Red Letters
By Al Bunis
November 8, 2009
John 4: 6-15 and John 4: 16-30
ere's something about this great story that I find surprising…here we have the Woman at the Well…One of the most well-know stories in the Bible…one of best known women…and yet we don't even know her name. This seems like a pretty good hint as to the status of women during Biblical times.
Of course, it's
is an understatement to say that woman in both OT and NT times were second
class citizens. One simple historical fact from the legal system around
Jesus' time tells us a lot. Women were not even permitted as
witnesses.
The life of a
woman was amazingly under the control of men. Men made all the
decisions…including who to marry. And if a woman was fortunate enough to
be married, she lived in fear of divorce, which was basically also the decision
of the man…and even worse, she lived in fear of becoming a widow. Widows
were at the absolute bottom of the social and economic totem pole.
Married women
had a lot to worry about. So what about a woman who was divorced 5
times? What do you think society might think about such a woman…about our
woman at the well? The text tells us…in fact it was Jesus who tells us…tells
her…that she was divorced 5 times. And if we keep in mind that men
instigated divorce, we're talking about a woman who was rejected 5 times.
My guess is
that this didn't go down very well in her community…I can't imagine she got a
lot of respect…and I'd guess her self-confidence was shot. Rejected 5
times.
And then, as
if the divorces weren't enough...the text tells us…well actually, again it's
Jesus who tells us…that the man she was with now is not her husband.
While we don't know exactly what this means, it doesn't sound like something
that this conservative society would condone. Each time I read this
passage, I can't help but think of Hester Prynne of Scarlet Letter fame.
Yes, in Puritan times, one might imagine our Woman at the Well with a Scarlet Letter
on her dress.
Now before we
start throwing too many stones at this glass house…we do well to remember that
things aren't so great in many parts of the world today…and that even our own
American history on this issue is far from pure.
But still…there's
a lot of truth to that old Virginia Slims ad…“we've come a long way baby”…so
given what we know today, it seems appalling what women had to put up with in
those days. But this was the reality facing our Woman at the Well…undoubtedly
an outcast in her own community…and likely despairing of her own
self-worth.
But there is
more. She was a Samaritan. Jewish society looked down on the
Samaritans. And of course, Jesus was Jewish. Samaritans were viewed
as a sort of half-breed culture…remnants of a part of the Israelite nation…the
Northern part of the Kingdom…they were thought to be products of years of
inter-marriage. Although the Samaritans professed basically the same
faith, the tensions were real between these two peoples.
And so our
story begins when a tired and thirsty Jesus approaches the well…all by
himself. And he asks the woman to draw some water for him… well actually
it's more like an order. He says:
"Give me some water to drink." And then the confusion
begins. Jesus and the woman don't have much in common…man and woman…Jew
and Samaritan…I suppose it's not surprising that she might have trouble
understanding him…that plus the fact that he is saying some pretty odd
stuff.
For
starters…she wonders why he is asking her, a Samaritan woman, for water.
His reply is perplexing. "If you had known the gift of God and who
it is who said to you 'give me some water to drink,' you would have asked him,
and he would have given you living water.'" I can only imagine what
she was thinking…likely wondering, where did that come from? So she
replies, "Sir…you have no bucket and the well is deep; where do you get
this living water?"
And then he
starts talking about things like eternal life…and you'll never be thirsty
again. He says: “…those who drink of the water I give them will never be
thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water
gushing up to eternal life.” Again…where did that come from?
And then she
says what I consider to be among the most moving words in the Bible:
"'Sir, give me this water'". Notice that she “asks” the same
way Jesus "asked"…Yes indeed, "Give me this water."
I think of
the story of the Woman at the Well as a story of empowerment. About
someone who, by society's measure, had no reason to feel empowered…let alone to
be able to talk to a man in that commanding tone. The lowest on the totem
pole…talking to the highest on the totem pole. Not the expected outcome.
It's very surprising.
As their
conversation continues, Jesus not too subtly describes himself as the
Messiah…and says that he was sent by God to give this living water. But
she didn't need to hear more. She was already there…she'll read the fine
print later.
Perhaps it
was the mere fact that he talked to her like a human being.
After a while
the disciples catch up to Jesus…and they are appalled. The text tells us
that “…at that very moment his disciples came back. They were shocked
because he was speaking with a woman. However, no one said, ‘what do you
seek' or ‘why are you speaking with her?'' My guess is the disciples were
too afraid to even ask what they wanted to ask…that they could see it in Jesus'
eyes…eyes that said, don't you dare go there.
And then, as
if on cue, the woman leaves…she literally drops everything…The text says, “Then
the woman left her water jar, went off into the city and said to the people,
‘come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Surely he can't be the
Messiah can he? So they went out from the city and began coming to him.'”
Something has
changed…and it's not clear what. She isn't even sure he's the long
awaited Messiah. And yet, this outcast has the confidence to go down to
the city and round up the people…to convince them to come and see for
themselves. It's a very surprising outcome…very surprising indeed.
