Sermons for the Month

Oddballs Are Welcome!
DATE: February 24th, 2008
SERVICE: Third Sunday in Lent
TEXT: John 4:5-42

“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN

When I was in seminary one of the professors gave a sermon about the Samaritan woman in which, over and over again, he said, "There are no outsiders. No one is excluded!" Only a person sleeping soundly would have missed the point, and even that would have been fairly difficult because his booming voice and animated expression were nearly impossible to sleep through. In Jesus "There are no outsiders. No one is excluded", he proclaimed.

On the other hand, just the opposite sentiment was expressed in Old Testament laws. Philip Yancey states it creatively with this label: "No Oddballs Allowed." (1) From dietary laws that excluded any abnormal or "oddball" animals, to people with damaged bodies or damaged family lines; those who were not "clean" or "holy" were not allowed. There were precise rules for remaining clean, and the list of ways to become "unclean" was long; people moved on and off of it, depending on the normal - but unholy - activity in which they had just engaged.

However, there were certain groups that were always "oddballs" including women, aliens, those who suffered with disease or disability, slaves, the poor and those who fit the general description of sinner. Jesus had a really annoying habit of ignoring the rules and associating with such oddballs. He deliberately entered Gentile territory and interacted with non-Jews, which is only the "tip of the iceberg" in terms of the shocking details of today's Gospel lesson.

This Samaritan woman is three-times-an-oddball. It's astounding; she is a Samaritan and Jesus asked her for a drink! Keep in mind that most Jews would not eat or drink anything that had been handled by a Samaritan for fear of being contaminated.

The reason why is historical; Samaritans of Jesus' day were descendants of Jews who had intermarried with non-Jewish people, compromising their ethnic identity. Because of that "impurity", they were not allowed to help with the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. So, they built their own Temple, which was destroyed before Jesus' time. As far as the Jews were concerned they were pagans. So, that was strike one against her.

Strike two was, of course, that she was a woman. Any self-respecting man would not initiate public conversation with a woman, even the most respectable one, even his own wife. Would you believe there was a group of pious men known as "the bruised and bleeding Pharisees" because they closed their eyes when they saw a woman walking down the road, even if it meant walking into a wall and breaking their noses? (2)

They would have walked into the sea and drowned to avoid this woman; she is far from respectable. We know this early in the story because she is at the well at noon. Respectable women made their trips to the well in the morning; it was a social time, and the fact that she showed up at the hottest part of the day shows that she was not welcome by the others. Jesus says she has had five husbands. But, since women typically were permitted only two marriages - three in some rare cases - she probably has had only two "legitimate" marriages. That makes her a "fallen woman" who has really fallen hard. That's strike three.

I'm not sure that we can really grasp how scandalous this situation is, to say that the disciples were astonished when they returned and saw Jesus speaking to her is the understatement of the century. It is to this oddball, this unbelieving, unclean, serial sinner that Jesus reveals his identity. She says, "I know the Messiah is coming. When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." And Jesus responds, "I am he."

Wow…I mean, really, WOW! Do you realize that this is the first time he has said this to anyone??? The woman who is three-times-an-oddball stands face to face with the Messiah of God and it's a moment of complete truth. He sees her for who she is; she sees him for who he is, and exciting things begin to happen.

While the disciples fuss about food, she becomes a hesitant ("He cannot be the Messiah, can he?"), but effective missionary. It's hard to imagine the transformation that must have taken place in her that would cause people to give this formerly ignored complete outsider the time of day. It must have been HUGE because they listened, and as a result of her testimony, they invited Jesus to stay. Then, because of him, they too believed that he is the Savior of the world.

This story is filled with messages, but the one that I believe is most important is, to quote Philip Yancey, that "Jesus canceled the cherished principle of the Old Testament - No Oddballs Allowed - replacing it with a new rule of grace - We are all oddballs, but God loves us anyway". (3)

We too can stand face to face with the Messiah of God and experience a moment of complete truth. Jesus sees us for who we are, we see him for who he is, and what we feel is unconditional love and forgiveness - grace. Then, as was true for her, we become conveyors of God's grace. And, we view all people as being "beloved oddballs" who also have the potential to offer grace to the world.

I'll close today with an image from the book I've been quoting all morning, What's So Amazing About Grace. In the New Testament both Peter and Paul say that Christians are to administer, or "dispense" God's grace. Well, can you imagine one of those old-fashioned atomizers that were used for perfume? If you squeezed a rubber bulb, droplets of perfume came shooting out of the fine holes at the other end. A few drops would be enough for the whole body; a few pumps would change the atmosphere in a room. That's how grace should work; it's dispensed from us onto ourselves, onto others, into a room, out into the world. Maybe it does not convert all at once, but it enriches the atmosphere, and encourages transformation.

There is a huge difference between that image and another one that is, sadly, sometimes attributed to Christians. Instead of being an atomizer dispensing grace, the church has been viewed as the "moral exterminator". Imagine a spray apparatus used for insect exterminations. There's a cockroach! It's a filthy! Get rid of it! (spray, pump, spray) There's a spot of evil! It's bad! Eliminate it! (spray, pump, spray) (4) While the problem may be temporarily solved, there is no opportunity for transformation, only "enforced" purity.

That's not what Jesus did; that's clear in MANY stories in the Gospels. He viewed those who others considered as unclean or evil as potential bearers of God's mercy. It was this radical attitude that made his enemies so uncomfortable. We too are to extend that mercy through which Jesus works to change lives.

He looked into the eyes of a thirsty woman - an outsider, an outcast - and allowed her to drink deeply of grace. It became a fountain of love in her life that then quenched the longing of the parched people around her. As we drink deeply of his love, the deserts in us and around us will also be nurtured and transformed by grace.

AMEN

(1) What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey, 1997, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI., chapter 12, pg. 147.

(2) "Living by the Word" by Barbara Brown Taylor, Christian Century, February 12, 2008, pg. 19.

(3) Same as #1

(4) Same as #1

---