What Can I Get You to Drink?

2nd Sunday in Lent, 3/8/20
John 4:5-26


What Can I Get You to Drink?
I. I know you need something because your soul is parched.
II. You tend to drink things that only make you more thirsty.
III. I’m offering you living water.


Even though it seems as if common courtesy in our modern world is so often a thing of the past, there are still some that we regularly practice. And one of them is that we expect a host to offer a visitor something to drink.

I can’t think of a time when I have been in your home that you didn’t offer me that basic courtesy. Moments after I stepped inside your house or as soon as I sat down in one of your chairs, you asked, “Pastor, can I get your something to drink? A glass of water, a soft drink, or a cup of coffee?” And I appreciated that, even if I declined your offer.

And I’ve noticed that even business people do the same. Whether it’s my insurance agent or my rental car agent, as soon as I arrive in their office, they offer me a bottle of water.

Jesus does the same thing. Are you surprised that I would say such a thing? If so, let me explain. We call what we do here on Sunday mornings “worship” or a “service.” The word “service” implies that “serving” is happening. And it truly is. In fact, two kinds of service are happening. First and foremost, Jesus is serving us with his word and sacraments. There is no more important or higher service than that. In response to his serving us, we serve him with our worship and our offerings.

Today, Jesus is serving us with his word from John 4, the event in which Jesus met a woman at the well of Samaria. And as he serves us, Jesus asks, “Can I get you something to drink?” Let’s remember our manners and tell him, “Of course you can! Thank-you!” In doing so, let’s see what his offer is all about.

Part I.

Have you ever gotten into a conversation at the request of another person, and it became clear fairly soon that what they were talking about at the moment wasn’t really what they intended to talk to you about? I think most of us, if not all of us, have been in that situation. And one of our common reactions is, “I get the feeling that’s not why I’m here talking with you today. What do you really want to talk with me about?”

While that was the case on this day in the life of Jesus, that scenario didn’t play out, because Jesus was the master conversationalist and the setting was so natural. John sets it up with these words, “Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well.” Jesus was heading from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north, and he was doing so on foot, a journey of about 120 miles. He was about halfway there and stopped to rest.

And he did so at a well, which was a public place and thus a natural place for him to stop. He not only could sit down there, he could also get a drink of water. All very natural. What else would you do at a well?

And when this unnamed Samaritan woman arrives, he does the natural thing and asks her for a drink. Other than the fact—as the woman quickly points out—that Jesus is a Jew and she’s a Samaritan, this request was completely natural. This is her “home well”; Jesus is a visitor. Jesus has nothing to draw the water with. So, he does the natural thing and asks her for a drink.

But that’s not the most important thing on his mind. His request for a drink of water isn’t where he wants his conversation with her to begin and end. And he makes that clear by stating, “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.” Jesus knew that she needed a drink far more than he did, because her soul was parched. He knew that, because he knows all things, as he displays to her a little later. But it was also evident from her daily life that her soul was parched. She came to the well alone. In biblical times, going to the well was something that the women of the village did together every day. It was a group social event. She wasn’t part of their group. It’s likely she wasn’t welcome, and it hurt.

What’s worse, she had tried to love others, but that love wasn’t returned, at least not in a committed way. She had “tried” love five times, and each time it ended badly for her. Imagine the rejection. She had to wonder what was “wrong” with her that she was so unable to stay in a marriage. She was hurting. Her soul was parched.

Bottom line, she was broken. She was a broken woman living in a broken world. She couldn’t even succeed at human relationships. How could she find peace for her soul in a divine relationship?

We know what that’s like, don’t we? We’re broken people living in a broken world, too. Promises broken, dreams dashed, hopes unfulfilled, sometimes tragically so. We wanted our lives to be so much better, but we failed. Being honest…too often we feel like losers, not winners. Our souls are parched.

Part II.

This woman quickly and acutely felt her spiritual thirst—her parched soul—especially after Jesus revealed that he knew how broken her life was. His divine knowledge of the details of her failures clearly indicated to her that he was a prophet. So, she spoke to him of her attempts to be spiritual and quench her parched soul. She stated, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” The Samaritans were a mix of people and religions, including some tenets of the Jewish religion. As such, they realized that worshipping at the right place was important, just as the Jews did. But she asserted that her people insisted on worshipping at a different place. In other words, she tried to quench her spiritual thirst by worshipping at the right place with the right ceremonies. She thought that religion consisted in formalism.

To be honest, the Jews of Jesus’ days on earth thought the same thing. They felt compelled to bring the Lord the right sacrifices at the right place at the right time. Just obey the Jewish laws, or at least try hard to do so, and then you met the requirements. You’re good to go, spiritually speaking. It was like checking things off a spiritual “to-do” list.

Sound familiar? Maybe not at first. After all, we’re Lutherans who know that God is not pleased with such things from us outwardly if our hearts are far from him inwardly. But how often is worship merely an obligation? Is it ever something you simply decide to check off of your list of things you should be doing? Have you ever left worship and had trouble recalling what the focus of the message from God’s word was? Or, do you remember what it was, but it made no impact on how you lived your life that week? Is your confession of sins a few sentences of thoughtless words? We go through the motions and meanwhile, our souls are parched, dying for something to drink. That’s because going through the motions of worship only makes our souls more thirsty, like drinking salt water.

Part III.

Jesus knew that this woman’s soul was screaming for relief. He heard it loud and clear when she appealed to the time when the Messiah would arrive and quench her thirsty soul. And this is the spiritual water he offered, “I who speak to you am he.” If he were speaking to you and me today, he might say, “I’m that Messiah. I’m your Savior and I’m here to offer you living water.”

And that’s what he offered her, a woman who realized that her own efforts to make herself acceptable with God only drove her further into the hole of despair, only blew hot, dry air on her parched soul. She was broken, and she not only realized it, she admitted it. That’s what Jesus is looking for. He’s not impressed when we try to stand before him on our own. In fact, he detests it. That’s what the Pharisees of his day insisted on doing. Instead, as we heard on Ash Wednesday, he looks for the heart of the tax collector who stands at the back of the church, keeps his eyes glued to the floor in front of him, and implores, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

And when that’s our spiritual posture before Jesus, then he does what he desires with all his heart to do—to offer us the living water of his forgiveness and the certainty of our eternal life with him. It’s his gift to you which you do nothing to earn or receive. That’s what makes it living water. That’s why it and it alone relieves parched souls.

So, when Jesus asks, “What can I get you to drink?” ask him for his living water.

Imagine if this event had played out differently. Imagine if this woman had seen Jesus there at the well and decided she didn’t really want to go anywhere near him, at least not on that day. Imagine if Jesus had started this conversation with her and she had ended it by stating, “You know, I really have better things to do today. Maybe we can talk another time.” Imagine if Jesus had offered her living water and she had stated, “Thanks, but no thanks. I think I’ll stick to what I’ve been drinking.” How tragic!

But have we ever done the same thing? Have we ever determined that Jesus and the living water he offers isn’t what we’re looking for? Do we, at least for the moment, think we have other things to do and other people to spend time with? Is our attitude toward his living water one that thinks it’ll be available when we need it and have time for it, as if it were available on the shelves at Walmart or Kroger 24 hours a day? Martin Luther once referred to the gospel as a shower that is always moving. He warned the people of his day not to neglect it. Is the gospel raining in your area today? Then take it in! It’s living water! Drink as much of it as you can! It offers forgiveness for every time we’ve failed to appreciate it. It relieves parched souls. My soul. Your soul.

Jesus is asking you today, “What can I get you to drink?” Don’t hesitate to reply, “Give me your living water, please!” And receive it by faith in him. Amen.