Outside In

John 4:5-42

I haven't had as much time as I'd like for myself this week, but the time I have had was well-used for things that needed to get done. My plans for spring break included a lot of sleep, some writing, work on my yard, and lots of down time. I can check one of those things off: work on my yard.

However, even if I didn't get the amount of rest I was hoping for, the week has been very productive towards my personal journey in Lent.

On Wednesday I spent the whole day with a group of people prepping the room our youth meet in at church for painting. We had about 8 or 10 people helping, some from the church and the others from the high school I work at. We were an eclectic group of people; ranging in age from 11 to 60, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and abilities. We were a very diverse group.

What made the day interesting is not once did our differences become a topic of conversation or a something that was even noticed. We were all there to accomplish one goal as one people. As morning became lunch, and as the work of prepping the rooms was becoming finished, we started talking about one another's personal lives. Topics such as where we were from, what our family dynamics were, what our hopes and plans for the future were, and more were being shared.

As the conversation went on it became clear that we were very different people who had found a way to live within the differences and be as inviting as possible of bringing those differences into our own lives. That, I think, is what the story of "The Woman at the Well" is about.

The people who would have read this story would have understood the "wrong" Jesus was doing by 1) Entering Samaria, 2) Speaking to a Samaritan, and 3) Speaking to a married woman alone. These things would have been considered high crimes within the Jewish traditions of Jesus' times, and therefore would have been scandalous at the very least.

Jesus begins the conversation with the woman with a simple request to please have a drink of water. The response of the woman is one of discomfort to the point of being defensive. "Who are you to talk to me?" she asks, only to be taught by the Rabbi about the type of "drink" Jesus can offer if only she would let down her defenses.

People who are cast out of society or looked upon as being "less than" because of their life-choices have every right to be defensive. They've been discarded by friends, family, work, and even their church. They've been told they don't belong and never will unless they can change into something that society can accept. Maybe it's time mainstream society takes a closer look at itself.

On that day, when our eclectic group got together to work, we were also very aware of the fact that we had differences. We also showed how much our differences didn't matter. We sat together at the well and drank the water that Jesus offers; the water of everlasting love and unconditional acceptance. By the end of lunch we had become friends and knew a little more about each other; our relationships grew - and that's what my Lenten journey is about.