As we begin our now third week of Lent, we journey to Jacobs well, where Jesus speaks the truth over the life a women that transforms her in to a proclaimer of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

There is often much pain and much suffering in our lives and we try to hide it, keep others from seeing our authentic self.  As we started our Lenten Journey we began by reflecting on being our Authentic Self before a Merciful God.  If we look into our own lives we all have pasts and present situations that we struggle with.   Most often we try to keep in masked from others to see.  As long as we can “hold it together” we will be all right.  Being vulnerable is the most difficult thing to do because we let our guard down and no longer in control.

This weekend Jesus speaks truth over us to loosen that which binds and hinders us from being our very selves before him.  Often time we think we just have to hide ourselves and that who we are isn’t good enough for God or to be in His presence.    We know we can’t hide from God in our head, but our hearts try to be something other than our authentic selves before a merciful God.

“Sometimes our world tell us: She’s too Black, he’s too White, they’re too conservative, they’re too liberal, you’re too old, too young, too dark, too different, you’re not holy enough, you’re divorced,  you got pregnant, you messed up. Whatever you are, you are NOT ENOUGH.
Today, Christ says, enough! Enough of all of this fear, enough of all these barriers we’ve created. We have work to do, and we can’t do it if we’re divided.
In the Gospel, Jesus doesn’t care about barriers, or rules, or laws if they are meant to separate us. He doesn’t care about tradition if it’s meant to put other people down. In today’s story, all Jesus cared about was the Samaritan woman and her people. In those few moments, he showed her by his words and his actions that no matter what she thought, no matter what society thought, and no matter what the law thought, in his eyes she was enough.
Here, Christ does the same with us. We aren’t perfect, yet Christ speaks to us. We are human and he is God, yet Christ becomes intimately one with us. Our world might tell us we aren’t good enough, yet Christ confronts us in this meal with his love saying, The Body of Christ—you are good; The Blood of Christ—you are enough.
If we believe that, if we say Amen to that, we must then treat all people as Christ treats us—as enough, as worthy, as children of the same Father. There’s too much work to do—the harvest is ready. There are so many people thirsting to be known and loved for who they are. Every week God gives us that extravagant love, despite all our weakness and barriers. If we want our worship here to be authentic, to be worship in Spirit and Truth, then we must go out and tell others about this love, this gift of God.”