Rev. Jonathan Warren - tired and thirsty with Ruth chipman and Skyler singing, Thy Word

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 1:46

The first fast built reading is from John four verses seven through fifteen. Let us listen to the word of God. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, Give me a drink. His disciples had gone to the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria? Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. The woman said to him, Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it? Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. But those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give them will become in them a spring of water, gushing up to eternal life. The woman said to him, Sir, give me this water so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_05 3:54

Continue our reading in John. Jesus said to her, Go call your husband and come back. The woman answered him, I have no husband. And Jesus said to her, You are right in saying, I have no husband, for you have five husbands, you've had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. But you said, It's true. The woman said to him, Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worship on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem. And 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 now is 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. When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us. And Jesus said to her, I am he, the one who is speaking to you. Just then the disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, What do you want? Or why are you speaking with her? Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. And she said to the people, Come and see a man who told me everything I've ever done. He cannot be the Messiah, can he? This is the word of the Lord. Thanks, peace to God. One of my Kenyan friends took me to this one that had some great street food. At first I was a bit hesitant because they're just shacks on the side of the road. But it was good. I'd get stew, sekuma wiki, collared greens, and hot fresh chapatis. It was good. And of course, just to be safe, I'd always order soda. After going there for a few months, I decided to order hot tea with lunch. But it was a huge mistake. I'd gone ten long months without drinking the tap water, but then the day before my birthday, I drank tea that hadn't been boiled long enough. And I was so sick. According to the World Health Organization, over two billion people live in water-stressed countries. 1.7 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with feces. Contaminated drinking water can transmit diseases such as diarrhea and cholera, dysentery, typhoid, polio. 73% of the global population. Six billion people used a safely managed drinking water service. That leaves 27%. Now it might not be to this devastating extent, but boil orders happen regularly here in South Jacksonville. Jacksonville. And the kids t they know why this matters. And so do we. After a long journey, it says Jesus is tired. He's hot and thirsty, so he goes to Jacob's well and Sikar to get a drink, and it says in John 4, 6, Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. I don't know about you, but but knowing that Jesus is tired is something we all need to hear right now. You know why? Because if you're anything like me, you're tired. So far, 2026 has been a banner year. ICE crackdown triggers nationwide protests, two shot and killed by ICE. Over 3 million Epstein files were released by the Justice Department. U.S. led strikes in Latin America after abduction of the Venezuela president, drug lord El Mencho killed in Mexico, sparking widespread violence. Luckily there were a few lighter topics. 2026 Winter Olympics, 68th Grammy Awards, Seattle Seahawks winning the Super Bowl. Then last Sunday Saturday. US and Israel killed Iran's Supreme Leader. Starting a war. Yeah. I'm tired. I bet you're tired too. And that's just the news. I didn't include just regular everyday kinds of things that wear us down. Imagine, like Jesus, we're here at the well. And we're tired. And then look who shows up at the well. A Samaritan woman. We know she's completely opposite in every way. If you remember last week's lesson, Jesus had just been with Nicodemus, who was part of the Sanhedrin. But they met in the shadows at night. Yeah, today we meet someone on the far other side of the spectrum. Here, a Jewish male leader in Jerusalem at night. And over here, a Samaritan woman, outcast from her religious community, in Sikar, in the middle of the day at Jacob's well. It's like they're the opposite in every way. But it's especially significant after what Jesus says in John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life. Jesus is not just for a few significant people in Jerusalem. But Jesus casts his net. Why? Jesus isn't here for those who look and sound and act a certain way. Jesus is here for everyone. Jesus comes into the world to bring people like Nicodemus into the light. He goes all the way to a tired, lonely Samaritan woman who is thirsty. These are not just words. It's what Jesus does and is doing. Everyone. So that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life. Everyone in our world fits into Jesus' wide capacity of grace and love. According to Jesus, we aren't divided by borders or skin color, religious, religion or accents, right or wrong, male or female. Jesus comes to bring light to those in the darkness, and Jesus brings living water to all who are thirsty. On June 18th, 1964, a wait-in was held at the Whites-only swimming pool, the Monson uh motor lodge in St. Augustine, Florida. St. Augustine. The hotel manager actually dumps a jug of acid into the pool to frighten the protesters and get them out. It made national news. And when President Johnson heard this news, he was outraged, and he said, our whole foreign policy and everything else could go to heck over this. Yesterday in the swimming pool in St. Augustine, they started pouring acid in the pool. And the next day, the Civil Rights Act was passed in the Senate after an 83-day filibuster, and