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Of course, we love our nations. This is virtuous. But
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never put the flag. above the cross. Never associate the
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faith with your nation as though somehow God has special
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concerns for particular nations instead of his quest for the
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whole world. Frankly, never bring a flag into the church
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of God. The church of God is the kingdom of
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God on earth. When you walk into a church temple,
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forgive me, there should never be a flag of a
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nation in that land. We have to destroy our parochialism.
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Jesus shattered Jewish Christian parochialism. and Samaritan parochialism. He moves
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us to an interest in all human beings. Hey everyone,
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God bless you. Thanks so much for tuning in. This
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reflection comes both from my meditation upon John chapter 4
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and the incredible account of the Samaritan woman, which I
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find so precious and so unbelievably relevant to the condition
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of the church today, and also conversation that I had
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recently with one of my parishioners and I suspect priests
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are having these conversations all over the place as we're
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experiencing this unique moment of awakening or of illumination, spiritual
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thirst being expressed by people all over the West. Seeking God.
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I was so thrilled to read newly published baptismal numbers
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from many different European nations where the numbers are dramatically
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increased and just at great heights with regards to any
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recent evaluation. I myself was asked by a parishioner recently
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if I was going to continue to do as much
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preaching as I'm doing and as much evangelization as I'm doing.
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And I said, sweetheart, I have to do more. I
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have to do more. I think she was saying it
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like many of us from a position of, can we
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handle more? Can we, where will we put them? That's
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of course our problem, but it's mostly the Lord's problem.
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And for him, it's not a problem. If you had
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been a member of the church in Jerusalem, the early church,
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when there were 120 and the Lord sent Pentecost to
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you and you went from 120 to 3,120, that's Would
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you have complained? Please answer that question. I hope not.
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There was complaining, in fact, and it's described in Acts
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chapter 6. So, there is sometimes, even in the midst
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of a great work, when God draws near and awakens
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men and women and stirs the human heart, there can
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still be a sifting, a terrible sifting that goes on
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in our own hearts if the ministry that must be
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given to the newcomers disturbs our peace or makes a
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previously very enjoyable relationship structure pressed because there are so
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many new ones and your priest doesn't have the same
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time that he used to have for everyone. This is
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a work of God, dear ones, and we ought respond.
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To the quest, the call to harvest the thirsty world
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that wants God. What a beautiful, beautiful time we're in.
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I'd like you to reflect with me just for a
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minute about the interaction that our Lord had with the
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Samaritan woman. This is John 4. It's such an incredible text.
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The Lord comes to the well and the woman comes
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to the well. And they both are thirsting, although they're
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thirsting for different things. The woman comes to the well
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for water, but she also has a lot of other
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thirsts in her life that are expressed in the text.
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She's suffering a chaotic amount, in fact, of thirsts that
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have left her disordered and deeply unsatisfied. She's thirst for
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human relationships, for men, one after the other, and failure,
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relationship failure after relationship failure. She's obviously searching for meaning there.
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directing her quest to the wrong ends she had a
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thirst for passions she was struggling for life and so
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she would eventually say to the lord when the lord
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spoke about a water she knew nothing about she said
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sir give me that water she anything to free her
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from this cycle of endless questing resulting in dissatisfaction sorrow
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and brokenness don't we know that in our culture today
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But the Lord Jesus also expressed a thirst. He went
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to the well, Jacob's well. He sat down and said
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he was tired. I might comment on that in a
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future video. He was tired. He sat down. And when
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he saw the woman, he asked her for a drink. Woman,
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give me a drink. He humbled himself and embraced human thirst.
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And he asked for a drink, but he made it
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clear what he was really thirsting for was her. What
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he was really thirsting for was the honor and privilege
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of being able to root her in a true relationship
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with him and with his father, to become a true believer,
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a true worshiper, and from that be able to satisfy
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her every need, her every quest in life and give
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her ultimate life. fulfillment. What the text is really about
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is God's thirst for the world, for the whole human race.
