WEBVTT 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:19.000 ♪ ♪ 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.000 Anybody, maybe, 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:28.000 if you're Gen Z, you probably don't remember this, but those of us that have a little more mature 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:32.000 in our lives, I don't know, I grew up 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.000 as a child 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:40.000 with a very 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.000 real fear that was baked into me 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:48.000 by things that I saw that were 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:52.000 presented to children. Anyone else grow up with this 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:56.000 fear that we were gonna die by quicksand? 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:00.000 ♪ ♪ 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.000 Like, for real, like, 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.000 quicksand, like, this dude, this was such 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.000 a fear. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:16.000 Like, quicksand, for some reason, was the thing that was gonna kill us. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.000 Like, you had to avoid it. It was... 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000 Yeah, speaking. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.000 I think, like, all of these, like, kids shows 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.000 had quicksand as, like, this was it. You better watch out. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.000 And what are you doing? You're getting a quicksand. You gotta calm down. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000 'Cause otherwise you start fighting, you're gonna sink. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.000 Raise your hand. I don't want to be traumatic here. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:48.000 Raise your hand if you know anyone that has died by quicksand. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.000 [laughter] 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:55.000 Okay, one. Really? Huh? 00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:59.000 Super Mario. That's... I should have been more specific. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:03.000 [laughter] 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.000 I... 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.000 No, no one that has died of quicksand? 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.000 Yeah, I think so. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:19.000 Nobody. Not a person. Apparently, I did do some research. 00:02:19.000 --> 00:02:23.000 Apparently, it's a thing. Quicksand is just sand and water. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:27.000 Had a really cool name. But, yeah, there's been a few people 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:31.000 that have died in sand and water, but not 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:35.000 in the ways that we all thought was gonna happen. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:39.000 I don't know. Have you ever, like, carried an idea? 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:43.000 Or carried fear of something for years? 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:47.000 And so, one day someone told you, like, "Hey, that's not a real thing." 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:51.000 That's not even... that's not real. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:55.000 Quicksand. You're gonna be okay. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.000 There's a lot of other things that you might die from, but quicksand is probably not it. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:03.000 Sharks. Yeah, sharks. 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:07.000 I guess a real one. 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:11.000 I don't know. I don't remember when I learned it, but I was stunned. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:15.000 Like, something I believed with such certainty just kind of 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:19.000 unraveled. I'm like, "Oh, that's not true." 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:23.000 Have you ever believed something like your whole heart? 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:27.000 I wanted to find out later it wasn't true. Like, maybe 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:31.000 it was about a person. Maybe it was about yourself. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:35.000 Maybe it was about God. 