If you could somehow know for sure where Jesus is sitting right now, would you be prepared to move from where you are, and go and sit next to him?
A few weeks ago I was playing with my children in the garden and after a while I had to go back into the house to get on a zoom call- that what we all seem to do these days, isn’t it?
A few moments later my son came bursting into the office where I was on the call and I did what most parents do when that happens; I muted my mic, made the awkward face all parents make in this situation and waited to hear what my son wanted. And when he realised he had my full attention he said : “mummy, I was looking all over for you so I could just sit with you”. And even though he saw that I was on a Zoom call, not the most fun of places for him or the most convenient, he still chose to stay and sit with me throughout the rest of the call. He just wanted to be with me, wherever I was.
In that moment though, the Holy Spirit really spoke to me- how often do we seek after Jesus, wanting to know where He is sat, just so we can sit with him too? Furthermore, if we knew where He was sat, would we still want to sit with him? Or would we retreat and wait for a more convenient time? A time that suits our circumstances? And environment that suits our comfort?
There is a story in the Bible in John 4 where the disciples find themselves in a similar situation. Jesus had been in Judea earlier that day and we learn that his disciples had been baptising more people than John and this was drawing the attention of the Pharisees, who were the religious rulers of His day. it’s not the first time we see Jesus’ life and miraculous signs generate increasing controversy in the book of John. In fact in John we will see the plot unfold as Jesus’ controversial ministry causes Israel’s leaders to decide to kill him. And if you are on the side of order, you can sort of see why Jesus’ methods cause controversy.
We see Him turn water into wine at a wedding (which perhaps may not have caused as much of a controversy), although perhaps, his revelation of the generous nature of the Kingdom may have been a reason for one- then we see him at the Temple getting angry and running out the money exchangers and stopping traders from defiling the house of God and annoying the Temple leaders as he does so and we see Him having this all night conversation with a Rabbi, who thinks that Jesus is just like him, a teacher and a messenger sent by God but Jesus shows Him that Israel needs much more than just another teacher with new information, Israel needs a new heart and a new way of life. And Jesus says to Nicodemus and to us, that no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are being born again. Why?
Because Jesus believes that humanity is caught in a web of selfishness and sin, which leads to death but he also knows that God LOVES this world and so He’s here to offer people a new birth and a new chance at life. Then we see Jesus travelling North through the town of Samaria and he ends up at this well speaking to a Samaritan woman- and they start talking about water, which Jesus turns into a metaphor for himself;
He tells the woman that He is here to bring living water, which can become a source of eternal life now.
In John, this refers to a new quality of life, one that is infused with God’s eternal love and it is a life that can begin now and last long into the future.
Now typically, Jews rarely acknowledged Samaritans let alone interact with them for as long as we see Jesus interacting with this woman here. And yet Jesus is as interested in inviting her into the Kingdom as he is Nicodemus, the Jewish Rabbi and anyone else he meets throughout the gospels.
In the Kingdom of heaven, all are invited in and all are welcome.
But something interesting happens when the disciples find him talking to this woman-
Instead of joining in the conversation, we read that they are stunned. Why are they stunned?
Are they embarrassed for Jesus, whom they find engaged, yet again in conversation with controversial people? Or are they outraged that he has crossed a line? Whatever their feelings, and no matter their questions they choose to remain silent.
We read in the Bible that it says that they daren’t ask him “why are you talking with her?” or “what do you want?”
And yet I often wonder what would have happened if they had. What would they have learnt if they had pressed into their questions? If they had chosen to speak up rather than choose silence?
You see, I believe the disciples’ silence here means that they fail to see something in that moment; – they fail to see that Jesus’ entire mission is always to bring the outsider in. To restore to them the right to fellowship with the Father, the right to a full relationship with God. If Jesus had not engaged with the Samaritan woman, she would have remained on the outside looking in and the disciples never would have had an example to follow. And yet we read that in Acts 8:25, the disciples imitate Christ in their continuing to preach the gospel in Samaritan villages.
And one of the wonderful things about this story, is that, despite the disciples’ silence in this particular moment, Jesus is still at work. Jesus still presses on to show them what the Kingdom of heaven looks like by choosing not just to pass through Samaria but to stay there for a few more days, to not just have one conversation with one Samaritan woman, but to open up the conversation to the whole village. And many Samaritans choose to believe in Jesus as a result.
And yet to many onlookers, Jesus was sat in the wrong town, at the wrong place speaking with the wrong person- but what we find time and time again with Jesus, is that he chooses to sit where we wouldn’t expect him to be and often in the Bible, these places , where we find him sitting, are contrary to where we would have him sit, if it were up to us.
And today, once again, I believe that Jesus is challenging us to seek him and find out where He is sat. In the midst of our fragmented world, I believe that if we ask him, He will show us- and as ever, we are to always seek to sit where He would be sat and to be with those He would be sitting with. And when you seek him and find that you have been sat away from Jesus, have the courage to change seats.