LENT 3-A, February 24, 2008

This Gospel story is one of the most fascinating in all of scripture, and for many reasons. In theory, perhaps even in law, Samaritans and Jews were forbidden to talk with one another. The feud between the two peoples went back ages. But the truth was, not only would a Jew not speak with this woman, neither would her own people. She came to the well at the hour she did in order to avoid encountering people, even and especially her fellow citizens. As the story unfolds we discover that she was not one of the "nice" people in town. Today we might call her a loose woman.

Thus, Jesus had two very good reasons why he should not be seen in the company of this woman let alone holding a conversation with her. She was a sinner, a public sinner at that; and she was a member of a people who were at odds with his people. No one would have thought Jesus to be in the wrong if he did not speak to her. In fact, when his disciples returned from town, they thought something was wrong precisely because Jesus was talking with this particular woman.

But wasn’t this just like Jesus? This woman needed his ministry and it did not matter if she thought herself unworthy of respect from anyone let alone Jesus, or if his own people would take him to task for speaking with the enemy. In Jesus’s mind there were no enemies and everyone was a sinner in need of God’s love and forgiveness. If he, or we, put up barriers to why another cannot be approached in love, then we will never become one as God created us to be: one in heart and mind and soul.

Jesus was constantly breaking down all those walls, artificial walls though they were and are, walls we put up to separate ourselves one from another. He allowed no one and nothing to stand in his way as he reached out in love and concern for everyone: not the law, not another’s sinfulness, not the time of day, not the judgment of others, nothing. Neither should we. That was one of the lessons Jesus was trying to teach not only this woman but his disciples and us as well.

Again, notice that Jesus acted as if she were an ordinary human being. Imagine that! He felt no uncomfortableness whatsoever in engaging her in conversation. She must have felt totally uncomfortable. He seemed at ease with everyone; she was ill at ease with anyone. He was self-assured; given her track record, she was entirely unsure of herself. None of this mattered to Jesus. What mattered and what only mattered was her need to hear a kind and loving and understanding voice.

How often in our lives have we been on both sides of this well? How often have we been like the woman, been the one in need of a kind and caring ear, someone who would just listen to us as we are and not judge us because of our past? How often have we felt as if we were on the outside looking in and no one seemed to care that we were all alone out there? How often have we not liked ourselves because of our past sinfulness and foolishness and assumed no one else liked us either?

How often, on the other hand, have we been Jesus? We were sitting on a plane or a bus, at a coffee counter or in a restaurant, minding our own business, when someone sat down next to us and opened up: told us everything we did not care to hear and did not want to know. It happens. It happens because we were the only ear available and that person just needed someone to listen. He did not want us to resolve his problems. There were too much for him. How could he expect a total stranger to have an answer? He just wanted to dump, to vent, to share. And the best person to share with was a stranger who would never pass his way again.

We’ve all been to that well many times. It is what evangelism is all about. Sometimes we were Jesus and sometimes we were that woman. And no matter what role we played, when the conversation was over, we had drunk deeply and were refreshed.

Such was the case with this woman. When she returned to town, people immediately must have sensed that there was a change in her. Perhaps it was the look on her face, the bounce in her step, something that told them that she was a changed person. Whatever it was, it was certainly infectious because she was able to gather people around her, people who had avoided her like the plague, to tell them her story, to evangelize.

Whatever it was she said, it was so moving that it moved them to see for themselves. And they did. They went out to the well and luckily found Jesus still there. Did Jesus know they would be coming? Is that why he hung around instead of moving on? We don’t know. What we do know is what happened next. The townspeople convinced Jesus to stay on two more days and share his message with them. He did. And like the woman, they came to believe in Jesus as well.

Sometimes we come to learn about Jesus, about what it means to follow Jesus, from the most unlikely of sources, as did the people from this Samaritan village. Just as the Jewish people believed nothing good could ever come from Samaria, the Samaritans themselves believed that nothing good could ever come from the mouth of this woman even if she were one of their own. Who would have believed it!

God works in mysterious ways, in ways we would never expect, through people we would never expect. There might be better ways. But those are God’s ways. What that means for us, of course, is that we can never write off anyone or anything as a source of wisdom, knowledge and insight about God. We dare not, because in doing so we might miss something we need to hear and need to learn.

In this life we are all in it together. We build upon the foundations others have laid and others build upon ours. Such is the cycle of life. One sows and another reaps and life goes on. No one is required to reinvent the wheel. Yes, we repeat the mistakes of those who have gone before, often because of our own foolishness and stubbornness. Learning from our mistakes is important for personal growth. But we do not have to deliberately make them in order to learn on our own what we could have learned, had we been willing to listen. It took a while and it took Jesus, but this woman finally got the message.

We certainly do not believe we have to start from scratch every time on every matter. If we did, we would still be walking on all fours and living in caves, if we were lucky. We have what we have today in this country, all the wonderful conveniences we have at our disposal, because we have built upon the past, used the knowledge others gained and then expanded it. That is the way it’s supposed to be. Like the people of that Samaritan town, we have the faith we have because others have shared their faith and their lives with us.

What we are also supposed to do but often do not is acknowledge that fact and then give thanks to those who have gone before, whose faith, whose hard work and sacrifices have made it possible for us to believe as we do and to enjoy what we now do. There is no way we can repay them, of course, nor do they expect it. What past generations expect is that we do for those generations to come what they have done for us.

What kind of legacy are we leaving for our children and grandchildren? Are we building a sound and solid foundation for them to build upon? Or is what we are building so fragile and so futile that they will have to dismantle it and start all over? Worse yet, are we squandering our resources, perhaps even our faith, so that we will leave nothing to them?

It’s all about stewardship and evangelism, is it not? Each generation is given the responsibility of making the world a better and more faith-filled place than the world that was left to it. To do that each generation must build upon the past, use the present resources wisely, and then leave to the generations to come a world worth living in and making even better. We cannot and must not take this responsibility lightly.