Living Water

The Woman at the Well

Jesus realized that the Pharisees were keeping count of the baptisms that he and John performed (although his disciples, not Jesus, did the actual baptizing). They had posted the score that Jesus was ahead, turning him and John into rivals in the eyes of the people. So Jesus left the Judean countryside and went back to Galilee.

To get there, he had to pass through Samaria. He came into Sychar, a Samaritan village that bordered the field Jacob had given his son Joseph. Jacob's well was still there. Jesus, worn out by the trip, sat down at the well. It was noon.

A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, "Would you give me a drink of water?" (His disciples had gone to the village to buy food for lunch.)

The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, "How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" (Jews in those days wouldn't be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)

Jesus answered, "If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water."

The woman said, "Sir, you don't even have a bucket to draw with, and this well is deep. So how are you going to get this 'living water'? Are you a better man than our ancestor Jacob, who dug this well and drank from it, he and his sons and livestock, and passed it down to us?"

Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."

The woman said, "Sir, give me this water so I won't ever get thirsty, won't ever have to come back to this well again!"

John 41-15 MSG

This image of McDonalds haunts me. I have been listening to Zooropa by U2 a lot lately as well. We are saturated by the images of mass produced pop culture that have turned us into beings from the movie Tron. We live in the neon glow of the consumer world where we buy things to be happy and buy things to pacify our longings. We shop at Wal-Mart for the every day mundane things that we have convinced ourselves are essential for life... quality life... longevity.

We tell ourselves, "I must have that or I'm going to die!!!" But the truth is that as our halo of stuff grows, our happiness never increases. Happiness is an illusion. Bob Dylan said, "Happy is a yuppy word." And Switchfoot turned that quote into an amazing song.

Happy Is A Yuppie Word
Switchfoot

Looking for an orphanage
I'm looking for a bridge I can't burn down
I don't believe the emptiness
I'm looking for the kingdom coming down
Everything is meaningless
I want more than simple cash can buy

Happy is a yuppie word
Nothing in the world could fail me now
It's empty as an argument
I'm running down a life that won't cash out

Things don't make us happy. True happiness comes from finding peace in what we have. Peace is satisfaction. It is oneness with the world around us. Jesus Christ came to give us peace. His last words to us till he returns are "Peace be with you." And may we find that illusive peace that is the only thing that can truly quince the thirst that haunts our lives.