Today in the Cycle A readings (John 4:5-42), Jesus arrives at the well tired, thirsty, aware that he’s among Samaritans who have a long history of conflict with his people.
He immediately breaks a social taboo since a good Jewish boy never spoke to a woman (even his mother, wife or sister) in public. So the Samaritan woman is surprised–and intrigued. Jesus refused to categorize her by gender or nationality. He begins by expressing poignant human need, the same thirst he named from the cross. Then he engages in conversation with her, just as he did with Martha, Peter, or the other disciples.
His conversational style is important: some believe that the Trinity itself is a marvelous dialogue or dance among the three persons of God. In contrast, the one-sided lecture form seems stale and lifeless. Jesus’ conversation liberates her from enshrined prejudices and irrelevant beliefs. Where we worship is secondary, he says. How we worship is primary.
Since Jesus has invited the woman’s participation from the beginning, asking her for a drink, it’s natural for her to feel empowered, spreading the good news. She leaves behind her water jar, symbol of exhausted systems, in her eagerness to tell her village about Jesus.
The Samaritan woman got more than she bargained for when she went to draw water. She got a life-giving spring, gushing up to eternal life. And we, working at the old chores, the same routines or the endless drudgery, we too might be surprised by a stranger…
Kathy Coffey 