Strange Lands

Read John 4:3-26 (NIV)

vv. 3-10 [Jesus] left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Will you give me a drink?’ (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’ (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.’

1.     As Israel journeyed through the Wilderness from Egypt to the Promised Land, God’s presence went with them as a pillar of cloud and fire by day and night. Then, at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem, God’s presence came to dwell there permanently. In Exile, the big question for faithful Israelites was, “Where is God’s dwelling place on earth, now that the temple has been destroyed?” After much discussion, the Rabbis concluded that a ‘Minyan’ (quorum) of 10 adult males (Aged 13+) was sufficient to constitute a worshipping congregation who could trust that God was with them. In Matthew 18:20 Jesus said, “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” In 1 Corinthians 3:17 Paul told the church, “God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” But he continued in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “your bodies are temples”. So, the number needed for a ‘temple’ to host God’s presence went from 10 to 2 to You!

-        At a time of ‘exile’ in ‘a strange land’ when we are unable to meet publicly as a church congregation, how does this help us think about our own worship as a church, a collective, and as families?

-        What are you missing most?

-        How is it working out if you live alone, or with people who aren’t followers of Christ?

-        Do you think it is possible to create ‘digital thin places’ on Zoom - spaces in which to encounter God’s living presence? What is working for you? Is there anything that isn’t? Any suggestions?  

2.     In the time of Jesus, the Jews again had their Temple as the focus of their worship, the Samaritans had a sacred mountain. Jesus meets a thirsty Samaritan woman, whose life choices seem be evidence of a deep emptiness which she is seeking to fill. Jesus tells her that the living water he has is the real thing, and that an hour is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:23)

-        What do you think Jesus meant by worship in Spirit and truth?

-        Why do you think the woman was really coming to the well? What was she thirsty for?

-        Do you know the warning signs when your soul is empty?

-        Are there ‘same old wells’ you have kept going back to which you know don’t work? 

-        Are there wells you used to go to?

-        How do we make sure we are drinking ‘living water’?

-        What wells do we need to dig to satisfy our thirst?

-        How can our homes become centres of ‘everyday spirituality’?

3.     Richard Foster says, “Often the genuinely significant issues are settled in the small corners of life.’

-        Do you have any small corners in need of work right now?