JOHN 4:5-42
THE GOSPEL STORY WE'VE
JUST HEARD IS AT THE SAME TIME VERY FAMILIAR AND VERY STRANGE. IT'S
STRANGE BECAUSE WE CAN'T HEAR IT THE WAY IT WAS FIRST HEARD. WE
AREN'T SHOCKED AS THOSE HEARERS WERE – AND AS THE APOSTLES AND THE
PEOPLE IN THE TOWN WERE. WE AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF THE
CONVENTIONS PEOPLE PUT IN STORIES IN THOSE DAYS. IF YOU GO TO A
MOVIE AND SOME TEENAGERS ARE WALKING THROUGH THE WOODS AT NIGHT, AND
ONE OF THEM GETS SEPARATED FROM THE REST, YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO
HAPPEN. OR IF A MOVIE HAS A WESTERN BAR AND OUR HERO IS SITTING AND
HAVING A DRINK, AND SOMEONE IN A BLACK HAT WALKS THROUGH THE SWINGING
DOORS, YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT. THE STORY OF THE WOMAN AT THE
WELL BEGINS WITH A CONVENTION – JESUS MEETS HER AT A WELL.
THERE WERE OTHER SUCH
MEETINGS. ABRAHAM'S SERVANT MET REBECCA, WHO WOULD BE ISAAC'S WIFE,
AT A WELL. JACOB MET HIS FUTURE WIFE RACHEL, AT A WELL. MOSES MET
HIS WIFE ZIPPORAH, AT A WELL. SAUL MET SOME WOMEN AT A WELL BUT
SINCE HE DID NOT FIND A WIFE, THIS WAS A STERILE MEETING, JUST AS HIS
KINGSHIP WOULD BE STERILE – NO SON OF HIS WOULD INHERIT HIS
KINGDOM. AND NOW, JESUS MEETS A WOMAN AT A WELL
YOUR FIRST REACTION, IF
YOU WERE LISTENING TO THIS STORY AND WERE FAMILIAR WITH THE
SCRIPTURES AND THE MEANING OF MEETING AT A WELL, WOULD BE TO SUSPECT
THAT JESUS WAS ABOUT TO MEET HIS FUTURE WIFE. BUT THEN WE LEARN
THAT THIS WOMAN IS THE OPPOSITE OF THE KIND OF WIFE YOU WOULD WANT
IF YOU WERE A GOOD JEW. SHE WAS FIRST OF ALL, NOT JEWISH – A
MEMBER OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO WERE CONSIDERED WORSE THAN GENTILES,
BECAUSE THEY PRACTICED A DISTORTED FORM OF JUDAISM, AND BECAUSE THEY
WERE NOT OF PURE BLOOD. SECOND, YOU LEARN THAT SHE HAS BEEN MARRIED
MULTIPLE TIMES, AND IS CURRENTLY LIVING WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT HER
HUSBAND. AND THIS ALL TAKES PLACE AT NOON, THE WRITER MAKES SURE TO
TELL US, BECAUSE NO SELF-RESPECTING WOMAN WOULD DRAW WATER AT NOON.
THIS WAS DONE EARLY IN THE MORNING AND THE WOMEN WOULD CATCH UP WITH
EACH OTHER ON THE NEWS AND GOSSIP. YOU CAME AT NOON, WHEN IT WAS HOT
AND UNCOMFORTABLE, ONLY IF YOU WERE TRYING TO AVOID MEETING OTHER
PEOPLE.
THE WOMAN IS REALLY
UNDESIRABLE – AS A WIFE, AS A FRIEND, EVEN AS AN ACQUAINTANCE,
BECAUSE, AS THE WRITER TELLS US, JEWS DID NOT ASSOCIATE WITH
SAMARITANS, JEWISH MEN DID NOT TALK TO STRANGE WOMEN. ANY OTHER GOOD
JEW WOULD NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE HER EXISTENCE.
BUT JESUS DOES SOMETHING
UNPRECEDENTED: HE ASKS HER FOR SOME WATER.
OUR WORLD IS IN DESPERATE
NEED OF CONVERSION. AND YET, IF WE DON'T DO IT, IT WON'T GET DONE.
AND WE KNOW IT HAS TO BE ONE ON ONE; WE AREN'T GOING TO CONVERT
PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT TO BE CONVERTED UNLESS WE MEET THEM ONE ON ONE.
JESUS BEGINS THEIR CONVERSATION BY MAKING HIMSELF DEPENDENT ON HER.
HE ASKS FOR WATER.
THEY BEGIN TO DIALOGUE.