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:39.000 So, the series is about 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:43.000 that unraveling. The 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:47.000 freedom that can follow when we let go of what never 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:51.000 belonged in the first place. So, I called the series 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:55.000 "undoctronated." In order to kind of 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.000 give you an idea of what that is, let me give you a definition. It is the 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:03.000 to undo the process of indoctrination. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:07.000 Undoctronation is to undo the process 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:11.000 of indoctrination. Or urban dictionary says it this way. 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:15.000 The process of unlearning propaganda or false teachings, 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:19.000 especially those learned in religious or political institutions. 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:23.000 Now, that's the one. Urban dictionary with 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:27.000 the win. 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:31.000 The series is about this process. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:35.000 To get to undoctronated, though, we need to talk 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.000 about what indoctrination is first. Because we got to be indoctrinated 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:43.000 to indoctrinate, right? And indoctrination 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:47.000 is the process of teaching a person or group 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:51.000 to accept a set of 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:55.000 beliefs uncritically. Which is a keyword. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:59.000 Uncritically. To 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:03.000 not be able to question. And indoctrinate 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:07.000 someone means to teach them to fully accept a specific 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:11.000 set of beliefs, ideas, or principles, often without encouraging critical 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.000 thinking or considering alternative viewpoints. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.000 It involves instilling these beliefs 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:23.000 so thoroughly that they become deeply ingrained, often 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:27.000 to the point where the individual accepts them without question. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:31.000 How is this dangerous? 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:35.000 Especially when it comes to faith. Because faith 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:39.000 at its best is a living, 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:43.000 breathing journey. It's relational. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:47.000 It grows. In indoctrination demands 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:51.000 you stop asking questions and just accept what you've been told. 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:55.000 And that creates a system where the goal isn't freedom, 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:59.000 the goal is control. 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:03.000 So indoctrination is used to consolidate and protect power. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:07.000 It says don't think for yourself, just trust us. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:11.000 The person in charge creates 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:15.000 some form of authority in order 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:19.000 to tell you what you are to believe. And when you challenge 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:23.000 their authority, what happens? 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:27.000 It's a scary place to be in a 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:31.000 spiritual setting. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:35.000 And I know it sounds maybe kind of harsh. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.000 Maybe it's mainly been my rare experience, 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:43.000 not yours, but asking critical questions has absolutely gotten me into trouble 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:47.000 throughout my faith journey. Still, to this day, 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:51.000 gets me in a lot of trouble. I'm not invited to rooms with other pastors most of the time 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:55.000 because I got questions. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.000 And when this happens, we have a set of beliefs 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.000 that we've been told we must believe without question. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:07.000 And then we experience life. 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:11.000 Psychologically, this creates cognitive dissonance 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.000 where what we've been told about God 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.000 doesn't align with what we experience. And over time 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:23.000 this disconnect that leads to shame, spiritual anxiety, 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:27.000 outright rejection of faith. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:31.000 Not because people hate God, but because 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:35.000 the version of God they were handed was toxic. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:39.000 Like let's look at some of the attributes 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:43.000 many of us were told about God. Always watching you. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:47.000 Like Santa Claus. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:51.000 Easily angered. 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:55.000 Can't stand sin. Which is to say 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:59.000 it's kind of offended by your humanity. 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:03.000 Requires suffering to be satisfied. 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:07.000 Only loves you if you repent the right way. 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:11.000 Will punish eternally 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:15.000 for not believing in him. 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:19.000 But loves you and is actually love. 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:23.000 Now a critical person might 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:27.000 have some questions about a relationship with a person that is described 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:31.000 as this, right? If you were describing someone you're in a relationship 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:35.000 with and you told me this is how they treat you, I would be like 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:39.000 you're dating a narcissist. You should probably look into that. 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:43.000 I almost called this sermon 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:47.000 God is a narcissist and then I was told I shouldn't say that. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:51.000 Now I don't believe God is a narcissist. 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:55.000 But I think a lot of us have been given a view of God that is narcissistic. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:59.000 He's been given tendencies that we attach to God 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:03.000 that don't sound like Jesus. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:07.000 They sound like a narcissist. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:11.000 Here's the thing. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:15.000 You cannot have a loving, secure relationship with a narcissistic figure. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:19.000 I don't think. Maybe I'm wrong. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:23.000 I'm looking at my resident psychologist back in there. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:27.000 Because in that relationship it's always about appeasement, 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:31.000 walking on eggshells, fear. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:35.000 And if that's your image of God, then you can't help 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.000 but read scripture and live your life through that lens. 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:43.000 And I know that most of us were given 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:47.000 this picture of God because this view of God and the attributes of God 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:51.000 that most of us have been given almost all stem from the same theological 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:55.000 church history where power and control became the focus 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:59.000 and in order to keep that fear, shame, and the need to indoctrinate with the weapons. 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:03.000 But I really think there's a better way to 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:07.000 understand who God is. