Keyword Search




  • Buy Direct from CSS Publishing Company
    Buy Direct from CSS Publishing Company


    Buy Direct from CSS Publishing Company


    Buy Direct from CSS Publishing Company


    Buy Direct from CSS Publishing Company


    Buy Direct from CSS Publishing Company


    Buy Direct from CSS Publishing Company


    Buy Direct from CSS Publishing Company

Third Sunday in Lent, Cycle A

The connection between the Exodus 17 and John 4 texts is clearly the concept of life-supporting water in each of them. The mention of Meribah and of Massah in Psalm 95:8 links that psalm to Exodus 17:1-7. The connections between the Romans 5 text and the other three are tenuous. Perhaps an allusion to the concept of life-supporting water in Exodus 17 and John 4 can be made in the use of the reference in Romans 5:5 to the love of God being poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us, or in the emphasis in Romans 5:1-5 on hope.

Psalm 95
This popular Community Hymn of Praise (used in Christian worship as the Venite Exultamus of the traditional Matins) includes a warning against disregarding the ways of the Lord in verses 7b-11. The people of the Lord who live with patient faithfulness shall dwell securely in the land. Those who refuse to heed the ways of the Lord will be rejected.

Exodus 17:1-7
In this text the proof of the presence of the Lord as the people moved through the Sinai Peninsula is given in the use of Moses’ rod to draw forth water from the rock at Horeb so that the Israelites and their cattle would live. The life-sustaining water was given, according to this text, not because the people were faithful to the Lord, but because they complained to Moses and Moses complained to the Lord.

Romans 5:1-11
The gift of God celebrated here in Romans 5:1-11 is more than water from a rock, important as that may be to those who wander in a desert. The gift here is the Holy Spirit and, more specifically, the life and death of Jesus the Christ. Paul wrote that Jesus died for the ungodly, for us while we were sinners. Certainly here the Lenten message is clearly focused.

John 4:5-42
There are some interesting similarities and some interesting differences between the First Lesson (Exodus 17:1-7) and this Gospel text. In Exodus 17:1-7 the proof of the presence of the Lord God with the people is given by means of the use of Moses’ rod to draw forth water from the rock at Horeb so that the Israelites and their cattle would live. In John 4:5-42 the proof of the presence of the Lord (Jesus) with the people is given in the statement of the Johannine Jesus that he is the Messiah who is coming, who will provide the living water so that those who drink of it will never thirst again. The Johannine Jesus as the Messiah who is to come knows all things and shows all things. The Samaritan woman and the many Samaritans from the city respond correctly; they believe in the Johannine Jesus.

By placing these two texts into juxtaposition, those who selected these pericopes intended to bring to our attention the claim of the Johannine community that the Johannine Jesus is greater than Moses. Perhaps the members of the Johannine community also wished to say the Johannine Jesus is greater than the Lord God as the ancient Israelites and as Jews perceived the Lord God, or at least that the Johannine Jesus is the Lord God among us.

It is our task as proclaimers of the Word to apply the message of this John 4 text in our situation, to communicate in some concrete way that Jesus raised from the dead is the Messiah who is coming and will provide for us living water so good that those who drink of it will never thirst again. The most important way we can do this is first to believe it ourselves, then to proclaim we believe it, and finally to demonstrate with our lives that we believe it. The responsibility of the other members of the congregations in which we serve is basically the same as our responsibility in this regard. They too are to believe the gospel in this text, to proclaim it with their lips, and to demonstrate it in their lives.

In order to indicate the essential unity of the message in Exodus 17:1-7 and in John 4, and in order to keep ourselves from falling into the sin of pride thinking we are superior to the Jews, we should note that while John 4 proclaims certain people believed that the Lord Jesus had come, it is proclaimed in Exodus 17:1-7 that the Lord God had come, even though many people did not believe. To proclaim the gospel even when there is no evidence of faith is as great as to proclaim the gospel that has been accepted by faith.

Leave a Reply

  • Get Your FREE 30-day Trial Subscription to SermonSuite NOW!
    SermonSuite
    Chris Keating
    The Double-Dog Dare Days of August
    August’s lazy, hazy dog days quickly became a deadly double-dog dare contest between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un, the supreme leader of North Korea. Both nations have been at odds with each other for nearly 70 years. During his working golf vacation in New Jersey last week, President Trump responded to North Korea’s rhetorical sword-rattling by launching a verbal preemptive strike of his own.
         Call it the Bedminster bombast, or the putt that rocked Pyongyang. But the duel between the two countries is more than fodder for late-night comedians. It’s a deadly standoff with history-changing repercussions.
         There is no vacation from matters of national security, or the orations of war. Indeed, much of the war of words between Washington and North Korea seems to confirm Jesus’ counsel in Matthew: “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles.” The contrasts between these barbed exchanges and the biblical understanding of peacemaking offers an intriguing opportunity to hear Jesus’ words in a world filled with double-dog (and even triple-dog) dares....more
    Feeding The 5,000
    The assigned Gospel text for this week skips over a couple of sections in Matthew's story. Matthew 14:34-36 cites Jesus' journey to Gennesaret. The crowds of people recognized him immediately and all of the sick came to him for healing. Just a touch of Jesus' garment brought healing to many. The crowd in Gennesaret recognized Jesus. They came to him in their need....more
    Wayne Brouwer
    Religious balkanization
    One dimension of religious life we have in common across faith traditions and denominational lines is the incessant divisiveness that split our seemingly monolithic communities into dozens of similar yet tenaciously varied subgroups. A Jewish professor of psychology said of his tradition, "If there are ten Jewish males in a city we create a synagogue. If there are eleven Jewish males we start thinking about creating a competing synagogue."...more
    C. David McKirachan
    Jesus Is Coming, Look Busy
    Isaiah 56:1, 6-8
    I had a parishioner who would walk out of the sanctuary if he saw a djembe (African drum) out in front to be used in worship.  I asked him about it, in a wonderfully pastoral manner, and he told me that things like that didn’t belong in worship.  I said that it was in the bible to praise God with pipes and drums (I think it is).  He told me he didn’t care what the Bible said, he knew where that thing came from and he wouldn’t have it.  I asked him why things from Africa would bother him.  He told me that he knew I was liberal but that didn’t mean he had to be.  I agreed with him but cautioned him that racism was probably one of the worst examples of evil in our world and I thought he should consider what Christ would think of that.  He asked me who paid my salary, Christ or good Americans....more
    Janice Scott
    No Strings Attached
    In today's gospel reading, Jesus seemed reluctant to heal the Canaanite woman's daughter. He told her that he wasn't sent to help foreigners, but only his own people, the Chosen Race. The words sound unnecessarily harsh, but perhaps this is an interpretation unique to Matthew, for this story only appears in Matthew's gospel, which was written for Jews....more
    Arley K. Fadness
    Great Faith
    Object: Hula Hoop or circle made out of ribbon, twine or rope
    What an amazing morning to come to church today. I am so glad to see you and talk to you about a wonderful story from the bible. Let me begin by showing you this circle. Now let's get into this circle. (Physically, all move into the circle) It's fun for us all to be together in this circle. We don't want anyone to be left out. To be left out is to be sad. To be kept out is even more sad and painful....more

Authors of
Lectionary Scripture Notes
Norman A. Beck is the Poehlmann Professor of Theology and Classical Languages and the Chairman of the Department of Theology, Philosophy, and Classical Languages at Texas Lutheran University
Dr. Norman A. Beck
Mark Ellingsen is professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. Mark Ellingsen

Archives