WHEN WE HAVE A DIALOGUE WITH SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES DIFFERENTLY THAN WE
DO, WE HAVE TO AVOID TWO THINGS. THE FIRST IS TO PAPER OVER OUR
DISAGREEMENTS AND SAY THOSE AWFUL WORDS, “IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT
YOU BELIEVE, JUST SO YOU ARE SINCERE AND A GOOD PERSON.” THE
SECOND IS TO SAY THAT BECAUSE I AM RIGHT, YOU ARE WRONG. THE
ANCIENT LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA, WHICH CONTAINED PRICELESS MANUSCRIPTS,
WAS BURNED TO THE GROUND BY MOSLEM TROOPS BECAUSE, AS THE CALIPH
SAID, IF ANY OF THOSE BOOKS CONTAINED ANYTHING CONTRARY TO THE KORAN,
THEY SHOULD BE BURNED, AND IF THEY SAID WHAT WAS IN THE KORAN, IT
DIDN'T MAKE ANY SENSE TO KEEP THEM AROUND BECAUSE THEY WERE
REDUNDANT. IT'S A HUMAN TENDENCY TO SAY, I'M RIGHT AND YOU ARE
WRONG. NOTICE, THOUGH THAT JESUS DOES NOT CONDEMN OR BELITTLE THE
WOMAN'S RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES; HE DOES SAY THAT “SALVATION IS FROM
THE JEWS”, BUT THAT WOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE TO A SAMARITAN; AFTER
ALL, THEY CLAIMED THE SAME ANCESTORS AS THE JEWS. JESUS POINTS TO A
FUTURE WHEN GOD HIMSELF WILL TRANSCEND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PEOPLE
AND DRAW OUT THE “TRUE WORSHIPPERS”.
THE RESULT OF THIS
CONVERSATION IS THAT THE WOMAN BECOMES THE FIRST MISSIONARY; SHE
CONVINCES OTHERS OF HER VILLAGE TO COME AND LISTEN, AND WHEN THEY DO,
THEY BELIEVE OF THEMSELVES RATHER THAN BECAUSE WHAT SHE HAS TOLD
THEM.
AND THAT'S A GOOD RECIPE
FOR US. HOW DO WE BEGIN OUR DIALOGUE? FIRST, WE RECOGNIZE, AS JESUS
DID, THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE A DEEP HUNGER FOR THE TRUTH. WE CAN'T
IGNORE THEM. SECOND, WE THEN HAVE TO SEEK WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON; WE
HAVE TO PLACE OURSELVES ON AN EQUAL LEVEL WITH THE OTHER PERSON.
REAL DIALOGUE REQUIRES
THAT WE SEE EACH OTHER AS PEERS. IF YOU SEE YOURSELF AS SUPERIOR YOU
CAN TELL SOMEONE SOMETHING, BUT PROBABLY NOT CONVINCE THEM. IF YOU
SEE YOURSELF AS INFERIOR, YOU WON'T BE LISTENED TO. JESUS IN ASKING
FOR THE WATER AND PRESUMABLY DRINKING IT, MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE
WOMAN TO ENTER INTO DIALOGUE WITH HIM.
THIRD, WE NEED TO BE
DEEPLY ROOTED IN WHAT WE KNOW TO BE TRUE, BUT WE NEED TO HAVE THE
HUMILITY TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN LEARN SOMETHING FROM ANYBODY –
EVEN PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE DIFFERENTLY THAN WE DO. I HAVE NO TROUBLE
AGREEING THAT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS THE FULLNESS OF TRUTH; THAT IT
TEACHES EVERYTHING NECESSARY FOR OUR SALVATION. BUT WE HAVE THAT
TENDENCY TO THINK IN DUALISTIC TERMS – IF MY CHURCH IS RIGHT, THEN
YOURS MUST BE WRONG. A LUTHERAN PASTOR COINED THE TERM “HOLY ENVY”
TO DESCRIBE A DIFFERENT ATTITUDE. WHEN I MEET SOMEONE WHO BELIEVES
DIFFERENTLY THAN I DO, I SHOULD LOOK AT WHAT HE BELIEVES AND TRY TO
FIND WHAT IS ATTRACTIVE AND BEAUTIFUL IN THAT TRADITION. AND IT'S
NOT WRONG TO WISH THAT OUR OWN TRADITION MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE MORE OF
THAT. I GREW UP AROUND MORMONS. THEIR RELIGION EMPHASIZES FORMING A
COMMUNITY AND THEIR TRADITIONS ALL WORK TO STRENGTHEN THEIR
COMMUNITIES. I ENVY THAT. AND THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS – THEY
DON'T BELIEVE IN “BODIES AND SOULS” LIKE WE DO. AND BECAUSE OF
THAT IT IS A RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY, WHICH
WILL SLEEP AFTER DEATH AND BE RAISED UP AGAIN AT THE END OF TIME. I
ENVY THAT FOCUS ON RESURRECTION. WE BELIEVE IN RESURRECTION OF THE
BODY, BUT MOST OF US, I THINK, ARE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR SOULS.
HOLY ENVY REQUIRES THAT
WE UNDERSTAND AND TREASURE WHAT WE HAVE, BUT APPRECIATE WHAT OTHERS
HAVE. FROM THIS STANDPOINT, WE ARE BETTER WITNESSES AND MORE LIKELY
TO DO REAL EVANGELIZATION.
THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AND
THROUGH HER, HER WHOLE VILLAGE, BECOME CHRISTIANS; PERHAPS THIS IS A
SIGN OF THE CHURCH TO COME AFTER JESUS RESURRECTION. AND IF SO, THEN
THE MEETING BETWEEN JESUS AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN IS KIND OF LIKE
THOSE OTHER MEETINGS, BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS HIS BRIDE.