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:11.000 And I think we've talked about this so much but I think it's by looking at the person 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:15.000 that was the full representation of God in human form. Jesus. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.000 Like we're going to look at a story today and I've 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:23.000 probably taught on this story a few times. I don't know if I 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:27.000 try to look at my notes. I don't think I've taught on it real recently but you've 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:31.000 probably all heard this story. I'm going to look at it and we're going to talk about 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:35.000 this story that most of us have been given the story 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.000 through the first lens the way that you've heard it. And then we'll talk about maybe a different 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:43.000 way to look at it. It's in John 4. It's actually 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:47.000 the longest one-on-one conversation 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:51.000 that we see from Jesus. Longest one recorded 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:55.000 in scripture. Ironically, it's not 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:59.000 with a religious leader. It's not even with a man. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:03.000 It's with a woman. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:07.000 It's not with a Jew. It's with a Samaritan. 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:11.000 And it's this beautiful story 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:15.000 and man, we've gotten so wrong in a lot of ways. Let me read it. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.000 John 4.4 says, "Now he had to go through Samaria." 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:23.000 Jesus, he had to go. "At that time Jews did not go through Samaria." 00:11:23.000 --> 00:11:27.000 They went around it. You've probably heard this, but they didn't go through there. 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:31.000 Samaritans were not their friends. They were not 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:35.000 nice to each other. "So he came to the town of Samaria called Sakar 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.000 near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:43.000 Jacob's well was there and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:47.000 sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:51.000 woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:55.000 Since his disciples had gone into the town to buy food. 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:59.000 Am I reading the same one? Okay, cool. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:03.000 The Samaritan woman said to him, 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:07.000 "You're a Jew and I'm a Samaritan woman. How can you ask 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:10.100 me for a drink?" 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:16.100 Prentissi says, "For Jews do not associate with Samaritans." Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, 00:12:16.100 --> 00:12:22.100 and who it is that asked you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you the living water." 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:27.100 "Sir," the woman said, "You have nothing to draw with, 00:12:27.100 --> 00:12:31.100 and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 00:12:31.100 --> 00:12:35.100 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well 00:12:35.100 --> 00:12:39.100 and drank from it himself? As did also his sons 00:12:39.100 --> 00:12:43.100 and his livestock?" Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:47.100 will be thirsty again, but ever drinks the water 00:12:47.100 --> 00:12:51.100 I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become 00:12:51.100 --> 00:12:55.100 in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:59.100 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water 00:12:59.100 --> 00:13:03.100 so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." 00:13:03.100 --> 00:13:07.100 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back. 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:11.100 I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:15.100 "You're right when you say you have no husband. The fact is you've had five husbands, 00:13:15.100 --> 00:13:19.100 and the man you now have is not your husband. 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:23.100 What you have just said is quite true." 00:13:23.100 --> 00:13:27.100 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:33.100 prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:37.100 that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 00:13:37.100 --> 00:13:41.100 "Woman," Jesus replied, "Believe me. A time is coming when you will worship the 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:45.100 Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:49.100 worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know. 