The Hour is Coming

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, "Go, call your husband, and come back." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 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. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." John 4:16-26

The weather channel predicted that we would have plentiful sunshine today. Living in Sitka, we rarely see that prediction, let alone that reality. It is sunny today, barely a cloud in the sky, and it is in the mid-fifties. While other parts of the country suffer with extreme cold, we who live in SE Alaska are thrilled to be bathed in sunlight. If someone told me that I would be this happy about sunshine, I wouldn't have believed them. But now, with the experience of living where the days are very short in the winter and the clouds obscure the sun most often, I a giddy with delight. Sometimes, when we wait a long time for something we really prize it. And sometimes, we don't know what to do since it has been something to always be waiting for.

The woman at the well talks with Jesus. And he talks with her. This is an open and intimate conversation, more like two friends than two enemies. Many other times Jesus spoke in parables because of folks lack of understanding. But he knew this woman was honest and straight forward. She couldn't have known that fetching water, a daily routine, would bring her into the living presence of the long awaited Messiah. She, a Samaritan, was given the gift to know and understand Jesus in his completeness. Her people, as well as the Jews, had waited so long for the one who would come and join all the people together. Standing face to face with her was the incarnate God. The long awaited Son was the gift for her humanity.

Today I ask God to help me rejoice in gifts small and large, those long awaited and the surprises along the way. May we open our hearts and welcome all who come and interrupt us in our daily chores, understanding we may be drawn close to the living God in each encounter.