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This woman was a Samaritan heretic, a woman, a Samaritan,
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and a heretic, and yet the Lord thirsted for her.
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This is about the full revelation of Trinitarian worship as
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the ultimately satisfying call of For all human beings, the
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Lord speaks with her about worship. She said, our fathers
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worship in this mountain, and I know you Jews worship
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in Jerusalem. And Jesus was very clear that he had
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come to establish worship, true worship, in spirit and in truth.
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God calls. All men, he's seeking those who will worship
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him in spirit and in truth. To worship the Father
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in truth means to worship him in and through his
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Son Christ, who is the truth. He thirsts for us,
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and then we thirst for him. He comes looking for
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us in our dissatisfaction and disorder. He secures our attention.
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He makes us outrageous promises of satisfaction and the water
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of eternal life, which will quench every desire that we have.
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And then we live the rest of eternity thirsting for him.
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He takes the initiative. He found the woman. He spoke first.
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He sought her salvation. And then she received it. and
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returned it and became his devoting disciple, became a great
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saint and martyr for the church. He thirsts for us,
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and then we, beloved, thirst for him in every Eucharist.
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He calls us to be near him, to draw near,
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the fear of love, with fear of God, faith, and love,
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draw near, the deacon says, and then we walk right
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up to the altar, and we Eat and drink the
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body and blood of our Lord Christ. He thirsts for
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us and then we thirst for him and have our
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thirst quenched in every liturgy in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus.
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is just a radical missionary. He's the chief shepherd of
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the church and he's the one inspiring all the shepherds
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of the church to care about the outside world. So
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when you ask that question of your pastor, are you
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going to keep spending so much time witnessing to the
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outside world, doing evangelization, meeting with inquirers, forming catechumens? The
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answer is going to be yes, because the heart of
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Christ is what is inspiring the heart of our bishops
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and priests and also of the lay people who are
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collaborating with us in this effort that the church is
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committed to. The Lord is thirsty. He is a radical missionary.
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As a matter of fact, this portion of scripture that
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I'm referring to, John chapter 4, really from John 2
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all the way through John chapter 4, Jesus is completely
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destroying Jewish parochialism. He is saying that Jerusalem is no
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longer your concern. It has been the place of worship.
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No longer is it the place that it has been
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in the old covenant. No, it's replaced by the kingdom
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of God on the earth that Jesus has established and
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that expresses itself in every land, wherever the church is
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established and built. There is the kingdom of God. There
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is the mountain, the heavenly mountain that in liturgy we climb.
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and commune with the Holy Trinity. It's a cosmic vision
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that embraces the whole world. No more is Judea special
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or Samaria special. No, no, no. No, the whole point
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of this section of scripture in St. John's Gospel, beginning
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in chapter 2, when he goes to Cana of Galilee
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and begins to work his public miracles. Chapter 3, when
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he meets with Nicodemus and He tells this great Jewish
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scribe about what it means to be born again and
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that it has nothing to do with the law and
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the traditions. Moses is out. The law and the traditions
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is out. No, it's about being born again of water
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and the spirit. And then he brings about the, he
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goes for the Samaritan woman and brings about this vision
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of the harvest of how God is seeking to harvest
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the whole world. This is what we see. It's not
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just the Jews and it's not just the Samaritans. In fact,
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Right after this, in John chapter 4, Jesus goes and
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meets with a pagan royal official and heals his son
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on the point of death. So there you have it.
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You see in this short section of scripture, he deals
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with the Jewish leader, he deals with the Samaritan heretic female,
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and then he deals with a pagan official. The three
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people groups in the Jewish mind of the whole world.
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The Jews, the Samaritans, the pagans. He's after us all.
