Have you ever been so passionate and intent about something that you forgot to eat?
Maybe you were so into a project, or having so much fun, time flew right past lunch?
Sometimes when we get into something really great it seems time loses its meaning
Time can stand still or fly by
Without us being conscious of it
Losing our sense of time can be a sign that we’re into something incredible,
Tapping into something both within and outside of ourselves
Perhaps on the threshold of transformation
Some call these liminal spaces
Richard Rohr describes this space as, “where we are betwixt and between the familiar and the completely unknown. There alone is our old world left behind, while we are not yet sure of the new existence. That’s a good space where genuine newness can begin.”
Newness… creativity… passion… transformation
These are also words we use to describe encounters with the divine
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I invited you to identify with one of the characters in the gospel story today
For me the character I identify most with…
Love, and admire… is the woman
The woman in today’s gospel story seems to find herself in a liminal space as she encounters Jesus
We hear several labels for parts of her identity throughout this story
Samaritan
Woman
Unwed
Divorced
And there are other aspects of her identity that are demonstrated throughout the story
Courageous and curious
Believer in Christ
Witness and disciple
But perhaps most importantly for her
And for each one of us
Is her identity as a beloved child of God
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This story is fascinating because it’s so unpredictable
Jesus was a Jew, and Jews didn’t go to Samaria
Jews and Samaritans had been strong enemies for about the last 700 years
But Jesus discerned that they must go there / /
Jewish men, particularly teachers, did not talk to unknown women
But Jesus, a Jewish teacher, engaged this woman at the well / /
Jesus didn’t need water — the disciples just left to get snacks
And women didn’t usually go to the well for water during midday
It’s hot, and they preferred to draw water in the mornings and evenings
Culturally, women also did this together
It was like a social event where they would catch up a bit and support one another.
But this woman goes to the well alone at noon / / /
So just within the first three verses of this story we enter a place of curiosity, wonder and awe as we are transported outside of what is considered common, to a place of newness
Then Jesus asks her for a drink / / /
He exacerbates her confusion of his violation of social norms by then telling her that HE has living water… flowing, fresh everlasting water
But there he sits beside the well
Jesus doesn’t even have a bucket, and he just told her that he needed a drink AND he has living water
Anyone in their right mind would smile, step back, and get water later because something strange is happening here
But this is the thing about liminal spaces / / /
They befuddle us, shift our conscious awareness,
Change our ability to perceive reality, and take us to someplace deeper
Liminal spaces seem to shift our consciousness away from what’s happening on the surface
toward a deeper place where transformation can occur
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So in spite of common custom and her best judgement,
The woman stays
She remains curious
She engages Jesus
/ / /
Within the conversation Jesus brings up her marital status,
Not in judgement of her,
but in a way of revealing more of himself
He shows himself as seeing and knowing all things
Deepening the mystery and drawing the woman into relationship with him further
The woman recognizes Jesus as a prophet
And gets to the heart of the conflict between Jews and Samaritans
And perhaps the heart of the conflict we experience within our relationships today
Where is God?
Where can I access God?
Where can I experience God?
If I encounter God here or this way…
then can you encounter God there or that way?
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Jesus shatters both the Jewish and Samaritan answers to these questions
The hour is coming
The time is near
When worshiping God won’t depend on where you are
Or if you do it properly
Worshiping God will depend on spirit and truth
And relationship / /
Jesus’ words “God is spirit” changes everything
Because God is unbound to any people or place
Jesus’ presence is changing and shifting people’s perception of God’s presence
God is inbreaking, here, and now
In this liminal space
Through Jesus the Christ
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As per usual, the disciples return and bring us back to reality
They disrupt the liminal space where Jesus and the woman lost track of culture and regulations and what “should” be happening
But it’s too late
The divine disruptive work has been done
the woman has been transformed by this experience
Everything has changed
/ / /
Forgetting the water and her bucket
Forgetting her status as an outcast in her town
Forgetting the social norms she’s lived by all of her life
The woman raced back to the city and became a witness
She proclaimed, as the newest disciple of Jesus
“Come and see”
/ / /
Liminal spaces seem increasingly rare within our culture,
We have become proficient in holding expectations and social normative behaviors
As we focus on time
Schedule
The plan and
Productivity
Can you imagine being delayed by two whole days as Jesus and the disciples did in Samaria?
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Our way of living leaves little room for God to interrupt us
For God to disrupt our busy days
And for us to be transformed
/ / /
Several years ago I started paying more attention to disruptions
I’m a recovering type-A person who had much rigor around schedule and plans
My children have assisted me greatly in breaking this habit J
I hated disruption / / /
until I changed my perspective
I began to see disruption as opportunity
I began to be curious and more open in the midst of disruption
Some people call this “flow” or “mindfulness”
But I realized something incredible within the disruptions in my life
They opened me to a new and transformative space
Beautiful things happened there
These disruptions created space for God to enter my life
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As you go about your week and continue to reflect upon this gospel and whatever character you resonate with this time
Consider how they experienced disruption
Consider how they remained curious
Consider how they opened themself to something new
And witness how they experienced the presence of God
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We, like the woman, have many competing identities
May we prioritize our identity as a beloved child of God above all
May we engage our passions in a way that causes us to lose track of time
May we allow disruptions into our lives with curiosity and openness
May we embrace newness and creativity
May this way of being open a liminal space within our lives
May we experience divine transformation in unexpected places and times…and
May we have the courage to witness and proclaim
“Come and see!”
Amen.