Sermon, Lent 3A, John 4:5-42

How many people have you saved? Or, put another way, how many people have you brought to the Lord?

Don't you just love that question?

On the surface, it seems to be posed as a genuine concern for those with whom you come into contact. After all, we don't want to see anyone burn in hell, so we should be working to bring as many people to Christ as possible. And if we can get everyone to become Christians, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing!

The problem, though, is that this question at its core has nothing to do with saving those around you from eternal damnation, but everything to do with comparing the size of your perceived heavenly reward. It's another instance of "mine is bigger than yours." It's another instance for the individual asking the question to assure themselves that not only are they going to heaven, but that they will get the bigger room. It's the sin of pride dressed up in religious clothing.

The truth of the matter is that we don't save anyone; that's God's job. We are not God. We are not Jesus. We are the woman at the well.

That woman had an encounter with Jesus that changed her life. Samaritans, remember, were the enemy. They were the unclean, the defiled, the outcast, the Other. And despite all of that, despite the sigma attached to Samaritans and despite the fact that she was a lowly woman -- a woman living in sin no less -- despite all that, Jesus met her where she was. In short, the two of them began to develop a relationship.

Relationships are at the heart of Christianity. We can talk theology, Christology, pneumatology, creeds, orthodoxy and heresies until the cows come home, but ultimately it all comes down to relationships. The relationship upheld in the Trinity. The relationship between Jesus and his disciples. The relationship between the apostles. The relationship between Paul and the churches he founded. The relationships of the early church. All the way up through today with the relationship between you all, you and me, and me and the people in the bars.

Christianity is not about who has the bigger church or who has the prettiest building or who has more kids or who has claimed to bring more people to the Lord. Christianity is about your relationship with God and how that relationship translates to the world. The woman at the well got it. She had the beginnings of a relationship and then told people about it.

When we find something good, aren't we apt to tell people about it? A particular car, a specific repair shop, a new restaurant -- those are all things we speak of when we've had a good experience or become a regular customer. How much more, then, should we be talking about our parish and our God? This lowly Samaritan woman does just that, she shares her experience with others. In fact, she is the third evangelist in John's gospel behind only Andrew and Philip. She gets it. She brings a town to meet Jesus, while the disciples only bring back lunch.

Many Samaritans believed because of her testimony. In some respects, this is the answer to the question, "How many people have you saved?" But there is no number attached to it, only that there were many. Again, this isn't a numbers game; it's a situation that reminds us of her willingness to talk about Jesus.

This is the testimony of the woman: "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He can't be the Messiah, can he?"

Her testimony is really more of a question. She doesn't know all there is to know about him. She can't discuss deep theological matters with other townsfolk. All she has is the beginning of a relationship and a question. That testimony was enough to spark the interest of people around her.

Here's the important part: many believed because of her testimony, but many more believed because of personal experience. I can talk until I'm blue in the face about why it's important to be a member of a church and a follower of Christ. But until those people take the time to develop a relationship with parishioners, the church and God, none of it matters.

Christianity is a word of mouth religion. We don't save anybody, but we should be telling people about it. We should be letting people know why we do what we do. We should be introducing people to Jesus and then letting those relationships develop. If a lowly Samaritan woman can do that, surely we can too.

How many people have you saved? How many people have you brought to the Lord?

Wrong questions.

The right questions are, "How often do you invite people to come and see?" And, "Are we willing to develop a relationship with those we consider different?"

Be a Samaritan . . . be different -- go forth and invite.