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He's calling the world. And is that not what the
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Samaritans say at the end of chapter four? Sphotini goes
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into her village. She bears witness to all that Christ
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has done for her and said in his divinity, telling
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her the details of her own inner desires. She says,
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I think we found the Messiah. They come. And then
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what did they say to him? What is the climax
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of this whole section of St. John's gospel that he's
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trying to press into the hearts of all who read
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his gospel? The Samaritans come out and they said, we
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have come to believe that he is is the savior
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of the world. This little sect, but they discerned who
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he was. He came to save the world, not just
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the Jews, not just the Samaritans. The pagan official was
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a picture of his thirst for everyone. This is our calling,
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our task, dear ones. harvesting a thirsty world and doing
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it with the heart of God, which thirsts for people.
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From Judea to Samaria to the uttermost ends of the earth.
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And this is the movement of the New Testament. This
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is why the axe begins in Jerusalem and it ends
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with Paul in prison in Rome, the capital of the empire.
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We have to destroy our parochialism. Jesus shattered Jewish Christian
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parochialism and Samaritan parochialism. He moves us to an interest
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in all human beings. It's always a temptation for us
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to become parochial. Be careful. And I say this particularly
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to my Orthodox brethren. Be careful. Don't confuse God's interest
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in the whole world with his love of this or
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that Orthodox country. No, no, no, no. Of course, we
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love our nations. This is virtuous. But never put the flag...
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above the cross. Never associate the faith with your nation
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as though somehow God has special concerns for particular nations
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instead of his quest for the whole world. No, no, no.
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The church is... constituted from people from every tribe, tongue, people,
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and land. Every nation. There's one nation that is supremely
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of concern to Christian, and that is the kingdom of God.
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All of our other earthly associations are sub-commitments. Let's not
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reverse them. Never put the flag above the cross. Frankly,
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never bring a flag into the church of God. The
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church of God is the kingdom of God on earth.
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When you walk into a church temple, forgive me, there
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should never be a flag of a nation in that land.
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Let's collaborate with Christ to harvest a thirsty world to
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the glory of his name and to the salvation of people.
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God be with you, dear ones. Hey, everyone. I hope
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you've downloaded the Patristic Nectar app on your phone. It
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is a treasure trove of soul nourishing content. And I
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hope you'll consider becoming a regular donor to Patristic Nectar today.
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Of course, we love our nations. This is virtuous. But
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never put the flag. above the cross. Never associate the
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faith with your nation as though somehow God has special
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concerns for particular nations instead of his quest for the
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whole world. Frankly, never bring a flag into the church
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of God. The church of God is the kingdom of
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God on earth. When you walk into a church temple,
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forgive me, there should never be a flag of a
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nation in that land. We have to destroy our parochialism.
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Jesus shattered Jewish Christian parochialism. and Samaritan parochialism. He moves
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us to an interest in all human beings. Hey everyone,
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God bless you. Thanks so much for tuning in. This
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reflection comes both from my meditation upon John chapter 4
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and the incredible account of the Samaritan woman, which I
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find so precious and so unbelievably relevant to the condition
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of the church today, and also conversation that I had
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recently with one of my parishioners and I suspect priests
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are having these conversations all over the place as we're
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experiencing this unique moment of awakening or of illumination, spiritual
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thirst being expressed by people all over the West. Seeking God.
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I was so thrilled to read newly published baptismal numbers
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from many different European nations where the numbers are dramatically
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increased and just at great heights with regards to any
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recent evaluation. I myself was asked by a parishioner recently
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if I was going to continue to do as much
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preaching as I'm doing and as much evangelization as I'm doing.
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And I said, sweetheart, I have to do more. I
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have to do more. I think she was saying it
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like many of us from a position of, can we
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handle more? Can we, where will we put them? That's
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of course our problem, but it's mostly the Lord's problem.
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And for him, it's not a problem. If you had
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been a member of the church in Jerusalem, the early church,
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when there were 120 and the Lord sent Pentecost to
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you and you went from 120 to 3,120, that's Would
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you have complained? Please answer that question. I hope not.
