Pouring out living water

The day was probably hot and dry by midday. The woman was thirsty, coming to the well to fetch water.

We know some things about her: she was a foreigner, confused about her religious beliefs even as she clung to the tradition in them, feeling shame and the disapproval of her community. Why else would she have been drawing water at noon when all the women drew water in the morning? She came to avoid the disapproving tongues.

Jesus chose to enter her domain. Most people shunned this woman. While most Jews made a special point of avoiding Samaria – going out of their way to stay out of the hated land – Jesus went out of his way to talk to this woman.

He offered her water that never ran out – the answer to her problems. But while her mind probably flew to the condemnation of her village, Jesus talked about forgiveness and restoration.

Yesterday I raised the topic of Muslim prayer in our town. Should the school board allow Muslims to leave class for regular prayer? How should the Christians respond?

Jesus didn’t boycott the Samaritan religion or condemn it. He jumped right in with both feet, meeting this woman on her turf and talking about life in terms she understood. By the time he was done, this woman and her village had found the Messiah. Revival broke out in a Samaritan town that had been infiltrated by a Jewish rabbi.

I’m still putting the pieces together but I’m looking at Jesus’ life. How would he respond to Muslims praying in a school setting? How did he respond to a Samaritan woman with a skewed religion? He loved her, talked her language, and directed her to the truth.

I think there’s something in that I need to learn.

Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

John 4:14