Eat Something

As we gathered on Sunday, we looked at the story of a woman Jesus encountered at an old well in Samaria. Many people argue that she’s the best evangelist in the life of Jesus. It’s a pretty beautiful redemption story to see, in one encounter with Jesus, the woman go from shunned–visiting the well in the middle of the day when no one else would be there–to inviting the whole town to join her in believing that Jesus came to save them from never-ending self reliance.

Lent is a good time of year to remember that we are people who need saving.

We focused a little less on the second part of the story but there is an interesting, related, truth there that Jesus is trying to get his disciples to realize.

Meanwhile his disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat something.”  But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” Then his disciples said to each other, “Could someone have brought him food?” “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

I like it when Jesus says “open your eyes and look at the fields.”

I feel like Jesus is saying, “how are you not excited right now? You ought to be too excited to dither over whether I’ve eaten or not. People are ready to hear that the Christ has come to them with all the identify fortifying, purpose giving, love actualizing, sin forgiving, eternity opening power of the God of Creation and Life. Go and let them know!”

Whether you have a lot going on right now or very little, the same is true for you. The Christ has come with identity, purpose, love, forgiveness and eternity. This news is good for everyone.