A STORY OF ACCEPTANCE
The extraordinariness of the Samaritan woman’s encounter with Jesus is that Jesus accepts her so fully even though as a Samaritan, she is considered an enemy of his people. That he engages her in discussion and speaks to her of God, though she is a woman. That he offers her his blessing, though she is bold to question him. That he treats her with such respect and dignity, that he accords her such worth and acceptance, that the living water of God’s love spills over her and changes her life forever. How do we know her life is changed and transformed? Because we are told she leaves her water jar and runs to her community, the community from which she had been separated, to tell everyone what she has experienced and whom she has met. And the Samaritans come to Jesus, and ask him to spend time with them.
Don’t we all yearn to be known and accepted in the way the Samaritan woman was by Jesus? “He told me everything I had ever done!” It’s been suggested that the deepest healing in the world comes from being heard and understood. Or as someone has said, “Sometimes being listened to is so much like being loved, it is impossible to tell the difference.” Jesus offers the Samaritan woman the gift of truly seeing her and understanding her. He offers her the gift of his Presence – so life-giving, it is like water gushing up from a spring.
