Mtr Mary Trainor
Jesus met the woman at the well, (x3) And He told her everything that she'd ever done*
Dear friend,
As one who ordinarily values her privacy, having a stranger tell me everything I’ve ever done, well, I might find that unnerving.
Is he or she a stalker? Are they of possible harm to me?
As strange, perhaps alarming, as such a conversation might be nowadays, the one between Jesus and the Samaritan woman was even more outrageous. Given religious boundaries, cultural prohibitions, and gender expectations—their conversation should not have occurred.
But converse they did, in spite of those rules. In today’s Office Gospel from John, Jesus asks her very personal questions, saying he already knows the answers.
He said, "Woman, woman, where is your husband?" (x3) "I know everything that you've ever done."
The woman pushes back, denying she has a husband and that, in fact, Jesus did not know everything about her. He retorts:
"Woman, woman, you've got five husbands" (x3) "And the one you have now, he's not your own."
Eventually—and immediately following today’s passage—the unnamed woman departs for her village telling everyone they will find the Messiah at the well: He told me everything I’ve ever done.
***
One of my favorite figures in scripture, the Samaritan woman speaks her mind, yet is open to the words of Jesus, the Jewish man approaching her in public, and the Savior offering her living water. A savior who knows everything she’s ever done, and yet seeks her out at a well in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the day.
***
I may hide my past from mere mortals, but I cannot hide it from Jesus. And isn’t that good news? He knows everything I’ve ever done, and doesn’t turn away. In fact, he seeks me out in the darkest places, and I know—believe—I am never alone.
Mtr Mary
*Jesus Met the Woman at the Well. Traditional. Lyrics might change slightly depending on who is singing. While many, even popular artists, have recorded this Gospel hymn, it is Mahalia Jackson’s rendition that rings in my ears.