Guaranteed: a Reflection on Psalm 119:49-72, Genesis 11:1-9, Hebrews 6:13-20 and John 4:10-15

Reconciliation with the Father through the Son is guaranteed in two ways: God made an oath to the promise in himself and in his name. The woman at the well was told that she would never thirst again if she drank the living water offered by Jesus. Followers of Jesus can only quench their thirst for success, winning souls for the kingdom, happiness and prosperity by drinking the living water. We must be united in humbly submitting ourselves to God’s Word. Unity cannot be found in our diversity as people; language, ethnicity, gender and common religious family origins cannot be the unifier. It was a long time ago, but we cannot forget why the Tower of Babel came into being. The people were unified in language and God saw the power that unity provided and knew that human would stop at nothing. So, diversity in language appeared. The people’s unity in worshipping Yahweh would be the commonality in the diversity. Oh how we desire to find our commonality in the notion that Judaism, Islam and Christianity are all Abrahamic. That pseudo unifier is very deceptive; it is a luring trap. God has guaranteed the one unifying truth in himself and his name; Jesus Christ is the priest that bridges the gap between sinful humanity and the holy God.

Scripture texts are taken from the two-year daily lectionary cycle which follows the liturgical calendar and begins on the First Sunday of Advent.