Is John 4 Missing From Some Bibles?

Worship is a point of departure. It is with worship that the great majority of battles take place. Some will try to point to this as inconsistency and "the blight of our heritage," but in all truth it only makes sense. When the instrument was introduced into the churches of Christ by L.L. Pinkerton, and others, it was a visual display of a profound difference that was taking place with regard to the approach to Scripture.

In John 4 the Samaritan woman changes a discussion of her messed up (I would say screwed up here but some people have said that they think screwed up has sexual connotations - I tend to think it just conveys the idea that you personally got yourself in a huge mess) life to that of worship. Isn’t it interesting that her perception of Jesus as a prophet propels her to ask a question regarding worship? It’s really quite natural when you think of it. What was one thing that was a very visual, real, personal, interactive difference between the Jews and the Samaritans? The way they worshiped. There was no mistaking the difference. One worshiped up on a mountain in one place the other in a temple in a completely different place. Worship was a very visual and very real display of the theological differences with which the two groups approached and understood God and His will.

Some people who identify themselves with the church of Christ today scoff at the Lord’s church for making such a fuss over differences of worship. They want to hang their heads in shame because when they say they are members of the church of Christ people quickly reply, “Oh yeah, your those people that don’t have music!” Besides the fact that they have a skewed view of music by thinking that the none-use of instruments in singing doesn’t make it music, I’ve failed in all my years to understand why “us” being identified by this is such a horrible thing. Don’t get me wrong here – there are much more significant reasons why we are so different from the denominational and sectarian religious world, but it is in our worship they we are visually SEEN as different. And may I be so bold as to say that the reason why the Lord’s church is known for her a capella music is because it is a very visual, very audible, very tangible difference. The key is there IS a difference. Those amongst us who are trying to say that we are just like them don’t want to talk about difference. All they want to talk about is what we have in common. Did you know that the human being has DNA that is nearly identical to that of sharks!?!? I guess humans and sharks are just alike and should unite behind their commonalities - right??? I wonder if anyone will hear this... difference is not a virtue or a curse in and of itself and we would all do well to let that one sink into our noggins. Jesus was certainly different from Satan - that's a good thing for those of you who may be wondering. Sometimes difference is good, right, and moral.

In Jesus’ effort with the woman at the well he did not point to their commonality of worshiping and say, “Hey, we are all the same let’s embrace our differences and sing Kum By Yah together (with or without an instrument).” The difference was very real and visual and ultimately the underpinning problem was their source of authority. Jesus affirms that the Scriptures taught that salvation was coming through the Jews and they were worshipping in the right place. He then tells the woman that a time for change is coming and is here and that the way for her and Him and everyone else to worship correctly is to worship in spirit and in truth. Jesus was not ashamed of difference – he saw some difference being the difference between truth that sets a person free and a lie that traps them up forever. You know… sometimes I wonder if John 4 is just missing from some people’s Bible.

Sow the Seed Faithfully,
Caleb O’Hara