the House approved it on July 2nd, 1964. Now, despite the Civil Rights Act passing, for years there was fierce resistance. You remember this, some of you. Yet there were small signs of courage and hope. In the 60s, he took his youth group on a mission trip down south, and their group intentionally stayed at black churches, and their youth groups both worked and played together. And one afternoon they all went to the neighborhood pool to go swimming, but when his youth group went into the pool, all the African American youth would get out at once. And then the white students would get out until they kept going back and forth. And someone finally asked, why they kept getting out of the pool. And the kid said, We can't swim with whites. And that's when Reverend Stewart spoke up. You can swim with these kids. A year after Dr. King's assassination, Mr. Rogers was out on his porch. It was a hot day, and he had his feet in one of those little kitty pools. And then his friend, Officer Clemens, came by to say hello. And that's when Mr. Rogers did a nice neighborly thing. He invited his African-American friend to take a rest and to put his feet in the pool with him. Officer Clemens sat down on the chair next to Mr. Rogers and he took off his boots. He took off his socks and then he put his feet in the same pool as Mr. Rogers. They rested together. They splashed their feet a little bit and they recharged. And then after a little bit, Officer Clemens had to go back to work. Mr. Rogers gives him his towel to dry off his feet. Small. This was not small. This was a big deal. Jesus doesn't just say the words, he models it. Reverend Stewart and Mr. Rogers follows Jesus' example, sharing Jesus' love with everyone, no matter who they are. In our bulletin, on the third page, I included some additional scriptures about thirst. Psalm 23. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Psalm 42, as a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you. O God, my soul thirsts for you, for the living water. Psalm 63. In the wilderness, David says, O God, you are my God, I seek you. My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Isaiah 44. For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon your descendants and my blessing on your offspring. It's only March, and if you're anything like me, the world is leaving you hot and dry, tired and thirsty. Sounds like Isaiah 55. Oh, everyone who thirsts comes to the waters, and you that have no money come buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy? If you're thirsty and left unsatisfied, you're not alone. We keep seeking places that might offer us satisfaction. Shopping, escape, doom scrolling, work, family, money, sports, yet nothing. Nothing, nothing satisfies. If you're tired and worried, you're a lot like the Samaritan woman at the well. But God meets us where we are and loves us deep down to our core. Even if we're a complete mess like this Samaritan woman who's been lonely and struggling and searching, she doesn't have it all together and is desperately thirsty, or or Nicodemus, the religious leader who doesn't have it together. Jesus comes to him. They come to him where they are. God's love goes all the way from here to there. To everyone. Accepts us as we are, not as what we could or should be. And God provides everyone who's tired, thirsty, and barely making it living water that's filled with love and acceptance, peace and hope, grace and joy. That Isaiah passage continues. Listen carefully to me. Eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear and come to me. Listen so that you may live. What happens next in John? I always skipped over a little detail in verse 28. One commentary pointed it out. The pastor said, Near the end of the story, the woman leaves her water jar behind. It's a small little detail, but it carries weight. She came for ordinary water, she leaves having encountered something deeper. She leaves her water jar. Right there at the well. Because Jesus offers the very living water and rich food Isaiah's talking about. So much so that the Samaritan woman leaves that jar, even though she came thirsty and tired. By the end of this encounter, this visit, she leaves this jug behind. It's lovely. Because living water is overflowing in and through her so much, like Psalm 23 and 42, and Isaiah 44 and 55. She's finally satisfied so much so that she ends up letting it all go. So she can tell others to come and see Jesus. She lives into Isaiah 58, 11. The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. We have a simple task. But it's also hard in our world. Especially when so many of us are tired and thirsty. But when we meet Jesus at the well, he models for us what to do, and it's to open our arms from just the few to include everyone. Well that's what Jesus does. He gives living water to everyone who is thirsty. Satisfying us in parched places, like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. And may we all be filled and overflowing, loving and accepting of everyone. So much so that we leave our water jugs behind right here at the font. Right here at the table, right here at the cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 26:21

If you found this podcast inspirational and would like to support the First Love Ministry programs at First Presbyterian Church, please send any contributions to First Presbyterian Church at 870 West College, Jacksonville, Illinois. Our zip code is 62650. Our phone is 217-245-4189. You can contact our secretary there between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Our email is office at firstfresjax.org. That's office at F I R S T P-R-E-S J A S.org. Now our in-person church services start at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Access to our online church service starts at 9.55 a.m. You can listen to these live services on our Facebook page, which is www.facebook.com slash first f I r s t-R-E-S-JAX. We have a choir that meets from 7 to 8 p.m. every Thursday night. And we welcome all who are willing to sing. We look forward to hearing from you either by email, mail, or phone. God bless. And may you have a peaceful and safe year.