Exodus 17: 2,4,7; John 4:7-11, 16, 17

Real Conversations

On the evening of October 25^th 1946 the British philosopher Bertrand Russell hosted a meeting of the Moral Sciences Club at King’s College in Cambridge.  Two Jewish philosophers from Vienna, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper were about to do battle.  It was a very brief encounter that would involve Wittgenstein grabbing the poker in the fire place.  This conversation and what it meant was described in a book by David Edmonds and John Eidinow entitled “Wittgenstein’s poker” (Ecco), 2002.  It was both an abstract conversation and a real conversation, even though it only lasted ten minutes.  Wittgenstein believed that there are no real philosophical problems, only puzzles to be solved as the result of language. Popper thought this was nonsense. He believed that the great social problems of our age, such as how to organize a society were bona fide and towering philosophical problems.  

Friends, what is a good conversation? One where everybody said the right thing, but didn’t mean it? I don’t think so. One where you had to think about another person’s position before you spoke? I don’t think so. One where one person knew everything and looked down on the other? I don’t think so.  When people are asked about what a good conversation is, they will often say: there was Sincerity/Caring, there was wit or humor, there was relevance, there was charm, it was original, there was clarity, it was informative.

Now I don’ know if the conversation in today’s passage would be all of the above,  but something’s real is going on here.  In Exodus come to Moses and genuinely air their frustration: “ Did you take us out of Egypt so be could die of thirst,” they ask.  And Moses complains about the people’s lack of patience and  gratitude.  Then there is humor. The places where all this happening are called Massa and Meribah, words that mean testing and quarrelling in Hebrew.  Both parties are telling their truth and they get their issues out, but they are not exactly doing it is a way that furthers and strengthens the relationship.

The conversation that Jesus has with the Samaritan woman is different.  Two people come together at Jacob’s well. One is a Samaritan woman of Jewish and local blood. The other is Jesus, the Jewish healer and teacher.  Like the conversation between Moses and the people, they seem to be talking about water, but it is really about something deeper.  The woman misunderstands Jesus when He is speaking about water.  She thinks he means it literally while Jesus is speaking metaphorically and spiritually about “living water.” The Samaritan woman speaks the truth and more than anything Jesus speaks the truth.

There is a funny Geico commercial.  A boy and a man, presumably his father, sit on the couch. The man is looking at a screen and exclaims:” Wow, 15 minutes could save you hundreds of dollars in car insurance.”  The wise guy boy then gives a deadpan response:” Well, everybody knows that.”  With bruised ego, the man then shoots back:” Well did you know that Pinocchio would have been a bad motivational speaker?”  It then shows an actual scene of Pinocchio standing in front of a small group of people and saying: “everybody here has potential and he starts pointing: “you have potential, you have potential, you have potential, you have potential and then he points in the guy sitting by himself in the front row:” and  you have potential,” but as he says that Pinocchio’s nose starts growing and the man he has just pointed at slumps down discouraged in his chair. Pinocchio is not being real.

Friends, so many conversations that we are witness to in front of the tv, in the workplace or on the street or even that we are a party to are not real conversations.  They aren’t like that encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Look at what Jesus does: He tells the truth, but He also accepts her when she tells her truth, Hhe names what is going on, but He does not humiliate her and in this process He transforms and heals.  This is what real conversations are about: they are truthful, they don’t humiliate and they transform and heal.   The media tells a story and focuses on only one aspect of the conversation after a source opens up.   The politician does a focus group and says what his or constituents want to hear.   In a legal setting, any small word can be used against a person.   Now we may even have to worry what we say on our cell phones.  Perhaps sometimes we may even have to be on guard at family gatherings, keeping the conversation superficial to keep the peace. This is, friends, why I think the church community can be important. It can help create a setting where people can be real with each other. I know this doesn’t always happen, but that at least should be our goal. When the church is not real, it becomes a dysfunctional place. Friends, may God help us to follow Jesus’ example and get real!