Betty Owens Geary, Married to Robert Geary, Member of Gene Decker Study Class

John 4:4-10, 39-40

4 Jesus had to go through Samaria. 5 He came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, which was near the land Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his journey, so he sat down at the well. It was about noon.

7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me some water to drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the city to buy him some food.

9 The Samaritan woman asked, “Why do you, a Jewish man, ask for something to drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other.)

10 Jesus responded, “If you recognized God’s gift and who is saying to you, ‘Give me some water to drink,’ you would be asking him and he would give you living water.”

39 Many Samaritans in that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s word when she testified, “He told me everything I’ve ever done.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more believed because of his word, 42 and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is truly the savior of the world.”

Reflection:
I feel like I’ve been hiding for a year—hiding from a virus! The woman at the well was hiding too, but God found her and charged her to advance the kingdom.

When I was in college a group of friends would gather and sing. Someone played the guitar. One of our favorite songs was Jesus Met the Woman at the Well, a wonderful old gospel song based on this story in John 4. You can listen to a version of it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObCjAaF9IWI  I never thought about it much at the time—I just enjoyed singing it—but there’s some good theology in the song and in the Bible passage.

Jesus is traveling through Samaria, even though Jews and Samaritans usually avoid one another. It’s the shortest distance from Judea to Galilee. He is resting by Jacob’s Well while the disciples go to buy food. The Samaritan woman—we never know her name—comes to get water. The timing of her visit is significant. Most women came to get water in the early morning or evening when it was cooler, and they came together and had a chance to visit. This woman comes in the heat of the day, alone. She is not welcome with the other women; she is an outcast, so she hides.

Jesus asks the woman for water. She is surprised that a Jewish man would talk to a Samaritan and a woman at that. When Jesus offers her the water of life, she is eager to get it so she won’t have to come to Jacob’s Well by herself at noon any longer. Jesus tells her “everything she’s done” just as the gospel song says.

The woman recognizes Jesus as a prophet, and he reveals that he is the Messiah. She goes to tell the people in the town what has happened, and that she has met the Messiah, and they believe her! They follow her back to the well to meet Jesus for themselves. It’s a remarkable turnaround, from a shunned, outcast woman, to the messenger of the Messiah. The first recorded evangelist.

The woman was hiding, going to the well alone at a time no one else went. Still, God not only found her, but sent her to take the good news to the people of her town.

Many of us are hiding- maybe from a virus, maybe from something else. God still finds us and sends us to bring the good news to others. We worship online or come to church for drive-through and outdoor events. We met with our Sunday School class on Zoom. We drop off food for the CCSC food pantry on Saturday mornings. God knows where to find us, and God gives us ways to serve God’s kingdom, even when we are hiding from the world.

Prayer:
Holy God, we are so grateful that we cannot hide from you. Whatever else we may be hiding from, you always find us. We know we are here to serve your kingdom, and we are blessed to have ways to do that no matter what our present circumstances may be. God, find us and use us to your glory.  Amen.