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Jesus
meets this woman at noon on a hot day. In spite of cultural norms that
forbid their interaction, he starts a conversation with her and asks
for water. She counters with a question, showing that her defenses have
been set high against people like him. She just wants to be left alone!
After all, she has rearranged her whole life to avoid meeting saints of
his type. She goes alone to fetch water. She goes at noon when she is
sure she will not have to answer to all the judgments of the other
women. She has things to hide: a whole life of misery and defeat,
judgment and rejection. She has had five men who could not be called
husbands, and the one she has at this time is no different. Anyone
could find laws and regulations to judge and exclude her. She cannot
hope for acceptance and compassion. So it is easiest to re-arrange her
life in order to avoid people and awkward situations altogether or, if
that is impossible, to at least reduce them to a minimum.
And
yet, according to the Evangelist, Jesus had to pass through Samaria. It
was the will of God that Jesus would sit down at that well at that
time—her well, her time. It was the will of God that life would
be offered to her who had already given up on it many times.
For Jesus draws her into this unexpected conversation. She does not
follow his logic at first. After all, she is not used to this abstract
religious talk. She realizes only slowly that Jesus offers a solution
to her problems that is better than avoidance: he confronts the issues
that make her life so miserable instead of judging, concealing and
ignoring them. According to this strange man, not only will she no
longer need to go through the humiliation of fetching water alone at
high noon. She herself can become a well of living water. She does not
need to be dry and thirsty inside any longer. And yes, that is exactly
what the Samaritan woman longs for. She wants that.
But
it is a hard way. Jesus points directly to her problem, to the wound
that hurts so much. Her messed-up life is exposed: five husbands and a
sixth one in the taw. She tries to evade this conversation by
pseudo-theological manoeuvres. It is easier to admit to ignorance than
to a messed-up life. She says she is confused with all the religion
that is out there. “You religious leaders should make up your
mind and offer a unanimous conclusion that everyone could
believe!” No, Jesus says, it is not religion and religious rites
that are important here (although there is the right and the wrong way
in that too, to tell the truth). It is the personal relationship to God
that counts. And yes - she has heard something about this before -
there is this Messiah or some Christ who will explain everything. But
he is not here yet and who knows when he will come.
Then
Jesus reveals himself to her: “I am he - who talks with
you.” It is not the conversation but the revelation that makes
everything fall into place for her.
The Messiah will not - as she had once thought - bring some sensational
religious revelation but will tell her everything concerning her life
and her needs. He will show her everything she needs for her life.
And
now, she is ready to take on what he was telling her. She is ready to
believe in him. It is good to notice that nothing has really changed
outwardly, but she is free to run into the city. God has encountered
her. He has exposed her life, but at the same time, he has accepted
her. He has not despised her. So she is free to let go of the shame and
fear and go to encounter people she has tried to avoid.
Out
of this encounter, then, the miracle of evangelism happens. The outcast
becomes the factor of change for a whole city. Her healed weakness
becomes a testimony for the world. If it was possible for God to change
her, it is possible for him to change everything else. Moved by her
change, many of her fellow citizens are eager to meet Jesus and
experience the same, and finally they can say: “We don't believe
because of your testimony any longer. We now see for ourselves that
Jesus is the Saviour of the world.”
Two
basic things can be learned here about women in ministry. One is that
people are not attracted to holy judges of their behaviour.
Unfortunately, many of us have grown up in churches with false notions
that Christians are miles apart from the common sinners of this world.
We are so much better than the rest of the world because we know the
truth: we go to church, pray (in the right way) and read the Bible.
Christian women in particular have the urge to patronize and speak down
to the «sinful» people they meet. And then we wonder why it
is that these people avoid us? People don’t need to be reminded
of their shortcomings. They are very well aware of them. They don't
need lectures; they need a divine way out. As Christian women, we
should stop offending people by judging their way of life. Like Jesus,
we should offer God’s love by sitting down with them and offering
them what they long for.
Second,
to be effective women in ministry, we must recognize our own sin and
shortcomings and God's gracious way of healing. I am surprised about
the number of Christian women who have never experienced God’s
healing touch. Christianity is all about rules and regulations that -
thankfully - we have embraced and others must accept to get saved. So
we go on proclaiming them.
This
is not only unattractive, it is unbiblical. The Samaritan woman is our
example. It is only through the recognition of our own weakness that
others can be brought to God. It is in our weakness that God's power of
change is evident to others and becomes attractive to them. So instead
of arranging our lives around our shortcomings and presenting ourselves
as perfect, we should admit to Jesus the truth of our life and let him
deal with it. We may be surprised in the end how many people saw and
knew about our weaknesses, even though we pretended they did not! And
also we may be surprised to find that there is no stronger testimony
than when people watch God change what had been our notorious sin.
Let's
become a well of living water by responding to Jesus' request when he
sits on our well and addresses our painful shortcomings. God uses our
weakness to bring about life not just to us, but also to everyone
around us.
(This article was written for the workshop conducted by Ksenija Magda at the Conference in Dalfsen, Holland.
Dr. Ksenija Magda is Lecturer in New Testament Theological Faculty "Matthias Flacius Illyrikus" Zagreb, Croatia.)
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