"Everything I had ever Done" - March 6, 2023
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 56, 57, [58]; PM Psalm 64, 65; Jer. 1:11-19; Rom. 1:1-15; John 4:27-42
Have you ever tried to keep something from God? I know this sounds silly, and we know that all things are known to God, but I would wager that all of us have things only known to ourselves and God, things done and left done in the past that we have kept buried deep down. The idea of sharing everything we have ever done with a person, every selfish thought, every judgmental word or consideration. And yet this is preciously what happens to the woman who encounters Jesus in the fourth chapter of John. She doesn’t leave feeling guilty or compelled by shame. Instead, she wonders if he is the Messiah, and her testimony drives others on a quest.
I shared a few weeks ago that Confession is an act that Episcopalians can use as a tool to help deepen their spiritual lives. When a person confesses to God, it is not that they are sharing with God what God doesn’t know. Voicing that confession to God by offering it in front of a priest, is allowing what has been done to no longer live hidden in the closet of someone’s ego, slowly wearing someone down with guilt or shame. Confession helps someone to know that God’s love is even larger, and salvation has no limits or boundaries.
The Samaritans are deeply moved that this woman is testifying that Jesus has told her everything that she has done. And the Samaritan people don’t run and hide, they actively seek out Jesus and invite him into their lives.
Lent is a season where we are called to self-exploration, intentional reflection on our own limitations, where we have not done our best, where we have left things undone, and where we have done wrong. The reminder of Jesus’s encounter with the woman at the well is that this is Good news. Self-reflection leads to fully knowing God’s love and grace, no matter how long that list is. And she said, “He told me everything that I had ever done!” And she found life and salvation and so did many in her community. Thanks be to God.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: Are there things that you are too difficult or painful to look back on? Consider if these memories have kept you from the fullness of life.
Daily Challenge: It’s not too late to make an appointment with a clergyperson to hear your confession. This is where the bind of confidentiality between clergy and parishioner exists (unless someone is confessing future harm).