Jesus and the Woman at the Well

The topic this week is Jesus and his encounter with the Samaritan in John 4. Since the focus of worship today is how each of us reads and fits into the story, I am saving my thoughts for here in the blog, as I want worship to be about other people's views and ideas.

One of the things that strikes me about this story is all the different characters that are present and the fact that we can read them all in so many different ways. The classic example of this is simply trying to figure out who this woman is. There are several different theories that are debated amongst scholars. The traditional reading is to see her as a sinful woman, an adulterous who moves from one man to another. While this reading enhances her transformation story, it does so by first emphasizing how "fallen" she was to begin with. The marginalized nature of her, as a woman, and even more so as a Samaritan is powerful enough that we do not need to add to that. In fact some readings see her multiple husbands, not as a sign of her infidelity but as further evidence of how her gender turns her into an object, something to be passed from one master to another.

Who the woman at the well is gives us one thing to focus on, however there are several others to look at. One of the characters that stuck out to me in looking at the story are the Pharisees. The role that the Pharisees play is simple, their jealous and envy over Christ's ministry drives Jesus from Galilee into Samaria. The inability of the establishment of that day and age to accept this new ministry causes Jesus to shift his focus from working with Jews to working with Gentiles. As I think about the journey to and from the Well, I wonder how often I end up on the sidelines, like the Pharisees, watching others partake but unable to really accept that life giving sustenance for myself because I know better.

Reflecting on this story and the roles that each of the characters play in it as made me realize how rich the story becomes when we take the time to see the characters as real people. Too often I think we mine the gospel stories for Absolute Truths, scrapping and dredging the Word of God for every nugget of wisdom we can find. In doing so I think we can mar the natural beauty of the story. Instead of looking for the richness and depth of the story, we try and make it into a tract or essay. I want us to read the story with fresh eyes and new hearts and look for it come alive for us. Rather than looking for the bullet point versions, let us focus on who each character in the story is, what are they feeling, and how are they eager and ready, or scared and reluctant to experience the life-giving water and message that Christ offers to all.