Done Messed Up (Kenosis Lesson 1)

Reflect (20 minutes)

Activity 3: Reflecting on the Scripture

• Pass out the bibles and read John 4:1-26 aloud twice.
• After doing so, explain to the youth some of what is happening in this passage. Christ meets a woman at the well. This woman is coming to the well at noon, a time that no one would have come to the well because it was too hot. At this point it becomes clear that she is coming to the well to avoid interacting with others. Later, we learn of the woman’s sinfulness in relation with men. Her shame keeps her from going to the well when she might be seen by others. Her shame keeps her from owning up to her sin.
• It is also important to explain that in the Scriptures, a well functioned as somewhat of a local hot spot, a place where people met spouses (Jacob and Rachel, Isaac and Rebekah, Moses and Zaphora). Here, the image is that Christ is waiting at the well as the lover of this woman’s soul. He is her true lover. She, however, has spent her life with multiple lovers, as Christ points out. These lovers continue to leave her thirsty for love, but Christ Himself is here now, offering to satisfy her thirst. Christ doesn’t shame the woman for having had multiple lovers, but rather expresses how these lovers could never satisfy her deepest desires. After her encounter with Christ, she joyfully runs back to her people and declares that she met a man who told her everything she has ever done. There is joy for her in the confession of her sin. She previously had avoided others on account of her sin, but now in having her sin confessed, she finds liberation to go back to others in the community.
• The Scriptures function for us as a mirror. The lesson here is not simply to think about whether or not we are like the woman at the well. The lesson here is to deeper into ourselves to see that we are, in fact, the woman at the well. We, too, have spent our time pursuing empty love affairs while Christ waits at the well of our hearts to meet us and to give us living water. Again, perhaps this is about trying to be super popular. Perhaps it’s about getting the best grades. Each of us has something or multiple things that are vying for our hearts’ affections.
  That being said, invite youth to reflect on a few questions as they journal about the passage:
  • What are the other lovers that have kept you from encountering Christ at the well of your heart?
  • What feelings come up for you as you think about Christ knowing the depth of your heart’s desire for these other things? What feelings come up for you knowing that Christ still loves you and longs to meet you?
  • What keeps you from wanting to be seen by others? What makes it hard to own your sinful desires in the presence of others? Is it shame? Is it fear of rejection? Is it fear of judgment?
  • Who is someone in your life that you would feel comfortable telling “everything you’ve ever done” to? What would it be like to share your heart with them?

Activity 4: Confession of Sins

• After they journal, have the youth each find a partner. If your youth group has the practice of accountability or confession in this scenario, you may invite them to share their answers from their journals with one another. If not, simply have them talk to one another about what makes it so hard to confess sins to others.
• Invite them to articulate their fears around such openness and vulnerability. Then invite them to share with each other who they feel comfortable confessing their sins to.
  Note: It may be tempting to invite youth simply to open their hearts and confess to the group. They are free to do so, of course, but often people find it hard to be honest like this for a reason. Thus even opening up conversation about the process of confession, about what makes it so hard to be vulnerable is like chipping away at some of the protective layers that get in the way of confessing sin. Here, we are still practicing confession, but it is much more in the form of confessing the fear of confessing.