Fr Antonio Pineda
ow often have we heard that we mustn’t judge a book by its cover? And yet we do it all the time.
When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well, they both made quick assumptions about each other. The woman instantly saw that Jesus was a Jew, and so her natural expectation was that he would not want anything to do with her. In this, her first impression was wrong.
Jesus, in turn, was able to gain a very accurate first impression of the woman. It was midday. Drawing and carrying water is heavy work, not normally carried out in the heat of the day. Unless, of course, that person is an outcast who wants to avoid people, someone with something to be ashamed of. Jesus quickly works out exactly why the woman is there at that time: she is living in an adulterous relationship. She would be looked down upon by the decent people of the village, who would not associate with her in any way.
Jesus proves the woman wrong in her assumptions about him. He doesn’t share the prejudices of other Jews or others’ judgemental attitudes. He very gently leads her on a journey of discovery. He shows that he knows who – and what – she is. He shows that he accepts her, will not condemn or dismiss her. He gives her time, treats her with respect, and acknowledges her dignity. He makes her an offer – water that gives eternal life – an offer that entices her but which she misunderstands. “Give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again,” she says.
Patiently, he leads her to a deeper understanding of what he is offering. Then, when she is ready, Jesus reveals who he is, in response to her intuitive remarks about the Messiah. Finally, she is so taken with Jesus that she spreads the message and brings others to meet him so that they also can spend time with the Lord and come to experience for themselves who he is.
This story is a pattern of every believer’s journey in faith. Like the woman, we too meet the Lord with our flawed personalities, our weaknesses, our history, and our skeletons. We find in him not rejection or condemnation but acceptance and love. When we meet the Lord, we do not instantly understand everything. Faith takes time. We misunderstand or only partially understand. We grow in our knowledge and love of him, of who he is and what he means to us.
Like the woman, we ask questions. We grapple with the consequences of our faith in Christ – what it means for our lifestyle, our values, our relationships, and our priorities. He is patient with us, and as we persist, as we spend time with him, so his offer of living water begins to become a reality. We come to that spring of water more and more frequently – to be refreshed and quickened by him, as we meet him in prayer, in the sacraments, in his word, in day-to-day life. We become changed by this contact. And then the most natural thing in the world is to share that good news with others, to bring them to Christ, to let them experience for themselves the salvation that he offers. And in so doing, like that woman, we become reconciled with others, part of a community once more, a community of people who experience that Jesus is their saviour, and the saviour of the world.