Reference – John 4:16-26 – The Christian message has been consistent through the years, underscoring the importance of love, yet often, we fail to live out this aspect of the message. Nevertheless, it is the core of the message of Jesus, not the doctrines, not the creeds, not the belief systems, not the practices, not the books written. None of that is the core.
The core is love, and in the passage, John 4:16-26, we observe Jesus speaking to this woman; he starts by asking her to go and get her husband, to which she responds, indicating that she has no husband. Jesus said you are correct because you had five, and the one you are with is not your husband. Interestingly, the woman doesn’t stop there; she doesn’t recoil or take on the shame because there is a reason for being at the well at that time. After all, her character was not the greatest, and midday was probably the best time to get away from the other women who would have gone in the morning when it was cooler and the better time to draw water. But be that as it may, the fact is that when he confronts her, she turns it inside out and says wow, you are a prophet.
She raises issues about prophecy, God, and faith traditions and talks about worship taking him completely away from wherever that idea would have led and Jesus uses the opportunity to engage her because, again, there is that sense that Jesus does those things frequently. He is amazed and would sometimes comment that he has not seen such faith in persons of faith, and this seems to be one of those moments when he can make that kind of statement because, in a way, the woman has engaged him. She has been able to say well, you know, tell me about this worship of ours. Tell me what you guys say and what we say. Jesus is saying, well, it’s not about a place. It’s not about location. It’s a state of being, and Jesus identifies that state of being as Spirit. This entire section in John’s Gospel focuses on the Spirit.
In this conversation with the woman, Jesus is still on that theme of Spirit, and He is using Spirit here as the methodology of worship. Through the Spirit, one can come into the presence of God. Through water, we come into the presence of humanity; through Spirit, man can come into the presence of God, and there is that sense that God is Spirit. Still, we also say God is love, so Spirit, love, God is a wonderful threesome that we have there, so the invitation that Jesus offers the woman saying that the true worshippers will worship in Spirit and truth this indicates for us that a lot of what we do often is to satisfy our humanness. Still, we don’t attend to the spiritual aspect of ourselves.
It is not just the things we do in or for church. It’s not about the creeds, it’s not about our knowledge of scripture, it’s not about our knowledge of the doctrine of the church. The sign that we are in communion with God is that sense of spiritual well-being or spiritual awareness, and this is what Jesus is saying: we must not be caught up in whether you worship on this mountain or that mountain, in this building or that building, because where worship happens is in Spirit. You can be on this mountain, or that mountain, this building or that building, this church or that temple, yet you very well might not be in Spirit, and that’s where worship of God begins, when we are in Spirit.
Listening to Jesus speak to this woman also means knowing that Jesus is speaking to all. Are we in Spirit when we are worshipping? Since Covid has shown its face in our midst, we have all gone to the internet, and with churches closing and closing at various times, we have all had to depend on being able to join one church service or another. Sometimes, people go from one church service to another just enjoying the opportunity to see what’s happening in other places. But there is a serious caution here because what we have to ask ourselves as we do this is this, “Are you centred in the flesh or spirit as we watch the various services?”
Jesus says the true worshiper worships God in Spirit and truth. Truth, openness, revealing, allowing completely with nothing to hide, simply opening oneself before God, completely immersed in the Divine love. I encourage you to hear Jesus’ words: “The true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must worship him in Spirit and truth. These are the words of Jesus, and this is what we are being asked to do: worship.
My friends, the technology has provided us with a wonderful opportunity. Let’s not diminish the opportunity. Let’s not turn it into another opportunity for entertainment. Lift it higher and ensure that when we come into these devotions or services that we participate in, we come prepared to be in Spirit to join in the divine worship of Almighty God; this is important. It may take a little time, but little by little, as we continue to make the effort, we will succeed. God is Spirit, and those who worship God must worship Him in Spirit and truth.
