Lent
March 11, 2023
Scripture Reading:
John 4:5-42
Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers 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 him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ –John 4:16-26
The Jews anticipated the coming of the Messiah. In Jewish eschatology, the term mashiach, or “Messiah”, refers specifically to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who is expected to save the Jewish nation, and will be anointed with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age*. Similarly, in Christian theology, Messías [is] literally, “the anointed one,” referring to Jesus as the Christ – supremely empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish all of the divine plan**.
The Messiah is a leader worth following. The Messiah, or Christ in Greek, has a plan for our lives built on love, enabled by grace. We were created to participate in establishing God’s divine plan for building the beloved community where we work together as one sharing our diverse talents and skills to create a world where everyone has enough and where are welcomed for who they are as God created each of us in God’s image and recognized us each as good. Working together, we enable each person to be fully the person God created them to be.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for guiding us with your love and your grace. Amen.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_in_Judaism#:~:text=In%20Jewish%20eschatology%2C%20the%20term,people%20during%20the%20Messianic%20Age.
**https://biblehub.com/greek/3323.htm
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.