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There was complaining, in fact, and it's described in Acts
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chapter 6. So, there is sometimes, even in the midst
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of a great work, when God draws near and awakens
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men and women and stirs the human heart, there can
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still be a sifting, a terrible sifting that goes on
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in our own hearts if the ministry that must be
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given to the newcomers disturbs our peace or makes a
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previously very enjoyable relationship structure pressed because there are so
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many new ones and your priest doesn't have the same
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time that he used to have for everyone. This is
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a work of God, dear ones, and we ought respond.
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To the quest, the call to harvest the thirsty world
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that wants God. What a beautiful, beautiful time we're in.
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I'd like you to reflect with me just for a
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minute about the interaction that our Lord had with the
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Samaritan woman. This is John 4. It's such an incredible text.
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The Lord comes to the well and the woman comes
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to the well. And they both are thirsting, although they're
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thirsting for different things. The woman comes to the well
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for water, but she also has a lot of other
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thirsts in her life that are expressed in the text.
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She's suffering a chaotic amount, in fact, of thirsts that
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have left her disordered and deeply unsatisfied. She's thirst for
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human relationships, for men, one after the other, and failure,
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relationship failure after relationship failure. She's obviously searching for meaning there.
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directing her quest to the wrong ends she had a
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thirst for passions she was struggling for life and so
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she would eventually say to the lord when the lord
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spoke about a water she knew nothing about she said
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sir give me that water she anything to free her
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from this cycle of endless questing resulting in dissatisfaction sorrow
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and brokenness don't we know that in our culture today
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But the Lord Jesus also expressed a thirst. He went
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to the well, Jacob's well. He sat down and said
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he was tired. I might comment on that in a
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future video. He was tired. He sat down. And when
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he saw the woman, he asked her for a drink. Woman,
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give me a drink. He humbled himself and embraced human thirst.
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And he asked for a drink, but he made it
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clear what he was really thirsting for was her. What
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he was really thirsting for was the honor and privilege
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of being able to root her in a true relationship
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with him and with his father, to become a true believer,
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a true worshiper, and from that be able to satisfy
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her every need, her every quest in life and give
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her ultimate life. fulfillment. What the text is really about
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is God's thirst for the world, for the whole human race.
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This woman was a Samaritan heretic, a woman, a Samaritan,
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and a heretic, and yet the Lord thirsted for her.
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This is about the full revelation of Trinitarian worship as
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the ultimately satisfying call of For all human beings, the
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Lord speaks with her about worship. She said, our fathers
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worship in this mountain, and I know you Jews worship
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in Jerusalem. And Jesus was very clear that he had
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come to establish worship, true worship, in spirit and in truth.
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God calls. All men, he's seeking those who will worship
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him in spirit and in truth. To worship the Father
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in truth means to worship him in and through his
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Son Christ, who is the truth. He thirsts for us,
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and then we thirst for him. He comes looking for
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us in our dissatisfaction and disorder. He secures our attention.
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He makes us outrageous promises of satisfaction and the water
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of eternal life, which will quench every desire that we have.
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And then we live the rest of eternity thirsting for him.
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He takes the initiative. He found the woman. He spoke first.
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He sought her salvation. And then she received it. and
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returned it and became his devoting disciple, became a great
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saint and martyr for the church. He thirsts for us,
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and then we, beloved, thirst for him in every Eucharist.
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He calls us to be near him, to draw near,
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the fear of love, with fear of God, faith, and love,
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draw near, the deacon says, and then we walk right
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up to the altar, and we Eat and drink the
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body and blood of our Lord Christ. He thirsts for
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us and then we thirst for him and have our
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thirst quenched in every liturgy in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus.
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is just a radical missionary. He's the chief shepherd of
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the church and he's the one inspiring all the shepherds
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of the church to care about the outside world. So
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when you ask that question of your pastor, are you
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going to keep spending so much time witnessing to the
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outside world, doing evangelization, meeting with inquirers, forming catechumens? The
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answer is going to be yes, because the heart of
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Christ is what is inspiring the heart of our bishops
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and priests and also of the lay people who are
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collaborating with us in this effort that the church is
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committed to. The Lord is thirsty. He is a radical missionary.
