There are a lot of details in today’s “woman at the well” story. My thoughts kept going to the strength of that woman, not only to stand up to Jesus, but to hear the comments said about her and her multiple marriages. (I still often wonder why Jesus/the writers of Scripture felt the need to bring that up. And, I think it testifies to the power of her ability to bring people to Jesus). The entire conversation that they are having is taboo. Not only is Jesus talking to a Samaritan, but he is conversing with a woman who is not his betrothed, who is living with a man who is not her husband. Talk about a social scandal! I had to laugh that the disciples didn’t even dare comment, although they probably had some thoughts. Now, I grew up in the age of the Princess Diary movies and with today’s Gospel I couldn’t help but think of all the scenes from the second movie when Princess Mia is scolded for spending time alone with a man who is not her betrothed either, although in her case that man was trying to steal the throne,[1] so things were a little bit different.
So even if we just had that dynamic today, there would be a lot to talk about in the Gospel. Yet, this entire discourse is grounded in the understanding of living water and bread from heaven and it just seems like no one really understands what Jesus is trying to say. Over 30 verses and they are still confused! In this case, having a longer Gospel I think becomes more confusing than helpful. So, while there is a lot that we can talk about with this, I want to jump back to focus on the story of the woman for a few minutes.
Women still are not very common characters in the Bible, at least when it comes to being something other than a side character or someone to blame, as Pastor Gary pointed out in his reflection on Wednesday night. So this story is a bit unique in the fact that we get a strong woman, who doesn’t back away from Jesus, doesn’t apologize for her life situation, and who has deep theological understanding about the coming of the Messiah. And, it is originally her testimony that brings people to Jesus! Even still, this woman is not given a name throughout this entire discourse. And, on top of that, my least favorite part of this entire Gospel is that the end dismisses the woman and her story when her fellow townspeople say they don’t need her testimony anymore because they have come to Jesus through his own words (John 4: 42). It’s like reading a book that was incredible, right until the ending.
What does this say to women in the church? To people whose voices aren’t often heard? The people who are told that their voice doesn’t matter? There was this beautiful story of the dialogue between the woman and Jesus, with this powerful testimony from a woman who would have been on the outskirts of her society because of her multiple marriages and the fact that she lived with a man who was not her husband. We finally get a woman with a voice, who’s story brings people to Jesus and gets Jesus to stay for two more days, then they don’t need her anymore. In my opinion, this feels like some male editing of the text to put the emphasis back on the men in this story. Either way, this story reminds us of the importance of all people to Jesus.
Perhaps the writers of Scripture were too uncomfortable with it. After all, Scripture was already breaking down social divisions when Jesus even conversed and stayed with the Samaritans in the first place. It was yet another challenge about who could be included in God’s Beloved community. That is something that the writers of Scripture, both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, wrestled with. As God continued to break down human divides to expand the kindom of God, the people who had already been included in the promise seemed to feel like they were being cheated. They couldn’t see that they were not less valued, even as more people were brough into the promises of God, but that it showed the power and expanse of God’s love for the world. Throughout history, this has been an incredible challenge to the identity of the Israelites and Christians alike. If God is also for those people over there, what does that mean for my relationship with God? What does it mean that God also loves the people I dislike or fear or ridicule? It completely shifts the way that we think about the world. This shift in thinking is another important layer of today’s Gospel.
I want to bring us back to the discussion on living water and bread for the world, because it seems like the Gospel and the Exodus story this week aren’t talking about bread or water after all. Instead, I think it is a symbol of trust in God and what God can do. While the Israelites complain that God took them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness (Exodus 17:3), and the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about, the living water was always a sign that the God who created life would in fact sustain it too. The Israelites in their misery in the desert had an incredibly difficult time trusting that God would in fact completely save them; even after they witnessed the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt. Water was a sign of God’s promises and faithfulness.
Which I think gets to another important point about water. Water can take so many forms, not only physically as water, steam, or ice, but it can be a still pond or a raging river. It can bring rain to parched land or it can cause floods to destroy all in its way. Water is what carved out the mountains! When God chooses water as an image, I like to think that it includes all of these different ways of being for water because water is so much more powerful and life-giving than we often give it credit for, just like we do with God when we want to put limits on who God is for the world. I think it’s a sign of the ferocity of God’s love for all that God created because God loves us like the constant water in the well and with the power of a great flowing river, working in ways that are not always expected because water is hard to tame. In God’s case, that includes splitting the sea to allow safe passage through, and working through a woman who was living with a man who wasn’t her husband in order to bring people to hear the story of Jesus.
[1] Marshall, Garry, director. Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement. Walt Disney Pictures, 2004. 113 minutes.