The Rest Is History So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar . . . Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. — John 4:5–6 (NRSV) TALITHA ARNOLD | Are you tired yet? We’re almost halfway through Lent with its extra study groups, worship services, and outreach programs. The spiritual journey itself can be exhausting as Lent moves closer to Jerusalem and the end we know is coming. To top it all off, Daylight Savings starts tomorrow! Unless you live in Arizona or Hawaii, you have to “spring ahead” and lose another hour of sleep. So . . . are you tired yet? If so, you’re in good company. Early in his journey—only four chapters into John’s Gospel—Jesus was tired, too. He was on his way back from Judea to Galilee. He’d already overturned the temple money changers and was baptizing more people than John, which meant more trouble with the religious leaders. Now he was in the hostile territory of Samaria. No wonder he was tired. So he sat down by the well to rest. A rest, you could say, that became history. It’s intriguing that today’s lectionary doesn’t include the rest of the story—how a woman came alone to the well, how Jesus asked her for a drink which led to a conversation about living water, and how she went back to tell the townspeople what had happened. All that comes in tomorrow’s Gospel lesson for the Third Sunday of Lent. But today, why not just rest for a while? Jesus did. PRAYER Thank you, God, for the reminder that the journey can tire us out, just as it did Jesus. Thank you for the gift of rest. Give us the wisdom to accept it. Amen.

About the Writer:
TALITHA ARNOLD is Senior Minister of the United Church of Santa Fe (UCC) in New Mexico. She is the author of Mark (Parts 1 and 2) in the Listen Up! Bible study series.

Source: “Running from Empty” | 2023 Lent Devotional by the Stillspeaking Writers’ Group, made up of United Church of Christ ministers and writers who collaborate on resources for people in the church, outside the church, and not sure about the church.