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:53.100 For salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:57.100 and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the 00:13:57.100 --> 00:14:01.100 spirit and in truth. For they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:05.100 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the 00:14:05.100 --> 00:14:09.100 spirit and in truth. The woman said, "I know that 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:13.100 Messiah called Christ is coming. When he comes he 00:14:13.100 --> 00:14:17.100 will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I 00:14:17.100 --> 00:14:21.100 the one speaking to you, I am he." 00:14:21.100 --> 00:14:25.100 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:29.100 with a woman, but no one asked, "What do you want and why are you talking 00:14:29.100 --> 00:14:33.100 with her?" Then leaving her water jar, the woman went back 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:37.100 to the town and said to the people, "Come see a man who told me everything I ever 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:41.100 did. Could this be the Messiah?" They came out of the town 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:45.100 and made their way toward him. He jumped down to verse 39. It says, "Many of the 00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:49.100 Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:53.100 He told me everything I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to 00:14:53.100 --> 00:14:57.100 him, they urged him to stay with them and he stayed for two days. And because of his 00:14:57.100 --> 00:15:01.100 words, many more became believers. They said to the woman, "We no longer 00:15:01.100 --> 00:15:05.100 believe just because of what you said. Now we have heard for ourselves and we know 00:15:05.100 --> 00:15:09.100 that this man really is the savior of the world." 00:15:09.100 --> 00:15:13.100 I don't have time to go through all of this. 00:15:13.100 --> 00:15:17.100 Have you heard this story taught before? 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:21.100 Have you heard this story taught before? 00:15:21.100 --> 00:15:25.100 If you grew up in any form of evangelicalism or fundamentalism circles, 00:15:25.100 --> 00:15:29.100 like you probably heard this woman painted as immoral, as lustful, 00:15:29.100 --> 00:15:33.100 as sleeping around. 00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:37.100 She had five husbands and now the guy that she's living with isn't her husband. 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:41.100 It's just some guy she's shacking up with. 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:49.100 Sorry, shacking up with that. 00:15:49.100 --> 00:15:53.100 And Jesus in this reading, this waiter that we look at this 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:57.100 interaction between him and this woman is confronting 00:15:57.100 --> 00:16:01.100 her sin, right? He's calling her out. He's exposing 00:16:01.100 --> 00:16:05.100 her. 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:09.100 Pastors have preached this story as a warning, a morality tale. 00:16:09.100 --> 00:16:13.100 God knows what you're doing. 00:16:13.100 --> 00:16:17.100 And there's this beautiful thing that we do where it's like, look who God can even use, 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:21.100 this sinful, sinful woman. 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:25.100 But here's the problem. 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:29.100 That view says more about how we view God than what's actually in this story. 00:16:29.100 --> 00:16:33.100 It sees Jesus as the 00:16:33.100 --> 00:16:37.100 divine interrogator. 00:16:37.100 --> 00:16:41.100 He turns this interaction into a setup. He's like, go get your husband. 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:45.100 Oh wait, I know you don't have one. 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:49.100 Right? Like that's how we read it. 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:53.100 Hey, go get your husband. Oh sir, I don't have one. Yeah, I know you don't. 