You can guide where water is poured, at times, but you can’t determine the exact path each molecule will take. It will trickle this way one time, another way the next. When each of us were baptized, the pastor called on God’s Holy Spirit to be poured out on us.
How can we know such a hidden God? Do we wait for the clouds to part, so we can catch a glimpse?
Our readings for today speak about accounting, and about judgment, and about keeping commandments.
The last sentence of Jesus in our gospel for today can be a real stumbler: “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, which most of us believe, you know that makes us sheep. Now sheep are not the brightest of domesticated animals – but we have some things to offer. But Jesus doesn’t focus on what we have to offer – Jesus focuses on what HE has to offer.
Just in case you feel a little short on faith, I have this word of encouragement: faith’s twin is doubt. Perhaps faith and doubt are even conjoined twins, what we used to call Siamese twins. It is next to impossible to have faith without doubt.
Sometimes it is really hard to trust God. Like when you’ve been with a loved one for days in hospital or nursing home and no one knows when all the problems will end.
It is a tale as old as time, that wherever we humans are around, confusion and self-interest are active. Certainly, confusion and self-interest are primary actors in the gospel for today.
This encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is the longest conversation between Jesus and one individual in the whole New Testament. That by itself should cause us to pay extra attention to this scripture.
One of the great common sense mantras that gets repeated by leaders in various settings is KISS: Keep It Simple, Silly. Whoever thought it up realized that it is easy to get lost in the little details. Whenever God’s people start getting all caught up in the details, God manages to communicate the KISS message.