At this time of year, it may be a bit difficult to dream of the harvest to come. We look around and see piles of snow and ice. The ground is frozen and the air is cold. There is nothing much that looks alive out of doors. And it would be very easy to doubt that the green of summer will ever arrive. It would be easy to pack up and move to the southern parts of our country right about now. Most of us long for to feel the grass beneath our feet and the cool, moist earth as we plant our seeds in hope and expectation. And yet those days seem far off. But for those of us who have been in New England for a few years, know that those days of spring will soon be here. In just a few weeks, we will hear the birds singing, back from their own Southern sojourns. We will see the pussy willows, the daffodils and tulips and the forsythia ripe with flowers and greenery. Spring does come eventually and then summer and soon after we will see our gardens lush and ripe; ready for the harvest.

Now many of you have much more experience than I do in farming and gardening. Many of you have mapped out your next vegetable garden and are eagerly awaiting the warm spring days so you can finally put those seeds in. In fact, many of you may already be thinking of planting those seeds indoors in anticipation of the spring to come. Hope springs eternal!! I myself have been looking into the near future and thinking of an herb garden; maybe a few vegetables. I have begun to think of what I will need to make this winter dream a reality. One of the ideas that is new to me is the concept of a rain barrel. It has always bothered me to see those sprinklers which are on timers so that folks can see lovely green lawns. Quite often, you see these sprinklers sending out their daily dose of water despite the rain that may be coming down naturally. I can’t help but think of places where water is in short supply; in our own country and in places far away. So, this year I may be able to try this rain barrel idea as one source of water for those lovely gardens that I have planned in my head.

For we know that before we can have a harvest, we need the nurturing water that will produce life. The folks in Jesus’ day were also very aware of the importance of water. They may not have had the lush gardens that we enjoy here in Maine. The lived in an arid, dry land. They, of course had to live next to a water supply. For some it was the sea and for others it was an established well. We have heard and seen today, a dramatic representation of the Samaritan woman at the well. Folks in her area of the world had to go to a communal town well to draw the water that they would drink, cook and bathe with. The women would come to the well and carry their supply of daily water home in deep containers.

Some of you may have your own wells also. You are not likely to have to go to your well to get your water. Modern plumbing has saved us from that but you may be very aware of the seasons and when you have lots of water and when you do not. I remember being at my grandfather’s farm. There were times when we did not flush the toilet often. The animals got watered from a rain barrel. We could actually go to one well under the pine trees and pump the handle like mad until we could drink some cool refreshing water. It was the best and we were always aware of how precious it was.

I imagine that the Samaritan woman was also aware of the value of clean, potable water so when Jesus offered her living water, water that would allow her never to thirst again, she must have been intrigued. Imagine never having to go out of town to the well. Not to have to carry that heavy water jar. Not to have to avoid the other women at the well who were there in the comfortable times of day when the sun was not as bright. Those other women who would gather and share stories and lives while they shunned her because she was not the respectable woman that they were. Imagine how she must have felt when Jesus offered her a way around her troubles. I imagine that the woman at the well was very tempted to hear more of what Jesus had to say.

She must have been intrigued because she did not run and hide when Jesus spoke of her shame. She must have wondered how this Hebrew stranger knew her story. She must have wondered what he was about to bring up her life with no condemnation, with no blame. She must have been shocked out of her normal reactions because she dared to have a theological discussion with this Hebrew man; unheard of in her day. She was so taken with this man that she threw caution to the wind and asked him more of what he knew. How and where do we worship? What about the coming Messiah? How about racial and ethnic barriers? So many questions, she had for this Hebrew stranger and his answers impressed her. They impressed her so much that she forgot her shame. She forgot that she was an outcast in her town. She ran to tell everyone about this special man she had met. Could he be the Messiah?

This woman must have been transformed from her meeting with Jesus because all the villagers decided to listen to her. They could see something different about her. They too were curious. Who could have possibly transformed this outcast; this throw away woman? They were curious enough to go see for themselves. And when they too met Jesus, they also were transformed. Imagine how that outcast felt when her fellow citizens confirmed her opinion. As they too found out that their Lord was in their midst, they told her, ”It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world”. Can you imagine what this occurrence was like for this woman? She had been an outcast for years. Men used her and women ignored her and taunted her. She must have been lonely and sad and all of a sudden people were listening to her. They not only listened, they came to see for themselves and then they validated her discernment. Wow! That must have been some encounter with the living water!!

As we get closer to our growing season here in Maine, we know that we need water to nurture and grow our crops. We know that the proper amount of water will bring forth our harvest. We know that with sun and rain, our barren land, frozen today will be ripe and lush in the months to come.

Just as this woman found her harvest after an encounter with the living water, we too can be transformed today. We do not have to wait for spring. We do not have to anticipate a harvest. We can live it today. This Samaritan woman was performing her daily tasks in her daily life and she met Jesus and in an instant she was transformed and so was her community. That can happen here to us as well.

Just as we are going about our business, Jesus can share his living water and change our lives, change our souls. And when he does, the change can be so dramatic that it can not help but change those around us as well. Jesus is our living water. Jesus is here today so that we can have that harvest that we have been praying for.

Imagine yourself at the well this morning. Imagine that Jesus cam to see you. What would he say to you? How would your life be transformed? Like the Samaritan woman, you may be living in bondage to sin. Perhaps you too need to be freed from some prison; either of your own making or one that has been visited upon you. Jesus is here to set you free. Perhaps you have been living a good life but have been missing out on the joy that Scripture promises. Perhaps you have been going through the motions, doing all the right things and feeling a bit dead inside. Jesus is here with transforming waters; water that will wash you clean and leave a refreshed, joyous soul in its place. Jesus is here to renew us, to rehydrate us and to bring forth our harvest.

I am so glad to share this good news to you today. I am ready for a harvest. I want to feel good and to see Jesus in my thoughts and actions. I want to walk into a room and have others see a transformation. Give me some of that living water!!

I hope and pray that you do too. I hope and pray that Jesus is speaking to you today. Let him transform your life so that you too can live in victory, love and peace. I know that the harvest is ready. It only takes one of us to go forth in Jesus name for our town to be transformed. It only takes one transformed life to shed the living water everywhere it lands. Don’t you want to be that one? Imagine if we all accepted that gift of living water. We would not have enough room in the pews for all the folks who would want the same. Today, I pray for the living water to drench you; overwhelm you and deluge you with love and transformation. I pray that God’s Holy Spirit will not leave this place without a harvest coming in and I pray that each one of you will be a part of that harvest. Amen.