For Ever and a Day Sermon at United Church of Beloit Dec 16 2018

Isaiah 12:2-6

12:2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.

12:3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

12:4 And you will say in that day: Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.

12:5 Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth.

12:6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Reference: Isaiah 9:BULLETIN COVER!

For to us a child is born, 

to us a son is given, 

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called  

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

 Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This is of course one of the most famous prophecies of Jesus. The prophet Isaiah wrote approx 700 years before Jesus’ birth. The assumption was that the prophecy was of a king, who would free the Hebrew people from oppression. This would surely be a very special king, a Messiah or anointed One, ordained by God’s own self!! A Wonderful Counselor, who would have unparalleled wisdom, more so than even the revered King Solomon! Mighty God -having immense strength and power, Everlasting Father--one who creates, provides and protects! The Prince of Peace, who would bring an end to wars… This prophecy is a tall order of course! Only One sent from God could fulfill it! These qualities. are all aspects of the perfect peace of God, Shalom.

This 3rd Sunday of Advent we’re thinking about the prophecy of Everlasting Father. That phrase is pretty deep isn’t it? There are many references to God as “Father” in the bible, but also motherly references too. Birth and nurturing, -- covering the young with outstretched wings for example. God is more than Father and Mother. We are language in some ways limits our ability to fully describe God. God is Father and Mother and more than those!

Everlasting ==eternal…. The One who was and is and ever shall be (Revelation)  God’s own name, as told to Moses, I AM

In the original Hebrew-- is literally I am who i will be..so that sense of eternity is right there in God’s own name. Jesus is God’s Son.. and he consistently refers to God as “My Father in heaven” or Abba, which is “Dad” Yet we know from John chapter 1 that Jesus was present at the creation of heaven and earth, and Jesus refers to himself as One with the Father, so he does indeed fulfill this prophecy.

THe verse Pastor Steve read for us is one of the texts for today from the Lectionary, the prescribed texts for each week. THe Prophet is speaking to the Hebrew people and for them as well, singing praises to God. In prepping for today i was struck by the beauty and comfort of these words, written and spoken to people in exile. Reminding them that the Holy One was still present in their very midst.

And one line especially sort of jumped out at me: especially for this Sunday when we light the Candle of Joy:

Verse 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

I immediately thought of a story from the Gospel of John:
Jesus and the disciples are traveling thru Samaria and about noon, the hottest part of the day, Jesus sat down at a well known as Jacob’s well (yes the Jacob of the Old testament who wrestled with God!) the text specifies that Jesus was tired from the journey.

John Chapter 4  

7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food.

9 The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.)

10 Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.”

11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you don’t have a bucket and the well is deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave this well to us, and he drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,14 but whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!”

Jesus asks her for a drink. He humbles himself to speak to a woman, which wasn’t done in their culture, to speak to a Samaritan. He lets her know that he is in need of a drink of water.  She is at a well at the hottest time of day, clearly she is in need as well!!

She and he are not quite on the same page at first. He speaks of Living Water and she says “sir you don’t have a bucket”.  

I love that her response is to then refer to their common forebear “Our father Jacob”.  They’ve got something in common despite all their differences. (we talked about this at Women’s Fellowship last Spring! The traditional take on this story is that she is an outcast for having 5 previous husbands, and is living with a man now.) yet, when Jesus chooses to speak to her, to share in his need, she chooses to refer to what they have in common.

Then Jesus says “whoever drinks from the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become in those who drink it a spring of water that bubbles up into eternal life.”

Her response sounds pretty joyful don't you think?

“Sir, give me this water, so that I will never be thirsty and will never need to come here to draw water!”

She may well be still thinking in practical terms, not the metaphor of ‘living water’ that Jesus uses for Salvation. It would certainly be nice to never again carry a heavy jar back and forth at all hours!! But in just another moment, she will recognize Jesus as a prophet and ask him about the differences in the beliefs of Jews and Samaritans. She is knowledgeable and curious about both religions! Could it be possible that she recognizes the Isaiah reference “with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Certainly by the end of their conversation she did!

This story in the gospel of John is the longest conversation Jesus has with any person. It is also the first time he says outright that he is the Messiah. How interesting that he chooses someone so different from himself!

And what was this woman’s response? She ran back into town to share the news!

Verse 39 tells us. Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.

42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”

The Savior of the world is coming...not as a King, or a military master leading an army. But as a baby..born for one purpose. When the choir sang “Were you there? Did you think of the Good Friday song "Were you there?” Good! Because this baby will be born to go to the cross...for the forgiveness of our sin and to give us eternal life.

Just like the woman at the well, we too are called to share the Good news of Jesus Christ! The prophecies and promises all thru the Bible are of God Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for all eternity!! We are called to tell about it, And we are called to do even more. To be a disciple and to make disciples is to live as Jesus did. To share the promises of God-the promises of Eternal Salvation, the Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

Closing Prayer: (from Walter Brueggemann)  Holy One, we give thanks for the gift of Jesus. We ponder the meaning of one who is the Son yet fulfills the role of Everlasting Father. By your Spirit, give us the joy and assurance of your everlasting presence. Empower us as the church to carry forth your promises as we partner in your mission for the world. Amen.

NOW let us do as this woman did and the shepherds did on the night of that first christmas, Go Tell it On the Mountain, Over the Hills and Everywhere! Please stand in body or spirit…