Fruit: Sharing (blog)

My husband harvested so many tomatoes from our vegetable garden in August that space was at a premium on our kitchen counters.  We shared the fruits eagerly with family and friends, neighbors and anyone else who needed them. And yes, I do mean needed them. If you're not from the Garden State and are slicing into a Jersey tomato for the first time then you might not understand this (yet). Be sure to have paper towels on hand, because these juicy beauties will spill out all over your cutting board and drip down the sides. They're also seriously sweet, and that's what makes sharing them with other people so enjoyable. One thing I've learned is that you can't always tell who has been missing out and is needing the experience of a juicy, sweet Jersey tomato until you start offering them to people. For several weeks I've been writing about the spiritual "harvest" of people in the town of Sychar who were missing out and in need of a savior. I'm looking more closely at what Jesus and a woman from that town shared with each other in conversation (John 4:7-26), and what their words tell us about her "ripeness", her readiness to believe in Jesus. Jesus was tired and had stopped to rest near an old well that ran deep in the Samaritan town, while his disciples went off to buy food. It was noon when the woman came to draw water, and I'm guessing that in the heat of the day she and Jesus were both thirsty and in need of refreshment. "Will you give me a drink?" Jesus asked her (v. 4:7) The woman was surprised by his request, and said so. Their ethnic and religious differences should have precluded any kind of sharing between them. "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water," Jesus replied (v. 4:10). Jesus suggested, and then went on to make clear, that the woman was missing out and that he had something infinitely superior to give her which he knew she needed: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water, welling up to eternal life." (v. 4:13-14) What amazes me is that their dialog didn't end there with Jesus' unusual offer of abundance. The woman didn't take hold of her water jar and start slowly backing away. Why didn't she?  I think it's because Jesus' words had gone deep, drawing out from inside of her an awareness of her need. On some level she recognized that she was missing out on something, and this made the woman "ripe for harvest" or ready to listen, and ultimately to believe in Jesus. His offer to meet her need by sharing living water with her was juicy and sweet. As their conversation continued, the woman opened up to Jesus.  She acknowledged her broken relationships and sought his take on their religious differences. She even shared her expectations for a savior with him:"...'I know that Messiah' (called Christ) 'is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.'" (v. 4:25)I think her words reveal not just an expectation but a longing for a savior, don't you? "You Samaritans worship what you do not know," Jesus explained to her (v. 4:22). "God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth." (v. 4:24) Jesus spoke truth to this woman because he cared deeply for her and wanted her to know about God's saving love. As I think back to my husband's tomatoes, I remember that we were as eager to clear off our kitchen counters as we were to meet our neighbors' need for the fruit. But Jesus' only concern that day at the well in Sychar was meeting the woman's need for a savior. How do I know that? Because the very reason he came into the world was to give his life for her (and for all people), dying on the cross to save her! Jesus went on to share this good news of forgiveness and salvation for all people with the woman by explaining to her that the savior she was waiting for would come through those God had set apart for that purpose (the Jews), and that he had come and was standing right there in front of her. Her waiting was over, the savior she longed for was here! "Then Jesus declared, 'I who speak to you am he.'" (v. 4:26) At that point the woman did flee (forgetting her water jar completely), but only to go and tell her neighbors about Jesus and bring them back to meet him."... 'Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?'" (v. 4:29) Jesus stayed with the people of Sychar, at their urging, for two more days and explained everything they needed to know about God's love and saving grace for all people. And many put their faith in him.