Scripture was John 18: 1-27
Sermon title: Confession and Testimony
The prayer:
Sometimes Lord, we are like Moses – unsure what words to use. Give us hope that you will supply our words, even as you did for Moses. We do not know what to say when friends surprise us us with a certain side of a political issue or when colleagues express ideas we thought were discredited and dead. Help us to find words when people tell jokes that are or should be offensive. Silence isn’t good and speaking doesn’t seem to do any good. We need you wisdom.
Lord, we need your wisdom too when others find a way to suggest they can NOT agree with us on a political issue, idea or joke. Remind us that sometimes we are wrong. Do not let our hearts be hardened- holding onto something well passed the point that is good – or even understandable to have. Prepare us to be wrong. Again. We need your wisdom.
And God, we want to know what to say to comfort the grieving, encourage the diagnosed, or lesson the pain of tragedy. We care more than standard platitudes express. We need your wisdom.
Send our love and what words we have to those who grieve, struggle with healing, or a diagnoses.
We also want the right words when we come to you in prayer. Whether it is the heights of praise for creation, the depths of our guilt and sorrow, or the wideness of our need – we find our words lacking. We want to say more than our skill allows. Our hearts are full. Our heads are filled with words and our hearts are bursting with sighs to deep for human expression. Maybe you could ignore our heads and listen to our heart’s eloquence. We need your wisdom and to trust it.
When listening to the sermon it might help to know that it was Scout Sunday and we had our troop of Boy Scouts in worship. Our minister would like you to believe that they were a bad influence on him. Those who were there know full well Mark egged them on to make faces for the camera.
John 4:1-30, 39-42 In Three Voices
Reader 1: Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John”
Reader 2 although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized—
Reader 1: he left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through
Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
Reader 1: A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her,
Reader 3: “Give me a drink.”
Reader 2 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)
Reader 1: The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?”
Reader 2 (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)
Reader 3: 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.”
Reader 1: “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?”
Reader 3: “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 will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”
Reader 1: “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Reader 3: “Go, call your husband, and come back.”
Reader 1: “I have no husband.”
Reader 3: “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!”
Reader 1: “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. …Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but Jews say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Reader 3: “Woman,
Reader 2 You might remember that Jesus called his mother this at the wedding in Cana.
Reader 3: 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.”
Reader 1: “I know that Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”
Reader 3: “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Reader 2 Just then his 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. She said to the people,
Reader 1: “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”
Reader 2 They left the city and were on their way to him. Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony,
Reader 1: “He told me everything I have ever done.”
Reader 2: So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.
Reader 3: And many more believed because of his word.
Reader 2 The other Samaritans said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”
We would like to see the world change, Lord. Changed so your will is done on earth as it is in heaven. And we would like to be your agents of change. We love you. We hear you. We follow the way Jesus lays out for us to be faithful. Sometimes we think if we do everything you ask you will love us more. Or maybe love us enough. We know this is wrong and we try to forget this idea. WE know your love is complete and full – we are just human and the world tells us to earn everything.
Still we want to help your world and your will be here on earth. We have your sons example of humble service. But we confess we are confused about power and force – strength and weakness. The world – that is not yours, tells us there is power when force, strength, and control is used. We are told that anger, retribution, and humiliation are the tools of a strong leader. But we see Jesus use patience, forgiveness, and love. His tools seem to be humility, guidance and tolerance. We become confused living in two worlds.
Teach us the way to lead for you and how to lead with you. Teach us to follow a leader who leads as you do – to not care if they use your name or not; look like us, use our language, our metaphors. Your world will arrive by many hands.
The sermon title for this Sunday, January 21, is “Tables as Idols”. The scripture will be John’s story of the temple tables being over turned (2:13-25).
The Annual Meeting for Sharon Congregational Church will happen after worship this Sunday. Annual Reports will be received and a vote on the budget will be taken.
