3rd Sunday in Lent

Where should we worship God?  Of course, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic with social distancing and churches shut, this is a topical question.  In this week’s Bible reading, Jesus gives clear advice.  He tells the woman at the well in Samaria, “It doesn’t matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem.”  What prompted this remark?  The Samaritans had adjusted history to suit themselves.  They said that Abraham had been willing to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Gerizim and that it was at Mount Gerizim that Melchizedek had appeared to Abraham.  Moreover, they held that it was on Mount Gerizim that Moses had first erected an altar when the people entered the promised land.  As a result of all of this, the Samaritans had been brought up to believe that Mount Gerizim was more sacred than Jerusalem.  It is for this reason that the woman in Samaria asked Jesus the question, “Where should we worship God?”  Jesus’ answer is clear: God is Spirit and what matters is not where you worship Him but that you worship Him in spirit and in truth.  In church or out of church; in groups or individually, we can worship God anytime, anywhere.  Let’s keep praying for the world at this critical time by continuing in a state of worship, wherever we are.