Opening
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. (Psalm 51:15)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.
Invitatory
The Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings. (Malachi 4:2)
Oh, come, let us worship and praise.
Psalm 95:1-7
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before God’s presence with thanksgiving
and raise a loud shout to the Lord with psalms.
For you, Lord, are a great God,
and a great ruler above all gods.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
In your hand are the caverns of the earth;
the heights of the hills are also yours.
The sea is yours, for you made it;
and your hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
For the Lord is our God,
and we are the people of God’s pasture
and the sheep of God’s hand.
Come, let us sing to the Lord:
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
Invitatory
The Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings.
Oh, come, let us worship and praise.
Philippians 2:4-11
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death —
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
God of patience, your people grow weary. We complain and question, and we put you to the test. Empty our hearts of anger and pride, our souls of greed and selfishness, our minds of envy, doubt, and mistrust. As you poured out your very self, pour your Spirit into our hearts today. Gently call us back to you and claim us with your love. Amen.
Song “Give me Jesus,” Fernando Ortega
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rZ8k9m2hwo
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus
When I am alone
When I am alone
When I am alone, give me Jesus
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus
When I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die, give me Jesus
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
You can have all this world,
But give me Jesus
John 4:5-42
Jesus defies convention to engage a Samaritan woman in conversation. Her testimony, in turn, leads many others to faith.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water [at Jacob’s well], and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jewish man, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jewish people do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his children and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.
Reflection — Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: “Greetings, Samaritan woman, I’m Jesus”
This Samaritan woman came to Jacob’s well to get a basic necessity of life: water. She came there about noon? Who does that? Well, someone who’s thirsty and who’s an outcast of the community. And she was. On many levels. She was a Samaritan, and thus a half-breed at best to the higher class, ethically 'normal' folks by cultural standards, who were deemed worthy to worship in Solomon’s temple. But main reason she was there at noon and not when the other women came to draw the day's water is because, for whatever reason, she’d been unlucky with the men in her life: either widowed multiple times, or just passed on from man to man as a woman unfit, and I’m guessing here, maybe unable to bear offspring.
Enter Jesus. He engages her in conversation. What’s he even doing talking to a woman, much less this woman? But he does. And the Samaritan woman’s response is: “How is it that you, a Jewish man, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” It doesn't matter that they are talking about such a basic thing as water; a man didn't talk to a woman in 1st-century Samaria unless they were related. And the relationship between Jews and Samaritans had for centuries been dead; these were peoples completely shut off from one another. So she's like: What gives, Jesus?
At the base are the things all living things including people need most critically: things like a steady heartbeat, air to breathe, food and water, excretion, sleep. And then there’s the one we get mixed up about, sex or procreation. Given the fact that human world population is 7.4 billion today, and slated to be 11.2 billion by 2100, it’s no wonder. We have definitely “been fruitful and multiplied” (Genesis 1:28). But I digress.
Jesus engages the woman promising to fulfill her most basic needs: water, food, peace, life, a heartbeat. He tells her she is worthy. She is loved by God. She is claimed by God and called beloved child. She is included in God’s welcoming community.
Jesus the great I AM -- the One through whom God breathes into existence all of creation and calls it good -- stands there promising living water and tells her: The hour is here. God’s moment is now. The Messiah for whom you wait is here: “Here I AM, the one who is speaking to you” (John 4:26). Thus, it’s not about worshiping in a certain place or in a certain way, but worshiping “in spirit and truth”, from the depth of your being. “Such worshipers the Father seeks.”
And such a Father meets us where we’re at, gives us Living Water, says you are welcome in this place. Like God acting upon the cocoon to bring life from death, such a Father restores us to community and healthy relationship with people around us. Amen, come Lord Jesus.
Scriptural Dialogue
One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)
Gospel Canticle “Shout for Joy,” Lincoln Brewster, Paul Baloche
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly4pXah7XPE
pour out your fervent praise
there's a song to raise like a banner high
lift up your grateful heart to the Morning Star
he's alive and here with us
shout for joy, for the Son of God
is the Saving One, he's the Saving One
shout for joy, see what Love has done
he has come for us, he's the Saving One
we stood on sinking sand
he reached out his hand, pulled us to his side
we turned our hearts away, he was strong to save
now our Savior reigns in us
shout for joy, for the Son of God
is the Saving One, he's the Saving One
shout for joy, see what Love has done
he has come for us, he's the Saving One
there is no other god like You
we’ll sing the praises that you’re due
Jesus, you have saved us
there is no other god who reigns
you are the Name above all names
Jesus, you have saved us
shout for joy, for the Son of God
is the Saving One, he's the Saving One
shout for joy, see what Love has done
he has come for us, he's the Saving One
Prayers
The Lord be with you. And also with you.
Let us pray. We give thanks to you, heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have protected us through the night from all harm and danger. We ask that you would also protect us today from sin and all evil, so that our life and actions may please you. Into your hands we commend ourselves: our bodies, our souls, and all that is ours. Let your holy angels be with us, so that the wicked foe may have no power over us. Amen.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
Blessing
May God who has called us forth from the dust of the earth, and claimed us as children of the light, strengthen you on your journey into life renewed. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord’s face shine upon you with grace and mercy. The Lord look upon you with favor
and give you + peace. Amen.
A greeting of peace may be shared by all.
Copyright © 2017 Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission under Augsburg Fortress Liturgies Annual License #SAS011448. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. “Give me Jesus” Fernando Ortega and Moses Hogan, based on African American spiritual © Hal Leonard Corporation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rZ8k9m2hwo “Shout for Joy,” Lincoln Brewster, Paul Baloche, Jason Ingram © 2012 Integrity Worship Music, CCLI 5808429 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly4pXah7XPE Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, developed by Abraham Maslow 1943, info for nurses: http://www.rnpedia.com/nursing-notes/fundamentals-in-nursing-notes/maslows-hierarchy-basic-human-needs/
