the    sides

This is part of our weekly e-journey through the gospel of John. Today is from John 4:1-42.

One of my first post-seminary job interviews was for a student pastor position in a large church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. One of the interview settings was a dinner with key leaders of the church. There were around 30 people in the room and the basic, safe interview was conducted. To wrap up the evening, I was asked if I had any questions of them. I did.

“What’s going to happen the first time a black kid comes to church here?”

This would be the first of many moments when Amy has had to wrestle with her doubts of exactly why did she marry me.

The shock of the evening wasn’t my question but the silence that followed it. It felt like hours. No one even tried to answer it for the longest time. I was so stunned I couldn’t even cover up the silence with another question. We all just sat there staring at each other. Finally in the back of the room, a volunteer from the student ministry spoke up.

“The kid would be welcomed and loved here because that’s how we run our student ministry. I have less confidence his parents would be treated the same.” And he sat down. The silence broke into a cacophony of voices trying to contain the damage.

If we are honest, every one has a “off-limits” list. Race may not be your issue but it could be skinny people, fat people, smart people, dumb people, rich, poor, sophisticated, unsophisticated, athletic, goofy - the list is infinite. We have an innate ability to find reasons for not liking each other. What’s your list look like? Who’s on your “I can’t believe you’re are talking to them” list?

What’s convicting is how obvious barrier breaking is in the fabric of the gospel story. Jesus hangs out with Jewish party-goers, dialogues with the educational and religious elite, ministers to the servant class, and now this - a Samaritan woman who had a rep. It’s just going to get worse from here, you know. Jesus had worldwide redemption on his mind…not an elite society.

Another observation of Jesus - He didn’t ignore cultural and racial differences. Instead He pointed them out! He tells the woman here - YOU SAMARITANS worship what you do not understand and WE JEWS do. The racially sensitive side of Jesus.

Jesus’ handling of race/culture differences is brutally practical. Can you love Jesus and be a Samaritan, Jew, Gentile, whatever? Yes. You don’t have to abandon your heritage to follow Jesus unless that heritage demands to take God’s place. Then your heritage is idolatry. The Rich Young Man is example here - money wasn’t evil, it was the place of money in that man’s life that was evil. True worship is about spirit and truth (see last week’s thoughts). Race, heritage, and social status are idols when they take priority over Jesus and the story he’s writing.

The end result for this story is that the whole town of Samaritans run out to engage and ultimately follow this Jewish man from Bethlehem. A Samaritan following a Jew? Crazy but it’s the heart of the gospel.