Friday 10 January 2020

Psalm: Psalm 27

Background

At first reading of today's passage, there might seem to be little relationship with the story of Jesus meeting with the Samaritan woman with the prophesy of Isaiah, which was the subject of yesterday’s study. However, when we put it into context, it becomes clearer.

Jesus has come with his disciples to a foreign territory, a place that had been alienated from Judea and Galilee, although clearly there were links with the history of the Jewish people as Jesus is sitting by Jacob’s well. The woman comes and the rest of the story is familiar to us – Jesus asks her to draw some water for him to drink ... She is surprised to say the least. Indeed, when she had seen him sitting there she was possibly quite anxious as she is walking alone rather than with companions. She does as Jesus asks and listens as he gives her the good news he has to offer about living water. It is clearly a charismatic message as she asks that he might give her such a gift for herself. Then comes the challenge “go and fetch your husband”, and the woman is impelled to admit her unconventional lifestyle as she realises that Jesus knew the answer before he asked the question.

In this story we have Jesus interacting not only with someone from another nationality and another faith community, but one with whom he talks freely about her life and about her faith at that time. Having heard what Jesus had to say to her, she takes courage and goes back to the city and to those who had turned their backs on her because of who she was and tells of her encounter with Jesus. The people’s ears are opened to what she says and they themselves believe what the woman has said. The text states, “Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” It is through the testimony of someone who could have been seen to be an unexpected witness, that many people came to believe.

To Ponder:

• Are we being challenged in this story to hear the faith stories of those who society might otherwise reject?
• In what ways do we sometimes reject people because of their lifestyle, their abilities, their faith and not see God at work within them?
• What does the Samaritan Woman’s witness say to us today?