INSIDE OUT by Cheri Holdridge (with an assist by Kurt Young)

There is a new Disney/Pixar movie called “Inside Out.” The movie follows a little girl named Riley as she goes through the challenge of moving to a new town. The movie is told through the view point of her emotions. There are actual characters: Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust and Anger. The power of the movie is this. We see how these emotions play out within Riley. We see not just Riley on the outside. We see her on the inside. 

Because there is a difference, isn’t there? There is a difference between the person we are on the outside and the person we are on the inside. We all try to put up a front on the outside. We try to be perfect. We try to seem like we have it all together. We try to be beautiful. We try to pretend that our relationships are all going great. We pretend that we know what we are doing at work even though inside we know that there are some things we really need help with but we are too afraid to ask for help. On the outside we pretend we don’t have addictions, but in the privacy of our own homes, we smoke, we drink, we overeat, we shop on the television & internet and we gamble. On the outside we pretend to be “fine.” Right? When someone asks how you are, the acceptable answer is “fine” even though you might be depressed, or exhausted, or scared, or lost or about anything but fine. The truth is, there is a disconnect between what we say we are on the outside and how we really are on the inside.

Jesus knows this. He knows the truth. One day he had a conversation with a woman from Samaria (John 4:1-30, 39-42 The Message for those following along from afar) . Now, if you were here last week you will know that this conversation is unusual. Just last week I told you that Jesus focused his mission on the Jews and did not spend much time with the Gentiles. The Samaritans were some of the Gentiles. So it is very unusual that Jesus would talk to this woman. Also, Jewish men did not talk to women and they didn’t talk to Gentiles, but here you go. Jesus has a lengthy conversation with this Samaritan woman. Go figure.

He and his disciples are traveling through Samaria and he stops to rest by a well. It’s in the middle of the day. His disciples go into town for some food and Jesus is waiting here by the well. A woman comes up to draw some water and Jesus asks her for a drink. She is surprised because as I have already mentioned, no self- respecting Jewish man would talk to a Samaritan woman, let alone ask for anything. 

He starts a conversation with her in which he reveals that he knows she has had five husbands and she is now living with a sixth man who is not her husband. He offers her living water and says if she drinks from the water that he has to offer that she will never be thirsty. She says, “Give me some of that water. I want some of that water.” 

They talk about worship and where is the true place to worship because the Jews worship in the temple in Jerusalem and her people worship on this mountain. Jesus tells her: It does not matter where you worship “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.  That is who God is looking for, people who worship out of themselves.  

Their conversation is interrupted when the disciples return. They can’t believe Jesus is talking to this Samaritan woman. She takes the hint and leaves. But she goes back to the town and tells the people “Come see a man who knew all about the things I did, who knows me inside and out. Do you think this could be the Messiah?”

She tells the people that Jesus knows me inside and out. You see, Jesus gets past her façade. He gets past the person she is trying to be on the outside. He sees her emotions on the inside, like in the movie “Inside Out” when we get to see the feelings Riley has inside of her. Jesus knows the woman has had several husbands. Most women go to the well early in the morning when it is cool. The reason this woman is at the well in the heat of the day is because she is ashamed of herself. She wants to go to the well when no one else will be there.  She doesn’t want to see anyone, where she won’t be shamed. Jesus knows all of this. And yet he still accepts the woman. He has a conversation with her about God and about how to worship. These conversations are to be reserved for men in that culture, but he treats the woman with respect as he talks to her. When she says that her people are waiting for the Messiah he says: “I am he, you don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.” It’s a big deal that he reveals his true identity to her. 

And the amazing thing about this story is that when the woman goes back into town and tells the people what happened they turn to Jesus because of her witness. The scripture says: “ Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” This was not a woman to be trusted, but because of her witness, they turn to Jesus.  She is an evangelist.  

They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Savior of the world!”

But it was her witness, “He knows me inside and out” that turned the people toward Jesus.  You see, we want to be known for who we really are. We want to be known inside and out and accepted for who we really are, inside. That is what Jesus does for us. Jesus knows us inside and out and loves us anyway. 

This is why confession is so important. In prayers of confession, we tell Jesus who we really are. Of course, he already knows. Just like he knew that that woman had had several husbands, Jesus knows all the secrets of our hearts. But it helps us to clear out all the bad stuff when we confess to God. We name the things that give us shame and then we let them go. God does not want us to carry around things in secret. So once we confess them to God we can let them go. This is letting what is on the inside come to the outside. “God I said a hurtful thing to my friend. I am sorry. God, I have been giving into my addiction and I need your help to stop. God I did this thing that I know was wrong, and I need your forgiveness.” Confession is important.

Being true to who we are on the inside is also so important. We all struggle with this. We all have a façade. We think we need to be perfect on the outside, but there are no perfect people. Jesus invites us to be authentic on the outside, to let our vulnerabilities show. This means we are honest with one another. When we make mistakes, we admit it. We don’t try to cover it up with excuses, or by blaming someone else. We just own up to it: “I made a mistake and I am sorry.” 

Another thing we need to do is ask for help when we need it. One of the mistakes “perfect” people make is that they don’t know how to ask for help. They try to do everything themselves because if you ask for help you are showing vulnerability. Think about it, even Jesus had a team of 12 disciples. He understood that everyone needs help. It is a mistake to try to look so strong on the outside that we never ask for help. The best teams are made up of people with a variety of gifts. So in order to have a good team you have to admit that you have some strengths and some weaknesses and that there are other people who have strengths in the areas where you are weak. It’s okay to ask for help.

In the movie, “Inside Out,” the little girl, Riley, is going through a rough time, because her family has moved. She closes off. She does not let her parents know what is going on. She loses her Joy and Sadness takes over. It is only when she lets her inside feelings come to the outside that her parents are able to help her and she is able to find her Joy again.

In our scripture for today Jesus is trying to help the woman find meaning in her life. She has messed her life up pretty good. But Jesus shows her that you can never mess up your life so much that there is no room left for God. God will always love you and give you a fresh start. 

God accepts us, with all the mistakes and brokenness we have inside. We can let what’s inside show on the outside and God will still love us. Remember what the woman said, “I met a man who knew me inside out” and that man still loved and accepted her. 

We all have parts of ourselves that we hope no one sees. We think they are unloveable parts. Maybe we need to confess some sins and let go of some things. Or maybe we just need to let go to self-doubt. Whatever it is, Jesus sees it and Jesus still loves us. That is the good news. Jesus loves us inside and out.   Amen.