John 4:5 - 42
That’s a long gospel, isn’t it?
And even though we’ve heard it so many times before, it continues
to fascinate us. Part of the reason is that it’s such a good
story. If we were raised Jewish during Jesus’ time, we would
notice a lot of things that we twentieth century Americans don’t.
We would notice that Jesus meets the woman at a well. Drawing water
was a woman’s work, and if you were a woman with daughters, you
would send them to get the water. And there would often be young men
hanging around. Because the town well was about the only place you
could meet girls. Isaac, Jacob and Moses all met their wives at a
well; King Saul met some women at a well but didn’t pick any of
them, and of course that was a sign that he would be rejected by God
later on as the king of Israel. And maybe the Jewish listener would
recall that the Samaritans, although worshiping the same God as the
Jews, were according to legend descended from five different tribes
who had been forcibly relocated to that region, and each tribe had
once had its own God.
But even though you could write a book
about this story of the Woman at the Well, we should probably look at
just a few things.
First, Jesus breaks the rules. As the
woman rightly points out, Jewish men would never speak to a woman in
public, especially a Samaritan. But by breaking that social rule, he
invites her to enter into a conversation with him. He takes the
lead, and leaves himself open to rejection in doing so. But she gets
the strength to overcome the social barriers and speak with him.
Second, Jesus begins by asking
something of her. In a way, he makes himself vulnerable. He’s
even willing to drink out of her cup. He, who could make water flow
from a rock if he wanted to. How often are we willing to begin a
relationship by being vulnerable? And yet, psychologists tell us
that getting a stranger to do you a small favor is a great way to
begin a stronger relationship, even a deep friendship.
Third, Jesus speaks to this woman
person to person; scholars tell us that she comes to the well in the
middle of the day because she doesn’t want to meet other women;
when we learn that she’s had five husbands and the man she is
living with now is not her husband, if we take that literally you
could draw the conclusion that she had a bad reputation. But
although Jesus points this out, he doesn’t condemn nor offer
forgiveness; he simply continues the conversation. The real issue is
that the woman for whatever reason doesn’t want the company of
other women at the well. She prefers isolation. But Jesus sees
without shaming her her past, and speaks of a future where Jews and
Samaritans will no longer live as hated rivals, but will worship
together in spirit and truth. And according to John, this is the
first time Jesus reveals himself as Messiah.
Fourth, Jesus makes himself available.
The woman, forgetting whatever caused her to seek isolation, rushes
into the town and says, “Come and see: he knows everything about
me. Can he be the Messiah?” and the people come, and their
experience with Jesus validates the woman’s faith, and many of the
villagers come to believe.
So what do we take away from this,
this gospel in the middle of Lent? Perhaps Jesus is modeling for us
how to be evangelists. Because that is our calling. Sometimes we
let ourselves off the hook by reminding ourselves of that saying of
St. Francis: Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary, use
words.” So we point out our lives which aren’t bad, which are
pretty good. But who has been turned toward Christ because of you?
Who have you personally helped along their journey to heaven? Have
you missed opportunities to spread the Gospel because you were too
shy, you didn’t want rejection, you believe in letting everyone
find their own way.
But look what Jesus did. He broke
rules; he spoke to a person that no observant Jewish man would even
think of. And in asking for some water, he indicated to the woman
that she could if she wanted get him something he needed -- a very
little something, but a very necessary something. I think it’s
human nature to feel positive towards someone who has asked for a
small easily satisfied favor. And Jesus accepts this woman as an
equal. I think when we evangelize, if we do, we see ourselves as
bringing something valuable to the unwashed masses. We are doing
them a favor. But when we are encountering them in an accepting way,
in a way in which we honor their humanity, we are sharing our own
good news. And finally, Jesus recognizes another very human trait;
if you want to become a better evangelist, evangelize! The woman
rushes off in excitement; she expresses what she knows and brings
her townspeople back to Jesus. That’s the goal of evangelism after
all, isn’t it.
Today make it a goal to evangelize
someone. If you don't feel you know that much about your faith,
learn. If you feel too shy to bring this sort of thing up in
conversation, offer your target a book that moved you. Think of
someone to personally invite to the next St. Mary social function.
And always, pray for that person that you have set your sights on.
It would be nice to know whether we
are responsible for bringing someone closer to Jesus. But the truth
is that none of us can claim to have done that. First, every
convert is acted upon by many influences. Second, God is going to
use many instruments to bring souls to him. To be a good evangelist
is to do what we can to bring the message to others, knowing that in
the end God works through us.
