Today's Gospel is about Jesus meeting the woman at the well - the one who had numerous husbands - the current man in the house - not her husband. By all rights - most would condemn her - Jesus doesn't. That should be reassuring to those of us - who sin less - commit small sins - or so we think. As people of God - disciples of Jesus - none of us is immune to sin. The world is a giant bowl of potato chips - each chip - a sin of a different flavor. As the saying goes - you can't eat just one - same goes for sins. When considering what is sinful - the list so long - it has no end. If I sin against my wife by disrespecting her and you - is that one sin or two? If the sinful action is the same but applied to multiple persons - how many times have I sinned. If I lose my temper and in anger shout curse words at someone - if I sneak ahead in a line - which sin is worse. In Proverbs 24:16 we read - a righteous man sins seven times a day - so essentially we are doomed? Tracing our roots back to the Torah - it was common knowledge that none of mankind was perfect - even a righteous person - sinful. Recognizing that we are all imperfect versions of a perfect God - we struggle with sin everyday.
Jesus recognized the woman at the well - just as he recognizes each of us. He knew she was sinful - he knows we are sinful - to her - to us - He offers us His healing power - to atone for what we have done wrong - to avoid the temptation to continue to sin. As we remove one sin from our lives - another appears - another to be reconciled with - to be healed - to move on - like a powerful stream of water - flowing over us - cleansing us of our imperfections - His Holy Spirit - the Living Water of the Gospel - constantly being poured upon each of us - washing us free - to New Life in Christ. Today thank Jesus for seeing your sins for what they are - imperfections in your life - that need to be washed away - to purify all of us - leading all to the Joy of Easter Resurrection - new life in Christ.
Deacon Dale
Jesus recognized the woman at the well - just as he recognizes each of us. He knew she was sinful - he knows we are sinful - to her - to us - He offers us His healing power - to atone for what we have done wrong - to avoid the temptation to continue to sin. As we remove one sin from our lives - another appears - another to be reconciled with - to be healed - to move on - like a powerful stream of water - flowing over us - cleansing us of our imperfections - His Holy Spirit - the Living Water of the Gospel - constantly being poured upon each of us - washing us free - to New Life in Christ. Today thank Jesus for seeing your sins for what they are - imperfections in your life - that need to be washed away - to purify all of us - leading all to the Joy of Easter Resurrection - new life in Christ.
Deacon Dale