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:57.100 You've had five. And that's not even one you're just 00:16:57.100 --> 00:17:01.100 living with a guy. And we turn this into like Jesus 00:17:01.100 --> 00:17:05.100 is like, gotcha. But you don't want to 00:17:05.100 --> 00:17:09.100 do that anymore, right? You don't accept this eternal life so that you don't have to send no more. 00:17:09.100 --> 00:17:13.100 It assumes that God is out to 00:17:13.100 --> 00:17:17.100 shame her, to correct her. This is the story we've been told. 00:17:17.100 --> 00:17:21.100 But what if that's not what's happening here at all? 00:17:21.100 --> 00:17:25.100 Because that takes no 00:17:25.100 --> 00:17:29.100 context of where they live and what is happening and what 00:17:29.100 --> 00:17:33.100 time of eternity they are in. 00:17:33.100 --> 00:17:37.100 We have to reframe this story 00:17:37.100 --> 00:17:41.100 through the lens of Jesus and the Jesus that we know that when we 00:17:41.100 --> 00:17:45.100 pull away the things that we've been taught that don't match the character of Jesus 00:17:45.100 --> 00:17:49.100 we have to look at who is Jesus and what is he doing here? 00:17:49.100 --> 00:17:53.100 For some context in that culture, 00:17:53.100 --> 00:17:57.100 the Samaritan culture, first century, women 00:17:57.100 --> 00:18:01.100 could not divorce easily. 00:18:01.100 --> 00:18:05.100 In fact, they could be put to death if they were caught cheating. 00:18:05.100 --> 00:18:07.100 Women in first century, 00:18:07.100 --> 00:18:11.100 Samaria were property. 00:18:11.100 --> 00:18:15.100 They were not allowed to just run out on their husband and find a new husband. 00:18:15.100 --> 00:18:19.100 If she'd had five husbands, it wasn't because she was just 00:18:19.100 --> 00:18:23.100 running around the town. 00:18:23.100 --> 00:18:27.100 Likely, they had 00:18:27.100 --> 00:18:31.100 abandoned her, died, 00:18:31.100 --> 00:18:35.100 or she was being passed around like property. 00:18:35.100 --> 00:18:39.100 The man she was with may not have been her husband 00:18:39.100 --> 00:18:43.100 by law because she wasn't allowed to remarry. Because her last 00:18:43.100 --> 00:18:47.100 husband maybe didn't release her from the marriage. He just left her. 00:18:47.100 --> 00:18:51.100 And she's not allowed to marry. And in that time she could not, 00:18:51.100 --> 00:18:55.100 she didn't make her own money. Women, when they were married off 00:18:55.100 --> 00:18:59.100 the dad would typically take the woman, 00:18:59.100 --> 00:19:03.100 make a deal with another family to marry her off, typically between 00:19:03.100 --> 00:19:07.100 the ages of 12 to 15. 00:19:07.100 --> 00:19:11.100 And they would usually marry an older man, 00:19:11.100 --> 00:19:15.100 much older, that would take care of her. Because the dad could no longer provide for her 00:19:15.100 --> 00:19:19.100 so now the husband had to. So oftentimes, women in that 00:19:19.100 --> 00:19:23.100 time frame buried husbands. 00:19:23.100 --> 00:19:27.100 If you look at scripture, if the husband had a brother, 00:19:27.100 --> 00:19:31.100 what was he supposed to do? Hey, now she's yours. 00:19:31.100 --> 00:19:35.100 You've got to take care of her because she can't make her own money. 00:19:35.100 --> 00:19:39.100 She can't provide for herself, it's up to you now. So brother, you have to marry her now. 00:19:39.100 --> 00:19:43.100 So this woman who we've been told 00:19:43.100 --> 00:19:47.100 was just so sinful 00:19:47.100 --> 00:19:51.100 was a woman that was hurting. 00:19:51.100 --> 00:19:55.100 The biblical scholar Karen Reader, she wrote a book, 00:19:55.100 --> 00:20:01.100 I think it's the story of the Samaritan woman. Something pretty simple like that. 00:20:01.100 --> 00:20:05.100 She points out that much of how we've been taught to see this woman at the well 00:20:05.100 --> 00:20:11.100 says more about our theological bias than it does about the text itself. 00:20:11.100 --> 00:20:15.100 In a story she explains this, the story of the Samaritan woman 00:20:15.100 --> 00:20:19.100 has often been interpreted as a tale of sexual sin and divine forgiveness. 00:20:19.100 --> 00:20:23.100 But this interpretation reflects contemporary concerns more than 00:20:23.100 --> 00:20:27.100 ancient ones. In Jesus' day divorce was typically initiated by 00:20:27.100 --> 00:20:31.100 men, not women, and it was often the result of circumstances outside of a woman's 00:20:31.100 --> 00:20:35.100 control like infertility, political dynamics, or abuse. 00:20:35.100 --> 00:20:39.100 So to paint her as immoral is to ignore the painful 00:20:39.100 --> 00:20:43.100 systems at play. 00:20:43.100 --> 00:20:47.100 Reader helps us reframe this woman's story to understand the context 00:20:47.100 --> 00:20:51.100 behind it. Not as one of shame, but as one of survival. 00:20:51.100 --> 00:20:55.100 She wasn't a symbol of personal failure. She was a picture 00:20:55.100 --> 00:20:59.100 of social exclusion. 00:20:59.100 --> 00:21:03.100 And Jesus doesn't shame her. He sees her. 00:21:03.100 --> 00:21:07.100 He dignifies her. He reveals more of himself to her 00:21:07.100 --> 00:21:11.100 than he does to anyone else. Even his disciples. 00:21:11.100 --> 00:21:15.100 There are things that he tells her that he has not told his disciples yet. 00:21:15.100 --> 00:21:19.100 And you know what gets even more powerful about this story when you pull away 00:21:19.100 --> 00:21:23.100 where like the one story, one way we've been told 00:21:23.100 --> 00:21:27.100 about this? In the Eastern Orthodox Church, 00:21:27.100 --> 00:21:31.100 this woman is known 00:21:31.100 --> 00:21:35.100 not for her shame but for her witness. 