Mtr Taylor Devine

What would we say if the Samaritan woman approached us and wanted to talk about Jesus?

The unnamed woman is featured in today's Daily Office reading from the 4th chapter of John’s Gospel. While the portion allotted stops short of her sprint into town to tell the people about Jesus, anyone familiar with this story knows where it ends: with her, in town, telling others about that Jewish man she met at the well, who had no bucket yet dared to ask a Samaritan woman for water, who then spoke about living water, who had inexplicable insight into her past.

“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!” And many believed in Jesus just on her say-so.

Jesus has gone out of his way to go through Samaria on his journey home from Judea to Galilee. He is tired and hot, which explains why he sits down by a well at midday. Ordinarily he would have found himself alone at that hour.

The normal custom for water collection was to do so early in the day, while it was still cool. Women from throughout the area would gather at the same time, because it was cool, because their homes needed water, and because they could catch up on each other’s news. It was a household responsibility mixed with a social opportunity.

The Samaritan woman likely lived on the fringes of her community, perhaps because of multiple marriages and a current live-in partner. Whatever the reason, the fact that she’s collecting water from the well at noon, and alone, speaks to the probability of her exclusion from the normal social flow. And that is why she is alone at the well in the midday sun. Which is how the Samaritan woman and the Jewish man crossed paths.

Despite her questionable status—or perhaps because of it— it is to this person that Jesus makes his revelation: He is the living water. And it is because of her revelation that many townspeople believed.

What would I say if the least credible person in my community wanted to tell me about the living God? Or if a man or woman with questionable morals brought me a story about living water? Or if a child spoke to me about the least favorite parts of my life?

Would I demand to see some credentials? Would I discount the report based on its source? Might I suggest someone so young not speak so rudely to an elder?

Or might I be lucky enough to recognize truth when I heard it, no matter the source? Could I be so blessed as to be among the many who believed?

Mtr. Mary