kids tell each other that is "payback" or "Now we're even!", but so often vengeance is much more than the original hurt, and the feud starts, or much less than the original hurt and the vengeance seeker is unsatisfied. We seem to have no way of getting it right without Jesus in our hearts.
Praise God for the new week! Look to His Holy Spirit for love and inspiration as we go forth in Christ!
Bucky
No comments:
Post a Comment