Bag Lady

"BAG LADY"

JOHN 4:4-42 2/01

"JESUS SAID TO HER, YOU ARE RIGHT WHEN YOU SAY YOU HAVE NO HUSBAND. THE FACT IS, YOU HAVE HAD FIVE HUSBANDS, AND THE MAN YOU NOW HAVE IS NOT YOUR HUSBAND"

LOVE IS ONE OF THE SIMPLEST

YET MOST COMPLEX SENSATIONS

IN THE HUMAN REPERTOIRE

OF EMOTIONS

FROM BIRTH ON

EVERYBODY IN HER OR HIS RIGHT MIND

WANTS SOME LOVE

FOR THE INFANT IT IS MOMMA’S LOVE

FOR THE TEEN IT IS

THAT FIRST LOVE

WHILE THE ADULT IS USUALLY LOOKING FOR THAT REAL LOVE

AND THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH DESIRING LOVE

BECAUSE LOVE IS THE ULTIMATE SENSATION

GOD HAS PUT US IN SEARCH OF

EVERYONE WANTS SOME LOVE

THE PROBLEM IS HOWEVER

IN OUR QUEST TO PROCURE LOVE

WE OFTEN END UP WITH A WHOLE LOT OF BAGGAGE

RESULTING FROM LOVE GONE ARRAY

AND NO WHERE IS THIS MORE EVIDENT

THAN IN THE STORY

YOU ARE ABOUT TO HEAR

IN IT WE FIND JESUS PASSING THROUGH SAMARIA

WHEN HE VENTURES UPON A WELL

FROM WHICH THE LOCAL RESIDENTS DREW WATER

FOR THE VARIOUS PURPOSES FOLKS USED WATER

UPON ARRIVING AT THE WELL

HE MEETS A WOMAN FROM THE AREA

WHO HAD COME TO RETRIEVE WATER FROM SAID WELL

IF YOU REVIEW THE TEXT

YOU WILL DISCOVER IT SAYS SOMETHING IMPORTANT

ABOUT THIS WOMAN THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

IT SAYS SHE WAS A SAMARITAN

WHEN JESUS MEETS THIS WOMAN THERE

HE BEGINS A CONVERSATION BY INQUIRING

WHETHER OR NOT SHE COULD GIVE HIM A DRINK

AFTER WHICH SISTER GIRL - WE NEED TO GIVER HER A NAME

WE’LL CALL HER TAMARIA-

TAMARIA IMMEDIATELY RESPONDS TO HIM BY SAYING

YOU ARE A JEW AND I AM A SAMARITAN WOMAN

HOW CAN YOU ASK ME FOR A DRINK

YOU SEE - AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW

DURING THAT TIME JEWS AND SAMARITANS

DID NOT ASSOCIATE WITH ONE ANOTHER

AS A MATTER OF FACT

IF YOU WERE JEWISH-

ASSOCIATING WITH A SAMARITAN

YOU MIGHT BE CONSIDERED

RITUALLY UNCLEAN BY OTHER JEWS…

SO THE FACT THAT JESUS WOULD SPEAK WITH A SAMARITAN

WAS A RADICAL THING FOR HIM TO DO

DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME

OF COURSE ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT POINT HERE

IS THAT THERE WERE SIMILAR PROHIBITIONS

AGAINST A TEACHER OF JESUS STATUS

SPEAKING WITH ANY WOMAN

BY CONVERSING WITH TAMARIA

JESUS WAS BREAKING

RULE AFTER RULE

BUT THAT IN ITSELF SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT WHO JESUS IS

IF IT CAME TO A CHOICE BETWEEN

MAINTAINING A MAN MADE RULE

OR HELPING A PERSON IN NEED-

JESUS SHOWED OVER AND OVER AGAIN

THAT HE WAS GOING TO HELP THE PERSON

DON’T GET ME WRONG NOW

I DIDN’T SAY JESUS WOULD BREAK GOD’S RULES-

BUT HUMAN RULES AND TRADITIONS

OR INACCURATE INTERPRETATIONS OF GOD’S LAW

WOULD NOT STAND IN THE WAY

OF JESUS HELPING A PERSON

BECOME HEALED IN BODY, MIND OR SPIRIT

SO JESUS CONTINUES HIS CONVERSATION WITH TAMARIA-

BY SAYING

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-

NOW LET’S PAUSE HERE FOR A MOMENT

----

AS A REFORMED RAPPER - IN THE OLD SCHOOL SENSE

THAT IS

AS ONE WHO IS VERSED

WITH THE CONVERSATIONAL TECHNIQUES

UTILIZED IN THE REALM OF

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BETWEEN MEMBERS OF OPPOSITE GENDERS

I FIND CHRIST’S CONVERSATIONAL METHODOLOGY

WORTHY OF SIGNIFICANT ANALYSIS

FOR THE SAKE ENHANCING ONE’S OWN

EVANGELICAL VOCABULARY

LET ME SAY THIS DIFFERENTLY

THE WAY JESUS HOLLERED AT TAMARIA

WAS A POWERFUL EXAMPLE FOR US TODAY

ON HOW TO BRING FOLKS TO THE LORD

YOU SEE - BACK IN THE 70S

I MIGHT HAVE USED THE LINE

HEY BABY - WHAT’S YOUR SIGN

OR HEY GIRL - DO YOU HAVE THE TIME

AND THEN BASED ON HER RESPONSE

WOULD FOLLOW UP THAT LINE

WITH MORE MACK IN ORDER

TO EVENTUALLY GET HER NAME AND NUMBER-

OF COURSE THOSE WERE MY PRE-MARRIED PRE-CHRISTIAN DAYS

TODAY A WANNA BE BIG BALLER

MIGHT HOLLER AT A LADY WITH THE PHRASE

HEY BABY - WHERE’S YOUR MAN AT

AND THEN BASED ON HER RESPONSE

FOLLOW IT UP WITH A FEW MORE LINES

DESIGNED TO HELP HIM MEET HIS ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE

WHAT EVER THAT OBJECTIVE MIGHT BE

YET WAY BEFORE EITHER OF THOSE LINES WERE INVENTED

JESUS CAME HARD WITH THE MACK WHEN HE SAID

WOULD YOU GET ME A DRINK OF WATER..

BUT THERE IS ONE DISTINCT DIFFERENCE IN CHRIST’S RAP

AND THE RAP YOU WILL HEAR FROM MOST BROTHERS

IN MY DAY AND IN THIS DAY

WHEN A BROTHER IN THE WORLD DROPS HIS LINE DOWN

HE IS GENERALLY ATTEMPTING TO INCREASE THE ODDS

THAT HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO ---- GET HIS SWERVE ON…

BUT WHEN JESUS RAPPED OR HOLLERED AT A SISTER OR BROTHER

HIS ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASSIST THAT PERSON