In his musings with the Samaritan woman Jesus got into a fairly intense theological conversation about worship, the first discussion of that kind in the book of John. The woman claimed to understand worship, the heart and desire of God, but Jesus knew truly what the Father wanted. His claim was that true worshippers worship in spirit and in truth separate from place. The Greek word for spirit is "pnuema", not that exciting on its own but...when we recognize that this word translated in this passage as "spirit" can also we translated as breath, wind, or inner self/soul it changes the meaning of worship.
Breath, our worship should be alive! God breathed life into Adam. Without breath, a person is dead. Worship needs to reflect this life that flows within our being--the being God brought forth--the being that is a new creation.
Wind, our worship should transform! Wind is connected to power, it moves things from one place to another, both mightily and gently. In the same way, God moves in us and through us to bring about transformation--not just our wholeness but that of the world around us. If worship does not shift or change things then is it really true?
Inner self/soul, our worship should connect with God. God is spirit so if we worship in spirit we connect with God. Life to life. Soul to soul. What other creature has such possibility? We connect to God in worship because we are created in the image of God--the same substance--we meet with God in a way that no other part of creation can.
The possibilities of what this Samaritan woman heard are endless. Whatever it was it was enough to send her running back to her village to tell everyone she knew about this man, Jesus. She didn't run because she was told to, she ran because she had to...think about it.
Breath, our worship should be alive! God breathed life into Adam. Without breath, a person is dead. Worship needs to reflect this life that flows within our being--the being God brought forth--the being that is a new creation.
Wind, our worship should transform! Wind is connected to power, it moves things from one place to another, both mightily and gently. In the same way, God moves in us and through us to bring about transformation--not just our wholeness but that of the world around us. If worship does not shift or change things then is it really true?
Inner self/soul, our worship should connect with God. God is spirit so if we worship in spirit we connect with God. Life to life. Soul to soul. What other creature has such possibility? We connect to God in worship because we are created in the image of God--the same substance--we meet with God in a way that no other part of creation can.
The possibilities of what this Samaritan woman heard are endless. Whatever it was it was enough to send her running back to her village to tell everyone she knew about this man, Jesus. She didn't run because she was told to, she ran because she had to...think about it.
