Unacceptable Contact
Christopher B. Harbin
John 4:5-42
Who are we not allowed to talk with? Who are we not allowed to befriend? Who are we not allowed to love? If we are honest enough with ourselves, we will find that our society and tradition places these kinds of limits upon us. I remember talking with a seminary class about how the terrorists who flew planes into the towers on 9/11 were off base, but they had a degree of fidelity to their cause we don't seem to share in relation to our faith. Even talking about this aspect of their dedication was unacceptable to many. How then, would I be allowed to talk with someone like those same terrorists, befriend them, or love them? What other limits do we place on relationships and the reach of our faith?
The text I will read today, is not what you will find in your Bibles. Rather, it is my best guess of what John would have written if Jesus followed the line so many voices today are taking regarding the place of women in church and in society. If you will follow along in your Bibles, you will see that I will have to leave out many parts in order for Jesus to comply with the ideas we are hearing presented in our national discourse as the appropriate role of women. If you get right down to it, John would not have had any reason to write this chapter at all.
That's a bit different from the story I grew up with. I don't imagine any of you have ever seen a similar edition of John chapter 4. It's not in any of the myriad textual variants we have of ancient papyrus or velum copies. Those variations are minor things like the spelling of a word, or switching one homophone for another. There may be an occasional gloss or explanation inserted in the text, or adaptation for use in public worship. There is nothing like this. That is because the actions of Jesus at the well of Sychar spoke loudly on questions of inclusion. They were earth-shattering in regard to how Jews looked a ...
Christopher B. Harbin
John 4:5-42
Who are we not allowed to talk with? Who are we not allowed to befriend? Who are we not allowed to love? If we are honest enough with ourselves, we will find that our society and tradition places these kinds of limits upon us. I remember talking with a seminary class about how the terrorists who flew planes into the towers on 9/11 were off base, but they had a degree of fidelity to their cause we don't seem to share in relation to our faith. Even talking about this aspect of their dedication was unacceptable to many. How then, would I be allowed to talk with someone like those same terrorists, befriend them, or love them? What other limits do we place on relationships and the reach of our faith?
The text I will read today, is not what you will find in your Bibles. Rather, it is my best guess of what John would have written if Jesus followed the line so many voices today are taking regarding the place of women in church and in society. If you will follow along in your Bibles, you will see that I will have to leave out many parts in order for Jesus to comply with the ideas we are hearing presented in our national discourse as the appropriate role of women. If you get right down to it, John would not have had any reason to write this chapter at all.
That's a bit different from the story I grew up with. I don't imagine any of you have ever seen a similar edition of John chapter 4. It's not in any of the myriad textual variants we have of ancient papyrus or velum copies. Those variations are minor things like the spelling of a word, or switching one homophone for another. There may be an occasional gloss or explanation inserted in the text, or adaptation for use in public worship. There is nothing like this. That is because the actions of Jesus at the well of Sychar spoke loudly on questions of inclusion. They were earth-shattering in regard to how Jews looked a ...
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