00:21:35.100 --> 00:21:39.100 They call her a saint Fotini. She's a saint. 00:21:39.100 --> 00:21:43.100 Her name means the enlightened one. 00:21:43.100 --> 00:21:47.100 She's celebrated as an apostle, a preacher, a bold evangelist. 00:21:47.100 --> 00:21:51.100 She's the first one to carry the message of Jesus, the Messiah, 00:21:51.100 --> 00:21:55.100 in Scripture. 00:21:55.100 --> 00:21:59.100 Tradition says she went on to proclaim the gospel across North Africa. 00:21:59.100 --> 00:22:03.100 And even stood up to Emperor Nero who 00:22:03.100 --> 00:22:07.100 tradition says that she was martyred by because of her faith. 00:22:07.100 --> 00:22:11.100 So let it sink in. This is the same woman 00:22:11.100 --> 00:22:15.100 Christian theology has often portrayed as immoral and unworthy. 00:22:15.100 --> 00:22:19.100 The Orthodox Church calls equal to the apostles. 00:22:21.100 --> 00:22:25.100 Maybe that's because their theology of God is different. 00:22:25.100 --> 00:22:29.100 They never leaned into the hyperlegal guilt-soaked framework of evangelicalism. 00:22:29.100 --> 00:22:35.100 Their God was an punitive scorekeeper. Their God was a healing presence. 00:22:35.100 --> 00:22:39.100 A God whose justice looked like restoration, not retribution. 00:22:39.100 --> 00:22:43.100 And when you believe in that kind of God, you start seeing people differently too. 00:22:43.100 --> 00:22:47.100 This isn't a scandalous woman. This is a woman 00:22:47.100 --> 00:22:51.100 who's been wounded by the system. 00:22:51.100 --> 00:22:55.100 She's a Samaritan. Already seen as an outsider 00:22:55.100 --> 00:22:59.100 by Jewish society. And here she is, coming to the well 00:22:59.100 --> 00:23:03.100 in the heat of the day, likely to avoid judgment of her own people. We were told 00:23:03.100 --> 00:23:07.100 it's because she was real sinful. She was just trying to hide. 00:23:07.100 --> 00:23:11.100 She didn't want the women to see her. She probably did have shame. 00:23:11.100 --> 00:23:15.100 It probably was hurting, but it wasn't because of things she was doing. It was because of a system 00:23:15.100 --> 00:23:19.100 that had told her that she was not worthy. Husbands who had left 00:23:19.100 --> 00:23:23.100 her. 00:23:23.100 --> 00:23:27.100 Now we see the humanity in this. 00:23:27.100 --> 00:23:31.100 We see what Jesus is actually doing. 00:23:31.100 --> 00:23:35.100 How does Jesus treat her? He speaks with her. He sees her. 00:23:35.100 --> 00:23:39.100 He invites her into conversation. Him just saying, hey, can I get a drink of water? 00:23:39.100 --> 00:23:43.100 Culturally unacceptable. 00:23:43.100 --> 00:23:47.100 But Jesus is like, no, no, no. She needs to know that I see her. 00:23:47.100 --> 00:23:51.100 I know she is. She is worthy. 00:23:51.100 --> 00:23:55.100 Knowing kind of this idea 00:23:55.100 --> 00:23:59.100 of how people carry themselves in this type 00:23:59.100 --> 00:24:03.100 of mindset, I'm sure she wasn't even looking at him. 00:24:03.100 --> 00:24:07.100 She couldn't. Once she's a woman, 00:24:07.100 --> 00:24:11.100 and two, he's a Jew, and three, she's carrying a lot. 00:24:11.100 --> 00:24:15.100 He reveals that he knows her pain, 00:24:15.100 --> 00:24:19.100 and he doesn't shame her for it. He never even tells 00:24:19.100 --> 00:24:23.100 her to repent. He's not like, yeah, you need to fix that. 00:24:23.100 --> 00:24:27.100 He just offers living water. 00:24:27.100 --> 00:24:31.100 It's not a confrontation at all. It's a healing moment. 00:24:31.100 --> 00:24:35.100 And in doing so, Jesus 00:24:35.100 --> 00:24:39.100 unravels everything she believed about her place in the world, 00:24:39.100 --> 00:24:43.100 her worth, her access to God. 00:24:43.100 --> 00:24:47.100 This is indoctrination. 00:24:47.100 --> 00:24:51.100 Not more rules, not a guilt trip. 00:24:51.100 --> 00:24:55.100 Because indoctrination is what happens when love steps in 00:24:55.100 --> 00:24:59.100 and says that thing you were told about yourself, about God, 00:24:59.100 --> 00:25:03.100 it was never true. 00:25:03.100 --> 00:25:07.100 Think about the question 00:25:07.100 --> 00:25:11.100 she asked. 00:25:11.100 --> 00:25:15.100 They're talking about husbands. He gives her this 00:25:15.100 --> 00:25:19.100 story about living water. She's like, hey, so I got a question. 00:25:19.100 --> 00:25:23.100 We worship here at this mountain, and the Jews say that you have to worship 00:25:23.100 --> 00:25:27.100 here, which one is it? And Jesus is like, 00:25:27.100 --> 00:25:31.100 it's not about a place. 00:25:31.100 --> 00:25:35.100 Because God is a spirit. And wherever you are is where you're going to worship. 00:25:35.100 --> 00:25:39.100 They're having a theological conversation. 00:25:39.100 --> 00:25:43.100 Jesus isn't trying to fix her behavior. 00:25:43.100 --> 00:25:47.100 He's trying to fix her mindset about who she thinks she is 00:25:47.100 --> 00:25:51.100 because life and society and culture has told her she's 00:25:51.100 --> 00:25:55.100 not worthy. And Jesus says, no, you get to be the first 00:25:55.100 --> 00:25:59.100 one to carry this message. 