'How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?'
I have been thinking about the ways in which Jesus redefined a person simply by his interaction with them. This woman in John 4 was the complete opposite in status to Jesus - she was a Gentile, a woman, an outcast, he was a Jew, a man, a prophet. It is no wonder this woman is taken aback when he speaks to her, what does he think he is doing? He is contaminating himself! Not only does he break the custom of speaking to a woman, but this is not any woman, this is a Samaritan woman, this is a Samaritan woman who has to come to collect her water at noon! And Jesus does not simply say a word to her, he asks her for something, water, the liquid of life. When Jesus encounters people, he not only says it is okay to talk to those who are deemed the lowest of the low, he redefines them - it is who Jesus is that defines the woman, not who the woman is that defines Jesus. The woman is given the status of a woman worth speaking to, the woman is the water-giver.
and what is the outcome of this active redefinition? The woman is a woman worth listening to in her own society! She brings her living water to her community - a community that before her encounter with Jesus, sent her to collect water at noon. She was a water-taker, now she is a water-giver, and she is the mediator of the living water, included in the transformation of the world that God loves.
what a transformation - she who is not worth talking to, brings words of life to her community.
seems to me that we reduce encounters like these to Jesus simply being 'nice' to those who are downtrodden in society. True as that is, this is not by any means the depth of what happens when Jesus encounters people. The woman does not simply feel better about herself because Jesus has deigned to talk to her. No, the woman becomes the person that Jesus has said she is - the water-giver.
the words we speak to people have the power to transform or simply maintain the status quo.
be careful what you say.
and what is the outcome of this active redefinition? The woman is a woman worth listening to in her own society! She brings her living water to her community - a community that before her encounter with Jesus, sent her to collect water at noon. She was a water-taker, now she is a water-giver, and she is the mediator of the living water, included in the transformation of the world that God loves.
what a transformation - she who is not worth talking to, brings words of life to her community.
seems to me that we reduce encounters like these to Jesus simply being 'nice' to those who are downtrodden in society. True as that is, this is not by any means the depth of what happens when Jesus encounters people. The woman does not simply feel better about herself because Jesus has deigned to talk to her. No, the woman becomes the person that Jesus has said she is - the water-giver.
the words we speak to people have the power to transform or simply maintain the status quo.
be careful what you say.
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