Mar 15 2020 John 4:5-42

"Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.”

Jesus has come upon the Samaritan woman at the well. She was not only a nameless nobody, she was seen as the enemy, by being a Samaritan. Jesus asks her for water, and eventually tells her that he is the living water. In her incredulous moments, she asks about the differences in the ways of worship – with the Samaritans worshipping on the mountain where their ancestors worshipped, versus in Jerusalem at the Temple, as the Jews argued was the right place to worship.

Jesus responds that the hour is coming where you’ll worship the Father neither on the mountain nor in Jerusalem. Hmm. Sounds like the next few weeks, as people of faith are finding their church buildings closed.

Perhaps we are experiencing a course correction, where we’ve become overly attached to our churches – our modern day temples. Jesus was saying we don’t need to go to the Temple to worship God. That still holds true. There is plenty of opportunities to worship and serve God in these fearful and isolated times. Do something nice for the police, grocery store workers, health care workers. Throw up a prayer of gratitude for U-Haul that’s providing 30 days free storage for college students abruptly found turned out of their dorms. Or local restaurants that are providing free lunch for children without access to school lunches.

I will encounter several of those folks today. Last night, our loved one somehow ended up in police custody, and transported to a hospital, long after we’d gone to bed. We talked to the police after midnight, and will today figure out where they are and what’s next. These people all don’t have a choice. They can’t socially isolate. They do their job, to keep the rest of us safe.

This morning, I’m thinking about worshipping God in the places I can and the places I can’t. Churches have shuttered their doors, to discourage the gatherings which spread this deadly virus. Meanwhile, I’ll worship God at the grocery line and the hospital waiting room. I’ll see God’s face in the haggard restocking clerks, and police, and receptionist. Getting out of our modern day temples forces us to seek and see God all around us. I’m pretty sure that’s what we’re supposed to do anyway. Hmm. Maybe I’ll stock up on coffee gift cards today.