00:25:59.100 --> 00:26:03.100 It's just idea of 00:26:03.100 --> 00:26:07.100 it's not an idea of throwing away faith. 00:26:07.100 --> 00:26:11.100 It's an idea of trying to reclaim it. 00:26:11.100 --> 00:26:15.100 We're not here to see or we're here to see God clearly 00:26:15.100 --> 00:26:19.100 through the lens of Jesus. Because if God is like Jesus 00:26:19.100 --> 00:26:23.100 and we believe God is, then God is not 00:26:23.100 --> 00:26:27.100 a narcissist. Because Jesus wasn't. He didn't carry 00:26:27.100 --> 00:26:31.100 himself in any way that was 00:26:31.100 --> 00:26:35.100 demanding. 00:26:35.100 --> 00:26:39.100 I got 00:26:39.100 --> 00:26:43.100 questions. 00:26:43.100 --> 00:26:47.100 Like, did Jesus ever walk into room and was like, 00:26:47.100 --> 00:26:51.100 why are you guys singing? 00:26:51.100 --> 00:26:55.100 Worship song should be sang right now. I just walked in. 00:26:55.100 --> 00:26:59.100 Sing a little louder. No. 00:26:59.100 --> 00:27:03.100 Nobody sang when he walked in the room. I think reading 00:27:03.100 --> 00:27:07.100 Jesus character in the way that he acted had he walked in a room and people 00:27:07.100 --> 00:27:11.100 started singing and he'd be like, whoa, calm down. What is happening right now? 00:27:11.100 --> 00:27:15.100 He was humble. 00:27:15.100 --> 00:27:19.100 He honored those around him. He was loving. He was caring. 00:27:19.100 --> 00:27:23.100 He wasn't demanding. 00:27:23.100 --> 00:27:27.100 We're here to see God 00:27:27.100 --> 00:27:31.100 clearly through the lens of Jesus. God is not 00:27:31.100 --> 00:27:35.100 demanding perfection. God is not waiting to punish. 00:27:35.100 --> 00:27:39.100 God is love and love in action. 00:27:39.100 --> 00:27:43.100 You see it in the person of Jesus. 00:27:43.100 --> 00:27:47.100 And when you begin there, everything shifts. You treat people 00:27:47.100 --> 00:27:51.100 differently. You begin to trust again. 00:27:51.100 --> 00:27:55.100 You step out of fear and into freedom. 00:27:55.100 --> 00:27:59.100 It's not about behavior modification. It's about becoming more 00:27:59.100 --> 00:28:03.100 human. More connected. More alive. 00:28:03.100 --> 00:28:07.100 So as we begin to unravel 00:28:07.100 --> 00:28:11.100 all the layers of inherited belief, 00:28:11.100 --> 00:28:15.100 I was reminded of something that this trapez 00:28:15.100 --> 00:28:19.100 monk mystic Thomas Merton once said. 00:28:19.100 --> 00:28:23.100 He said the beginning of love is the will to let those we love be 00:28:23.100 --> 00:28:27.100 perfectly themselves. The resolution not to 00:28:27.100 --> 00:28:31.100 twist them to fit our own image. If in loving 00:28:31.100 --> 00:28:35.100 them we do not love what they are but only their potential 00:28:35.100 --> 00:28:39.100 lightness to ourselves then we do not love them. 00:28:39.100 --> 00:28:43.100 We only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them. 00:28:45.100 --> 00:28:49.100 All of this. 00:28:49.100 --> 00:28:53.100 We talk about every week. It comes down to 00:28:53.100 --> 00:28:57.100 as John said, we are first loved 00:28:57.100 --> 00:29:01.100 and then we love. And if the way 00:29:01.100 --> 00:29:05.100 that we see God is one that is just 00:29:05.100 --> 00:29:09.100 waiting to get us then we can operate 00:29:09.100 --> 00:29:13.100 in the way that we're not really interested in you until you fit 00:29:13.100 --> 00:29:17.100 the world. 00:29:17.100 --> 00:29:21.100 So the invitation is what if the story 00:29:21.100 --> 00:29:25.100 of your life, the version you've been told, the one wrapped in shame or fear 00:29:25.100 --> 00:29:29.100 isn't the real story. What if like the woman 00:29:29.100 --> 00:29:33.100 at the well you've been waiting for someone 00:29:33.100 --> 00:29:37.100 to see you not as a project but as a person. 00:29:37.100 --> 00:29:41.100 Not as a problem to fix but as a soul to love. 00:29:41.100 --> 00:29:45.100 I think what we see in Jesus is that 00:29:45.100 --> 00:29:49.100 Jesus sees you just like he saw her. 00:29:49.100 --> 00:29:53.100 And the invitation still stands to come 00:29:53.100 --> 00:29:57.100 to drink, to be free, to be loved. 00:29:57.100 --> 00:30:01.100 Because when you experience this love you will see others as Jesus has seen them 00:30:01.100 --> 00:30:05.100 and you will love like Jesus has loved. 00:30:05.100 --> 00:30:09.100 And I think this is how this love is supposed to play out in the human experience 00:30:09.100 --> 00:30:13.100 that we're in. This human experience that we call faith. 00:30:13.100 --> 00:30:17.100 We are loved. 00:30:17.100 --> 00:30:21.100 And because we are loved we go love well. 00:30:21.100 --> 00:30:25.100 So we view God as a loving God. We experience that love 00:30:25.100 --> 00:30:29.100 and we go share that love. That's why every week 00:30:29.100 --> 00:30:33.100 we come back to the same thing. 00:30:33.100 --> 00:30:37.100 Arsenal go love well. That's literally who we're made to be. 00:30:37.100 --> 00:30:41.100 Experience that God and then go share that love. 00:30:41.100 --> 00:30:45.100 Love you guys. We'll see you next week.