September 7, 2025 · Rev. Derek van Gulden · John 4:1-27
Rev. Derek van Gulden calls the Samaritan woman at the well one of his favorite people in scripture: an outcast to whom Jesus first says plainly who he is, and who brings her whole town to meet him. A nursing-home nurse who asked how God could allow so much suffering hears that much of it is humanity's doing, and comes back to see how faith and prayer work.
Transcript
People of God, would you join me in a moment of prayer? Gracious and holy God, this morning I ask you to move the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts by your love, and help each of us this day not to be the instrument of our own or anyone else's oppression, but to be an instrument of peace in every step, in every breath, in every moment of every day. Amen.
Before I start, I will have to share with you that this is probably one of my favorite. I think I say this a lot favorite passages in Scripture. One of my favorite people in Scripture and quite often she is overlooked. Quite often people look at the things she has done, not in the faith that she's developing. My sermon title today is welcome into the household of faith.
Now, this woman at the well, a Samaritan woman. She's there around noon. But you notice in the story she's there by herself. Obviously, she's an outcast from her community because normally all the women would come, but they wouldn't come during noon because it's too hot. She's also given no name, which there are a number of women in the Bible that have no name, but that tells us something about where she stands within her community. And yet. Jesus. Welcomes her into the household of faith, not by chastising her. He doesn't chastise her when she says she has no husband. And she says, well, you've had five and the one you have now isn't your own. In that day and time and culture, she would have no choice, really, over who she married and how that marriage ended. And then who next would be the one that she would be married to.
What Jesus gives her is a chance to listen to him and him a chance to listen to her. And you see in this amazing woman, someone going from an outsider to somebody who eventually becomes what we would consider an apostle. She is also the first person in Scripture that Jesus says who he really is, who actually hears it and understands it. She says, I hear that the Messiah come is coming. And he says, I am he that you speak of.
Now with the disciples. Periodically he tries to tell them, or they try to guess, but he never comes out and says it. But to this woman, the first person essentially that he comes out to, this is an amazing woman. He nurtures her faith in that short period of time. He listens to her. She challenged him about, well, you Jews, you worship in the temple. And Jesus said, the day is coming when they will not worship in the temple. They will worship in faith.
And I love that. One of the first Sundays that I went to a Christian church, having grown up in Unitarian Church, The pastor who is new, took everybody outside and it was February and said, we have a beautiful old building with a white steeple. Many have liked this throughout New England and throughout other places. It's gorgeous. We love it. But out here is as holy as it is in there. Wherever we are is holy ground. Wherever we stand. And the thing we have to remember is we need to throw open the windows, break down the walls so we can see what's going on outside of us, and we can invite people in without obstruction. We are blessed in this church to have these beautiful clear windows. That we can see what's going on outside. And I firmly believe that we do open our doors for so many different people, but we can always do more.
But this woman. Is so amazing. Afterwards she goes and goes to her community. Now remember, she's an outsider in the community. There you. Have it. How's that? Oh, good. So she goes to her community, knowing full well, probably, that no one's going to listen to her, knowing full well that it might be a lost cause. And she tells everybody about this man at the well that she met and tells him everything he has done and everything he's saying. And what do they do? They listen to her. They follow her to go see him. She becomes an apostle, bringing people to Jesus and to God. And he stays there not just for that day, but for a couple days. Remember, Jesus is usually moving quite a lot, but he does stay with people.
This woman and this story. Welcoming people in. To faith. Welcome them home.
Now I will share with you. I've spent a fair amount of time this week in nursing homes. Because we have a few members of our church that are. Coming to the end of their life. And in one of them, someone, one of the nurses came up to me afterwards and said, you spent a fair amount of time with that person. I said, how long was I there? You were in there twenty five minutes. I said, oh, I didn't know that I had a preset time. What are you doing there? I said, we listen, we pray together. I anoint her and pray for her. We talk about things that are on her mind, and I remind her that she is a beloved child of God.
And this nurse said, well, that's the problem. I said, what's the problem? Your God, your God I don't believe exists. Because how would a God that is so powerful and so creative and whatever allow the things happening in the world right now to happen? She pointed out Gaza, she pointed out people in this country being taken off the streets or from their homes with no notice, not even being told who is doing that to them. The amount of people that die of starvation throughout the world, in our own country. The economic evil that's just swirling around us and people are trying to hold on. How can God let that happen?
I said, well, it is my belief that God did create the world. And inhabit it with all the creatures, including us. But those things are made by humanity. And we have to take part as humanity. All of us together in finding ways to bring justice, to overcome oppression. Compassion, Reconciliation and justice are three of the words that float through my head all the time and love.
A few days later, I was back because I go visit a couple times and same nurse was there and she said, father, can I ask you? And I said, you call me Derek. She said, father, I listened to what you said. And I started reading some scripture and I started talking to people. Can I come in with you and see how you two talk and how you pray together? So I ask this parishioner and she said, yes, please. And we talked a little bit. She asked what she wanted in prayer. She prayed for all of us here and other people. And then when I was anointing her, she asked the nurse if the nurse would hold her hand. And she did. And I wasn't really watching the nurse because I'm. My attention was somewhere else. But all of a sudden I heard this plump. The nurse just sat down right on the floor. And I continued doing what I was doing.
And then I said my goodbyes and the nurse came out a little later and said, I'm so sorry. I thought I slipped, but I didn't, I just plopped on the floor. I don't know what overcame me. I'll be back there today and it'll be interesting to see if she's there.
But this faith that obviously Jesus brought out of the woman at the well, we really need to give her a name. It's kind of is a faith that we all need to embrace, a faith that allows us to look up and say we are, as humanity, responsible for so many things done to creation. And remind others. It's easy to blame somebody else. And God has big shoulders and you can yell and scream at God. I firmly believe that. Do it in the car. Do it at the beach. Do it outside. You can come in here and do it.
But remember. We take an active part in everything that goes on in creation. So may we be moved by the woman at the well to recognize faith and to recognize Christ in all that God blesses each of us with and to remember. We are blessed with this building. We are blessed with this sanctuary, but it's also good to get outside, which I know we all do. Amen.