March 8th, 2020 John 4:5-26 Boundaries are a problem. - One wife may say of her husband, he’s too distant, too many boundaries between us. Another may say, he’s too controlling, not enough boundaries. - We were made as relational beings to be close to others, yet getting too close leaves us vulnerable, able to be hurt. - So often we learn to try to protect ourselves with boundaries keeping others away, yet then we struggle to connect and feel close. What should we do? This problem exists not only between us & people, but also between us & God. - Into the problem steps Jesus. - In the story of an encounter with a woman by a well, Jesus overcomes boundaries. - In this story there is a lot for us to learn and apply to ourselves. Jesus was traveling in a dry climate, and was thirsty. At a well he asked a woman for a drink. - In the conversation, Jesus overcame multiple boundaries, barriers. o Gender, race/ethnicity, religion, moral. All these boundaries do cause problems between people. - Men and women are different. No stereotype that fits all men or women, science as well as common sense tells us, men and women are different. o Those differences can cause, have caused, do cause problems between men and women; even violence of men against women, or women against men. o Jesus lived especially at a time in a culture where men simply had more opportunities than women; still is the case in many places today as well. - Ethnic, racial, national barrier. Jews and Samaritans were different people groups. - She said, why do you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink. Then John explains, Jews don’t associate with Samaritans. - Boundary, still the case today that people groups arrange themselves with other people groups that think like them, value the same things they value, see the world and express in language the same way. o This is a potential place of division that has lead to and still leads to discrimination, conflicts, even blood and violence between people groups. o Because we are different, and those differences are not easily dealt with, we struggle to get along with people who see the world differently than we do. - Same is true of religious differences. Say more about it later, but she brings up, you worship in one place, we worship in another. We believe different things. o This as well has been, still is a barrier that leads to conflict, argument, anger, and even war. o Another barrier that we struggle to deal with. How do you handle a person who has very different religious views? We struggle. - Also the difference in moral standard. Jesus is a morally pure rabbi, religious teacher. She is living a sinful lifestyle. o That has been, often is still a barrier today. If one person is viewed as living a morally pure life, and another is viewed as living a immoral life, it can get in the way of any meaningful connection happening. o Often the moral one can look down on the immoral one; and the immoral one reacts with either self contempt, or with accusation of hypocrisy. o Yet another barrier that we struggle to deal with. Jesus was presented with all the boundaries, all these barriers. How does he handle it all? He handles it with care. He cared about her, he cared for her. - Once heard a marriage counselor who deals w relationship betrayal talk about broken trust. He asked, when you’ve been betrayed in a relationship; you can’t trust the other person, what do you do? - You don’t just blindly trust them anyways; instead you care about them. You desire what is best for them, and act accordingly. - That’s what Jesus does for this woman.
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