I can't tell
you what was going on in her head…I can't even tell you the full extent of what's
going on in this conversation…it's all very complex and mysterious…deliberately
so…just like much of the Gospel of John…but I can tell you that she was a
different person after encountering Jesus.
And maybe
that's the point of the story. It didn't
matter what others thought of her…or what she had done before in her life…she
was so excited…she ignored her Scarlet Letter station in life…and ran off to
lead the townspeople back to meet this mysterious man.
Over 10 years
ago…I was at the very beginnings of what I think of as a faith re-awakening…an
awakening that has ultimately led me down the path I'm on now.
One of the
first things I decided to do was take a fresh look at the Bible. And so I
did what any efficiency minded banker might do…I reached for the Cliff Notes
version.
Well
actually, it was Pearl S. Buck's The Story Bible…and it was there that I
had a fresh encounter with those words…Jesus' words.
I remember it
as if it was yesterday…I was surprised. I was surprised how modern they
felt. I was surprised how they seemed to speak directly to me…to my
ambivalence...to my curiosity…my hopes…my needs.
In fact, I
was surprised that I was surprised. These were not unfamiliar words…after
all, I had taught Sunday School throughout high school.
But I wanted
to know more…and so I decided to graduate from the Cliff Notes mentality…and to go directly to the source. I
went to the Bible…or to be exact…to the New International Version…which was the
handiest version we had.
And while I
may have known these words pretty well…I'm not sure I had ever really heard
them. This time I read with a new
perspective…an eager and open-minded perspective.
I remember
being reminded of the power of the Beatitudes…stories about things like mustard
seeds…a woman at the well…giving to Cesar what is Cesar's…and maybe especially
Jesus telling us…telling me…to stop worrying…asking, will worrying add a single
day to my life….after all doesn't God beautifully clothe the lilies of the
field.
If you've
read the New International Version, you may recall that this version of the
Bible does something different with the Gospels. All you have to do is
thumb through it and you'll be able to tell immediately. All of Jesus'
quotes are in red…red italicized letters.
It was my
encounter with these Red Letters that propelled me to the place where I am
today.
While I
wasn't exactly wandering the desert all those years…I was building a family and
career…but I always knew I was missing something…a sense of calling. And
then I encountered those Red Letters…and my life began to change in surprising
ways.
At a
committee meeting here at Christ
Church…we did something
I'd never done before. After devotions, the chair asked us to introduce
ourselves…but with a twist. The chair asked us to speak about something
in our lives that was surprising. For me, the answer was obvious. I
spoke of how surprised I was…how blessed I felt…to finally find this calling…after
so many years of searching.
I love
surprises…good surprises that is…I think we all do….maybe especially from our
childhood. Do you remember that
surprising Christmas gift…I loved that feeling…or that surprising new
friendship…or falling in love…she really loves me?…or the feeling when our kids
were born…a new surprise every day.
Or maybe it
was figuring something out…figuring out how do something. I remember when
my daughter learned to read…how it changed her…she found a whole new
world.
How empowering
it is to figure things out…figuring out something that you really
wanted…something you admired in others…but weren't sure when or even if it
would happen to you. But all of a sudden…there it is…you can do it.
What a wonderful feeling.
And undoubtedly
that's what our friend at the well must have felt. Her life immediately began
changing in surprising ways…surprising to the disciples who didn't think Jesus
should even be talking to her…surprising to the townspeople who knew her as
someone else…certainly not as the person who came running to them out of
breath…and convinced them to come see this unknown person.
But most
importantly, surprising to herself…so surprising that she left her water jar
behind in her rush of excitement…just like Christmas morning.
I read a
novel a few years ago…actually by a professor of mine…it's called Living
Water. It's about the woman at the well. The author takes
substantial license to imagine the life of our friend. Her childhood is
described as a happy one. She was a little girl of uncommon confidence
and curiosity. She had a real spark that couldn't be squelched.
And then she
grows up…and she encounters the marriage rules and rituals of her
society. Arranged marriages…violence…threats…a woman's place. Out
of self-preservation, she gradually learns to squelch those childhood
instincts…to the point where they eventually seem dead…to the point where she
seemed dead. That is until she happened to meet a new friend at the
well.
Her chance
encounter…an encounter with those Red Letters in the flesh…an encounter that opened
up her life…brought her back to life…and encounter that enabled her to shed her
own Scarlet Letter once and for all...and become the person God intended her to
be.
Imagine her
excitement. Just like Christmas morning…what a gift…a gift from God...our
gift from God. Amen
Benediction:
Go now with God…
Be not tempted to stay in the safety of known places…
Be not tempted to go only in your own time…
Elect not to go alone…
Choose to go with God…
Go in the faith that…
there is no valley so low…
no wilderness so vast…
no passage so crooked…
that God is not already there…
waiting to be with you.
Amen
© 2009
Al Bunis.
All rights reserved.
