Like so many women in the Bible,
we never even know her name.
She is “The Woman at the Well”
or maybe, after hearing her story,
“The Woman of Many Husbands.”
We never even know her name,
but if we read between the lines,
we discover that she was popular with men,
but not so much with women.
She had five husbands and one not-so-husband,
but went to the community well
alone
in the blistering heat of the noonday sun,
instead of drawing water with other women,
communally,
socially,
in the cool of the morning.
We never even know her name,
but if we read between the lines,
we catch a glimpse of a life that was not easy
or simple
or drama free.
After all,
five husbands,
and a not-so-husband?
We suspect that maybe she wasn’t exactly
Queen of the Cotillion
or voted “Girl Most Likely to Succeed”
but whatever the reality of her life,
she was probably a woman who was more talked
about,
than
to.
Yet,
against all odds,
the woman at the well,
the Samaritan with five husbands,
a not-so-husband,
and very few female friends,
became a bold and powerful evangelist.
Her life took an unexpected turn,
and she became an unconventional
and downright astonishing
Witness for Christ.
Or is it really so surprising?
Is it possible Jesus stopped
and engaged her in conversation,
specifically,
intentionally,
purposefully,
not despite her life story,
but because of it?
Could it be that God wanted her—
wants us—
to evangelize,
to witness,
to accompany,
to preach and teach—
not because we are perfect or wise or
conventionally blessed,
but precisely because we are…
not?
What if God calls some of us as witnesses
because of
our unsavory friendships,
our sketchy histories,
our disreputable relations?
What if God comes to sit beside us at a well
because through our flaws and foibles
we have developed distinct and irreplaceable connections—
quirky skillsets
or perhaps an outlook on life
that allows us to bring the Good News
to people and places that are
invisible to others,
off the beaten path,
perhaps a bit tattered around the edges?
What if we are uniquely suited to meet and minister
to men and women who are as lost,
and thirsty,
and grumbling for water
as we are?
Through the unexpected witness
of the Woman at the Well,
every person in that Samaritan town
who ever felt isolated or lonely,
grieved or discarded--
every person who had abused power
or used others
was suddenly and unexpectedly
invited into something new.
This woman—
this most unlikely preacher—
brought the people of her town
into a life changing encounter
with the living waters of the Living God.
We never even know her name,
but because of her
every person with a colorful history or a blotted record book—
every person with a fractured or complicated life--
every person who raises eyebrows--
every person who secretly wonders
Is there truly a place for me in God’s world?
can answer confidently, “YES, there is!”
Because you see,
the scripture stories we proclaim each week
are not static, inanimate things.
They’re not quaint echoes of a dead or dusty past.
They are alive with meaning.
That same Jesus who sat beside a well in Samaria
and started chatting about water,
sits in your town, too.
God has given us the gift of scripture and story
as a way to express our hopes and fears,
as a way to see ourselves in God’s story,
as a way to live into the Paschal Mystery and claim victory
even as the world celebrates our defeat.
When we meet Jesus at the well,
your story,
my story,
no matter how unconventional,
or odd,
or downright sinful—
can be taken up,
redeemed,
and handed back to us
as powerful testimony.
All of us—
You,
Me,
The woman of 5 husbands and one not-so-husband
can be found right there in the Bible,
because Scripture gives honor and space
and the hope of redemption
to the painful,
as well as the glorious chapters of our lives.
Scripture continues to speak to you and me
because it’s not just the victors,
the conquerors,
the strong and perfect of the world
who can be found in its pages,
but the hurting and the lost--
the grieved and broken--
the women who must go to the well
alone in the heat of the noonday sun--
are all given a place of dignity,
and our voices ring out loud and strong and clear.
Come and See!
Come and see a man who knows all about me,
and yet,
offers me new life.
Come and See!
Of course,
this encounter will change us.
It can’t be business as usual after meeting Jesus at the well.
We will discover that old ways
no longer satisfy or appeal.
We will learn new ways of living and rising.
We will find ourselves,
in spite of ourselves,
transformed.
Our encounter with living water
quenches thirst we never knew we had,
and leaves us thirsty for more.
But before we race too quickly to sanitize our history,
Before we ruthlessly weed out
old relationships and connections
because they no longer "fit"
or erase the past so completely that no one
and nothing survives the purge,
Consider the possibility that God calls us to witness
from the raw truth of our lives—
to share the Good News in places that only we can.
Using words only we know to say.
Ministering to people only we can understand
and love
and reach.
This Good News, like grace,
comes as a gift,
Unbidden,
Unpurchased,
and often,
from the most astonishing and unlikely messengers.
Messengers like you and me and the Woman at the Well.
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