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As a matter of fact, this portion of scripture that
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I'm referring to, John chapter 4, really from John 2
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all the way through John chapter 4, Jesus is completely
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destroying Jewish parochialism. He is saying that Jerusalem is no
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longer your concern. It has been the place of worship.
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No longer is it the place that it has been
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in the old covenant. No, it's replaced by the kingdom
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of God on the earth that Jesus has established and
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that expresses itself in every land, wherever the church is
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established and built. There is the kingdom of God. There
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is the mountain, the heavenly mountain that in liturgy we climb.
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and commune with the Holy Trinity. It's a cosmic vision
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that embraces the whole world. No more is Judea special
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or Samaria special. No, no, no. No, the whole point
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of this section of scripture in St. John's Gospel, beginning
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in chapter 2, when he goes to Cana of Galilee
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and begins to work his public miracles. Chapter 3, when
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he meets with Nicodemus and He tells this great Jewish
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scribe about what it means to be born again and
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that it has nothing to do with the law and
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the traditions. Moses is out. The law and the traditions
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is out. No, it's about being born again of water
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and the spirit. And then he brings about the, he
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goes for the Samaritan woman and brings about this vision
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of the harvest of how God is seeking to harvest
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the whole world. This is what we see. It's not
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just the Jews and it's not just the Samaritans. In fact,
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Right after this, in John chapter 4, Jesus goes and
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meets with a pagan royal official and heals his son
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on the point of death. So there you have it.
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You see in this short section of scripture, he deals
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with the Jewish leader, he deals with the Samaritan heretic female,
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and then he deals with a pagan official. The three
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people groups in the Jewish mind of the whole world.
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The Jews, the Samaritans, the pagans. He's after us all.
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He's calling the world. And is that not what the
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Samaritans say at the end of chapter four? Sphotini goes
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into her village. She bears witness to all that Christ
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has done for her and said in his divinity, telling
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her the details of her own inner desires. She says,
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I think we found the Messiah. They come. And then
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what did they say to him? What is the climax
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of this whole section of St. John's gospel that he's
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trying to press into the hearts of all who read
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his gospel? The Samaritans come out and they said, we
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have come to believe that he is is the savior
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of the world. This little sect, but they discerned who
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he was. He came to save the world, not just
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the Jews, not just the Samaritans. The pagan official was
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a picture of his thirst for everyone. This is our calling,
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our task, dear ones. harvesting a thirsty world and doing
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it with the heart of God, which thirsts for people.
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From Judea to Samaria to the uttermost ends of the earth.
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And this is the movement of the New Testament. This
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is why the axe begins in Jerusalem and it ends
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with Paul in prison in Rome, the capital of the empire.
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We have to destroy our parochialism. Jesus shattered Jewish Christian
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parochialism and Samaritan parochialism. He moves us to an interest
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in all human beings. It's always a temptation for us
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to become parochial. Be careful. And I say this particularly
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to my Orthodox brethren. Be careful. Don't confuse God's interest
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in the whole world with his love of this or
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that Orthodox country. No, no, no, no. Of course, we
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love our nations. This is virtuous. But never put the flag...
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above the cross. Never associate the faith with your nation
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as though somehow God has special concerns for particular nations
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instead of his quest for the whole world. No, no, no.
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The church is... constituted from people from every tribe, tongue, people,
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and land. Every nation. There's one nation that is supremely
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of concern to Christian, and that is the kingdom of God.
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All of our other earthly associations are sub-commitments. Let's not
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reverse them. Never put the flag above the cross. Frankly,
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never bring a flag into the church of God. The
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church of God is the kingdom of God on earth.
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When you walk into a church temple, forgive me, there
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should never be a flag of a nation in that land.
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Let's collaborate with Christ to harvest a thirsty world to
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the glory of his name and to the salvation of people.
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God be with you, dear ones. Hey, everyone. I hope
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you've downloaded the Patristic Nectar app on your phone. It
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is a treasure trove of soul nourishing content. And I
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hope you'll consider becoming a regular donor to Patristic Nectar today.
