A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to perform a monologue from the perspective of the woman at the well. When I was approached about this presentation, I was very excited because this is one of my favorite scripture texts. I love her story because it turns every pop culture expectation of its time upside down.
In case it has been a while since you have read this text, go here and refresh your memory.
So here is a woman whose choices and circumstances have landed her in a predicament. She has certainly been the talk of the town in the past. And most likely that negative attention has driven her into a withdrawn lifestyle. She is coming to the well to draw water during the middle of the day so she can avoid contact with others in the community. She is an outcast. And she would rather perform her task of fetching water during the hottest part of the day than have to face the jury of her peers.
As she approaches the well, she is extremely surprised to find someone there. And not just any someone...a Jewish man. Jews didn't care much for Samaritans in her day. They tried to avoid the region altogether, but if they did find themselves traveling through her neck of the woods, they certainly wouldn't stop. And if a Jewish man did stop, he would never be caught having a conversation with someone like her....a Samaritan woman...a SAMARITAN WOMAN!
And yet, there he is. And he speaks...asking her for water. She is flabbergasted! "Are you asking me for water?" she asks. "You do know that you are a Jewish MAN and I am a Samaritan woman, don't you?
"If you knew who it is that asks you, you would have asked me for living water," he tells her.
She laughs. He has no rope or jar or other container with which to draw water. "How are you going to do that?" she challenges. "Who do you think you are?"
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again," he explains. "But those who drink the water that I give won't thirst anymore. It will be like a spring of water within their souls that bubbles up into eternal life."
Water that would eternally satisfy!? Wow! The thought of not having to keep coming to the well to draw water day after day must have been like a dream come true for her. "Oh, please give me some of this water," she asks.
"Go get your husband and come back," Jesus says.
Uh-oh. Ummm... Well... You see...
I am sure she stumbled for words. You will recall that she finds herself at the well at mid-day because she is an outcast. And she is an outcast because she doesn't have a husband. She is caught! "I don't have a husband," she tells Jesus.
"That's right. You've actually had 5 husbands," Jesus tells her. "And the man you are living with now isn't your husband."
Can you imagine the look on her face!? How did this man, this stranger traveling through her town, know these things!? "You must be a prophet!" she declared. "Our ancestors worshipped here on this mountain but you Jews say that Jerusalem is where we are supposed to worship."
"A time is coming when the place for worship won't matter any more. You Samaritans worship what you do not know, but we Jews worship what we do know. Salvation comes through the Jews. Instead of worship in a certain place, the true kind of worship that the Father desires will be worship in spirit and in truth, for God is Spirit, and therefore those who follow God must worship in spirit and in truth."
Wow! She can't believe her ears. Men don't talk to women about anything. Especially about matters of faith. She has never been involved in such a conversation and doesn't know where to take it.
"I know that the Messiah is coming and when He does, he will explain all of this to us," she explained.
"That's me," he declares to her.
About that time, Jesus' disciples return and their conversation is interrupted. She puts down her jar and slips away while Jesus and his disciples converse. She heads back into town. But this time, she is different. She no longer tries to slip through the shadows, hiding because of her shame. Instead, I imagine that she is seeking people out. "Come with me! There is someone you have to meet! This man....he told me everything I have ever done! He says He is the Messiah!? Could it be true!? Come and see!"
Many people in the town believed because of the testimony of this woman, "He told me everything I have ever done!" They came to him and asked him to remain with them. Scripture tells us that Jesus stayed in her town for two days. Many people heard Jesus' teachings and many more believed in him. "We no longer believe just because of your testimony. We have heard for ourselves and we know that this man is the Savior we have been waiting for!"
What an unlikely story. A WOMAN. An OUTCAST. And yet she became a compelling witness for Christ.
You know when it comes down to it, we aren't so different from her. Admittedly most of us haven't had 5 husbands and aren't living with a man who isn't our husband right now. But we all have things in our past that we would rather remain secret. We have all had thoughts that we would prefer no one else ever know about. But just as Jesus knew all about her life, about her past, He also knows all about us. He knows those thoughts. He knows those actions. He knows the times we have been jealous of others. The times we have doubted. The times we have lost our temper. The times we have just down right failed at this thing called life! And yet He is reaching out to us. He has initiated a relationship with US.
When you really stop and take a look at things, we have more in common with this lady than most of us would like to admit. We are imperfect human beings who are called by God to share the Good News. For we have met this One who knows every last detail of our lives and chooses us in spite of that fact.
The encounter this woman had with the Christ, the Messiah, affected her life in such a way that she couldn't keep it a secret. She had lived in the shadows, defeated by shame, for years. But now the light of Christ had come to her, to the darkest parts of her life, and she couldn't contain it. She shared it with everyone. She went running to the very people from whom she had been hiding, and she invited them to come and see.
And we are called to do the same thing. To introduce everyone we know to this One who knows all about us and yet chooses us anyway. So what are you waiting for. Who do you know that needs to be introduced to Jesus today?
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