Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen
To one extent or another, every culture has
its ‘caste system’, or a social hierarchy that defines the status of people
within that culture, and determines their relative privilege and social
standing.
In India, this caste system is well defined,
going back over 3,000 years.
In an article in the
BBC news site, we read:
“The caste system divides Hindus into four
main categories - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras. Many believe
that the groups originated from Brahma, the Hindu God of creation.
At the top of the hierarchy were the Brahmins
who were mainly teachers and intellectuals and are believed to have come from
Brahma's head. Then came the Kshatriyas, or the warriors and rulers, supposedly
from his arms. The third slot went to the Vaishyas, or the traders, who were
created from his thighs. At the bottom of the heap were the Shudras, who came
from Brahma's feet and did all the menial jobs.
The main castes were further divided into
about 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes, each based on their specific
occupation.
Outside of this Hindu caste system were the
achhoots - the Dalits or the untouchables.”
And to be clear, the lowest segment of Hindu society,
the untouchables, were not themselves a “caste” at all, but were outside of the
caste system, hence, we get the word “outcaste”.
In America, even though we believe that “all
men are created equal”, we nevertheless have a caste system of our own.
Some would deny that we have a caste system
in this country, and would argue, for example, that “anyone can grow up to be
president”. However, in truth, though it
may be true that anyone can grow up to be president, it’s definitely harder for
some, than for others, and virtually impossible for many.
The existence of a ‘caste system’ in America
can be verified by simply tracing what was meant by “all men are created equal”
throughout the years.
First of all, “men” was not a generic term
meaning all “people”. When our founding
fathers wrote “all men are created equal” they meant “men”, not women.
There were many things women could not do,
including owning property or voting.
And they didn’t mean “ALL” men. What they meant was all landowners. People who didn’t own land were not as
privileged as those who did.
And obviously, slaves were not considered ‘equal’. Nor were native Americans, or any number of
ethnic minorities.
Education and wealth divide us into ‘castes’
within our culture.
To an extent, so does urban versus rural.
Citizenship is a big divider, as is very
evident in today’s political climate, with undocumented people being considered
one of the lowest castes within our society.
Gay and lesbian people have clearly been
differentiated within our social hierarchy.
Many consider them to be “untouchable”, and “outcastes”. They’ve had to fight for basic legal rights
and protections. In some circles,
violence against them is considered justifiable. Their very being is considered immoral.
The poor, especially those on welfare, are
looked down on.
We could debate who the lowest class of
people are in our culture, who are the true “untouchables”.
I’d suggest that the homeless person, living
on the streets, often riddled with mental illness, frequently chemically
dependent—these we consider the lowest of the low. So low, they don’t even have status within our
society.
One day, Jesus and his disciples, weary from
their travels, came to a well, Jacob’s well, around midday.
That last point, it significant, because it
was not typical for people to be at the well during the heat of the midday. Normally, the women would come to the well to
draw their daily water in the cool of the morning or evening. It was also a social time. A time to gather together with one’s friends
and neighbors. To joke and laugh
together.
That Jesus found a woman at the well, alone,
during the middle of the day is our first clue about her status within her
community.
She was not welcome at the well when the
other women were present.
And then Jesus spoke to her.
“Give me a drink.”
I tend to believe that her response,
seemingly so simple, was probably offered in her most seductive and alluring
voice possible.
“How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of
me, a woman of Samaria?”
Likely, there was
only one reason a Jewish man might approach and speak to a Samaritan woman, and
as we learn later in the story, this certainly would not have been the first
time she had been approached in that way.
Three things set her apart:
·
She was a woman.
·
She was from Samaria, and Samaritans were ‘half
breeds’, and looked down on as impure.
·
And then, her marital status.
Jesus,
Perhaps because he was a prophet,
Or perhaps simply because he was aware that there was likely
only one reason that women like her would be at the well at this time,
Knew when he asked her to go get her husband, that she had
no husband.
Or rather she had many husbands, and none of them her own.
An adulteress.
A prostitute.
Shunned by her community.
But what follows is nothing short of remarkable.
She, perhaps to
change the subject, engages Jesus in a theologically profound conversation, one
of the most significant and profound conversations recorded in scripture, about
the Messiah and where it was proper to worship God.
Jesus begins the
conversation with a priceless offer:
“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is
that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he
would have given you living water.”
And when she
speaks to him about the Messiah, he chooses to reveal to her, of all people,
that he is in fact the Messiah.
One thing to
note, about this story.
Jesus didn’t
demand her repentance.
Yes, he pointed
out who she was, and acknowledged the sinful broken life she had lived, but
there was no demand that she repent.
Only and offer of
a profound gift, eternal life.
We don’t know
what happened in this woman’s life, after this encounter with Jesus, but we can
probably guess that it was a life changing event for her.
And then, the
disciples show up and remind us all how remarkable this was that Jesus would be
talking to this woman, of all people.
They were
astonished.
Speachless.
But perhaps they’d
come to expect this sort of thing from Jesus.
Throughout his
ministry he was constantly reaching out to the outcaste, the untouchables,
those at the lowest level of Jewish society.
Tax collectors
and sinners.
In doing so, he
offended the elite, the religious, and good and righteous folk.
But in doing so
he also revealed to us the wonderful nature of grace, amazing grace. God’s unconditional love and forgiveness
offered freely to us all for the taking.
For us, this
graciousness of Jesus is hard to practice.
We know we should,
but it runs counter to so much of what we believe.
We have a purpose
statement as a congregation that I have come to greatly appreciate.
“God’s purpose
for our congregation is to welcome, love, and serve all in our local and global
community.”
That’s easier
said than done.
Almost every
congregation wants to say in one way or another “all are welcome” but the truth
is that some are more welcome than others.
We would be
overjoyed to have a bunch of young couples with children visit and join our
congregation.
OK, so even some
older folks would be great.
But others would
be more challenging.
Larry and I went
out to lunch my first week here, and there at the Otis Grill was a homeless
man, eating a meal, probably given to him by the management.
I remember
thinking, “I wonder if he would be welcome at Peace?”
And, as you all
know, a real divisive issue in the church throughout our country is related to
gay and lesbian people within our congregations. Are they welcome?
One of the most
challenging issues, is one our congregation in Newport faced. What about someone who has been convicted of
a sex crime? Especially a violent one. Are they welcome?
Would we welcome
and undocumented ‘foreigner’?
The list could go
on and on.
Saying that our
purpose is to welcome, love and serve all, is easier than actually doing it.
But this is the
thing: Perhaps the persons we are most
uncomfortable welcoming, are exactly the one’s God is calling us to serve.
Why?
Because, the very
thing that makes it difficult for us to welcome them, is the reason they most desperately
need to hear the Gospel we proclaim.
Remember this the
next time you see and encounter one of the ‘outcaste’ of our society.
That God loves
them.
And that it is
our responsibility and calling to proclaim that to them.
And most of all,
remember that the Righteous have no need for a savior, but the sinners and
outcaste do.
That’s why Jesus
surrounded himself with the untouchables.
And that’s why
Jesus, at the risk of offending the righteous, touched them.
Amen
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