Tuesday Night ALTERNATE

Living In Brokenness

Have you seen the question posed on social media:

Aside from Morgan Freeman, who would you have narrate your life?

(listen for responses)

Last night we looked at beginnings...

We all have one.

ME

Kansas City Kansas

Aug 11, 1956

mid-morning (I still don’t like getting up EARLY)

And then several other ‘beginnings’ as well -

-when I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior -Commencement Ceremony - i.e. graduation:

1974 - HS

1979- BA in Ed

1987- M.Div

2019 - D.Min

Aug 2, 1976 - WEDDING DAY

July 28, 1982 - Jssh

April 17, 1986 - Meg

Aug 1, 1991 - Pastor of Community Baptist...

(I know…I’m like ancient)

Lot’s or beginnings…but along the way there have been serious seasons of brokenness -

2 miscarriages; the death of Cindy’s dad, my mom, the Metal of grandparents, the death of friends -

relationships that have been broken - by distance, by words too hurtful to ignore, acts of betrayal too deep to let go… and on and on.

A recent book by a respected psychologist suggests that

Mental health is not about feeling good. Instead, it’s about having the right feelings at the right time and being able to manage those feelings effectively.

Lisa Damour,PhD. The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents

(New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 2023) 27.

Turn in your Bibles (or phone or tablet) to John 4 - 5.

(I promise not to read all of both chapters)

Jesus initiates a conversation with two unlikely people in this section of John’s account of Jesus’ life.

Both individuals are seriously broken people.

A Samaritan Woman (John 4)

Two sections of what we now call Israel were Judea and Galilee.

In order to travel between them, there were two choices:

cross the Jordan and travel north/south, or

travel through SAMARIA

For a first-century Jew Samaria was like no-mans land.

The Samaritans were descendants of the northern tribes of Israel. Many of those tribal folks had been relocated, but many stayed and intermarried with the foreigners who had invaded their land.

As a result Samaritans developed a distinct understanding of the Old Testament.

They considered only the first five books - those authored by Moses - as divinely inspired.

They developed worship practices that set them apart from the Jewish people.

They even built a temple on a mountain to rival the temple of Jerusalem.

(That temple was destroyed by Jewish religious leaders about 100 yrs prior to Jesus’ birth)

Though Samaritans were distant cousins to first century Jews, an observant Jew of Jesus’ day would avoid - at all costs - the entire region of Samaria.

Except Jesus.

John 4:5–9 HCSB

so He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the property that Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, worn out from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about six in the evening. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. “Give Me a drink,” Jesus said to her, for His disciples had gone into town to buy food. “How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked Him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

Notice:

“A woman of Samaria came to draw water. “Give Me a drink,” Jesus said to her,” (John 4:7, HCSB)

Mid-day was a strange time to draw water. Usually the women of a community would come early in the morning or right before sundown - when it was cooler - to draw water for their families.

This woman - because of what we will learn about her - was certainly not welcome to join with the others women in her community. She was an outsider.

That Jesus speaks to her violates religious protocols - differing over which part of the OT was divinely inspired and worshiping in different locations;

sexual protocols - men just didn’t initiate conversations with single women

ethnic protocols - Jews and Samaritans clearly had nothing to do with one another. Each group regarded the other as aliens and intruders.

Of course the woman quickly replies that what Jesus is asking is unheard of and honestly impossible.

John 4:10 HCSB

Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”

Now the woman is completely thrown off balance. Jesus has a way of interfering with our prejudices and our preferences. The woman came because she couldn’t be part of the community, she came when no one else would be around on purpose.

She responds: How will you draw this water with no tools - no water bucket!

Jesus, sensing her confusion goes on to explain:

John 4:13–14 HCSB

Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”

Obviously this meets an immediate need!

With this assurance the woman can avoid the others and will have no need to expose herself to the shame and embarrassment her romantic liaisons have caused.

Jesus, continuing roken ignore the current cultural norms goes directly into her brokenness.

John 4:18 HCSB

“For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

A Broken Man

Turn now to John 5 and listen to vs 1-9

This pool, near the NE corner of Jersualem was well known as a place where miraculous healings would occur - see vs 3 - 4

“Within these lay a large number of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had].” (John 5:3–5, HCSB)

There was quite a crowd. Jesus singled out one man - no reason given. All we are told is that this individual had been in this broken condition for 38 years. All we know about his condition is that he could not make it to the pool unaided.

This makes Jesus’ question all the more odd.

John 5:6 (HCSB)

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”

Seriously. Can you imagine walking into an urgent care/emergency waiting room and asking - are you here because you want to get well?

Duh.

But don’t overlook the man’s response…’it’s not my fault.’

“My story is that I’m lying here because no one is here to help me get into the pool. Someone always gets there first.’

Jesus simply replies:both

John 5:9 HCSB

Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk. Now that day was the Sabbath,

BROKENNESS INTO WHOLENESS

These two accounts, separated by days if not weeks of time, seem to be unrelated.

But let’s look a little deeper.

First, both locations are places regularly avoided.

The well at noon was a desolate place. The area around the pool was inhabited by sick and dying humans. (Be honest - hanging out in direct sunlight with no visible shade or relief is unpleasant: and hospitals, nursing homes…kind of creep us out.)

Yet these are the places Jesus chooses to make Himself known.

The places we avoid are often the very places Jesus shows up!

(one of the accusations levelled against Jesus is that he hung out with ‘sinners,’ - imagine that!)

Notice as well, Jesus isn’t put off by what others consider appropriate.

It was uncommon for men to speak with women (even the disciples got that- see John 4:27).

Religiously observant Jews didn’t visit places where disease was rampant. Touching someone with a disease meant undergoing a ‘cleansing’ according to the OT law.

In both exchanges, Jesus initiates the conversation. Most of the healings we read about in the Gospels are initiated by the person afflicted or a family member.

Finally notice what Jesus offers.

To the woman -

Jesus offers honesty

John 4:17 (HCSB)

“You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’ ” Jesus said.

The man lying at the pool for all those years wants to get well...

Do you really think Jesus doubted the man’s motives?

There is nothing hidden from God in your life.

Will you be honest with Him?

The woman owned her brokenness.

The lame man offered his brokenness as evidence.

Jesus offered wholeness

The woman seriously doubted Jesus could keep provide a water supply that would keep her hidden from the eyes of all the other women in town.

The man had no assistance to get into the pool quickly enough to receive healing.

Look at what Jesus did:

He revealed Himself as the Messiah (4:26);

He revealed Himself as One who can restore brokenness with just a word

The woman gained a new respect from the people in the town because of her changed appearance - 4:39-40) and the man picked up his mat, clearly in violation of Sabbath law, and went directly to the temple (to offer praise and worship - 5:14).

Maybe you came to camp from a place of challenging relationships…family…siblings…step-parents, step-brothers/sisters....

Maybe you have recently experienced a troubled friendship - a challenging romantic relationship...

Maybe you came knowing you aren’t quite right - but you can’t quite put your finger on what’s wrong...

but someone else always seems to get the attention you need, the attention you deserve.

Let me invite you to see Jesus in this place -

not physically, but look for Him in the lives of the adults who are in your cabin, your Bible Study leader…any of the adults that have chosen to spend their week with you.

Let Jesus be honest with you.

Be honest with Him

Receive what only He can do - restoring wholeness where there was once brokenness