Worship at the well: From Dogmatics to doxology (and back again)

Trinity Journal, Spring 2002 by Vanhoozer, Kevin J

2. Worship War II: How? What Style?

If a prophet were to appear in Lake County today, I suspect that most of us would be inclined to ask not about locations but about styles of worship. The debate between the Jews and Samaritans over where to worship stands in a certain parallel to contemporary debates about how to worship. Instead of appreciating the fact that both sides worship the same God, there was, and is, great bitterness over the differences: over place (for them) and over style (for us).

I believe that Jesus' teaching shows that both sides, in the ancient and the contemporary worship wars alike, may be guilty of relying too heavily on what we might call, with the anthropologist Clifford Geertz, "local knowledge."8 "Local knowledge" refers to the influence of one's place and time, history and tradition, on what one thinks one knows. After all, "North America" is a locale too. How can we be sure that we are not subscribing to local knowledge only-to the influence of our culture-in our worship?9

Does it really matter how we worship? Yes it does, because ultimately it is not simply a question of "how," but also of "what." Questions of style are not unrelated to questions of substance. This, I submit, is the point of Jesus' teaching on worshiping the Father in Spirit and in truth.

B. The Larger Literary Context: The Water Of Life

Just before we turn to Jesus' teaching about worship at the well in vv. 22-24, however, let us recall that the broader context of Jesus' remarks pertains to knowing God and eternal life. The imagery in John 4 runs deep. Take, for example, the symbol of living water. Verses 6-18 distinguish earthly water, which offers only a provisional satisfaction, from the living water that Christ offers, which satisfies eternally. While the conversations appear to shift to a different topic altogether-namely, the worship that the Father seeks-I believe that there is actually a connection between them, even if it is somewhat subterranean.

1. "Living Water"

Almost every commentator I consulted made the point that "living water" is a common expression for flowing or spring water, in contrast to still water. The qualification is important. In the OT, the presence or emergence of springs became the sign of God's special help to a pilgrim people (Isa 41:18). Springs in the desert were literally life-giving. Springs also stand for a renewal of inner strength and joy, as in Isa 12:2-3 "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." Finally, the prophets associate living water with an eschatological blessing: take, for example, Zechariah's vision of the restoration of Israel: "On that day living water will flow out of Jerusalem.... on that day there will be one Lord" (Zech 14:8-9). We see a similar use in the NT in Revelation 22, where a river of life flows from the throne of God in heaven (Rev 22:1).

So much for the fertile background. There are two main possibilities as to what Jesus meant by "living water" in his dialogue with the Samaritan woman.