By The Rev. Bernard W. Poppe, RectorThe Gospel presents the beloved story of Jesus meeting the woman by the well. It's a long story, to be sure, and it's remarkable for its length and its imagery. Most of the Gospel stories are simply not this long, and because of its length, it implies an importance worthy of particular study.
First of all the story takes place in Samaria. By Jesus' day the state of Samaria used to be part of Israel but over the centuries it had been divided from the main country and its Jewish inhabitants had inter married with the non-Jewish neighbors and adopted foreign customs to the extent that the Jews in Israel did not recognize them as "real Jews." Samaritans were not only looked down upon, but the object of ridicule at most and shunned as outcasts at the very least. In the Gospels Jesus encounters several Samaritans and in one famous example uses a Samaritan as the hero in one of his better known stories, the one we now call The Good Samaritan.
The fact that Jesus was in Samaria at all, catches the reader's attention. Why was he there? Why was he in the land of the outcasts? Well, the answer is not far behind. There are no outcasts in Jesus' love and his mission included all the outcasts, even Samaritans.
The next surprise in this story is that when a woman approaches the well, he speaks to her and engages her in conversation. She is shocked, since she is both Samaritan and a woman, two reasons why a male Israelite should avoid her. But again there are no outcasts in Jesus' love. Everyone is precious, everyone valued, everyone spoken to.
The word play that follows between her and later the disciples underlines the confusion between immediate, limited goals and much farther reaching spiritual ones. Jesus offers the woman living water, she hears the term as it usually refers to moving water which is most desirable since its movement usually means it's clean and good for drinking and cooking. Jesus means the water for the soul, to refresh her spirit with an understanding of love and healing. He brings up her relationship with men, which is somewhat vague, but clearly does not put her in a good light! He does not offer her condemnation, but comfort. He welcomes her into fellowship and continues to hold out the offer of living water for her soul. He identifies himself to her as the Messiah, a rare disclosure in the Gospels and she races to her village to tell the others. They come eventually and see for themselves and believe.
The form of misunderstanding repeats when Jesus' own disciples find him and are shocked to see him speaking with the woman and eventually try to get him to eat. He says he has food they know nothing of. They again think he means food literally, but again he refers to the spiritual food of a nourishment which reaches far beyond the needs of the stomach.
Jesus continues the metaphor of food and expands it to the harvest. He explains that the harvest is ripe. The people are hungering for food that satisfies the spirit. Food of love, food of forgiveness, food of hope, food of healing. Though sometimes challenging, people can always find the food that will satisfy the body, but it is only through God that we will find the food that satisfies the deeper hunger of the spirit. It is this food and drink that Jesus offers and no one is prevented from coming to this well, or this feast. No one.
When God's people hunger and thirst in spirit, God will provide abundantly. When God's people hunger and thirst in body, it is our will though God's generous grace that can and must feed them.
The General Convention of the Episcopal Church adopted and committed itself and by extension all its member churches to work toward the UN's Millennium Development Goals. These 8 goals address worldwide issues of poverty education, violence (particularly against women and children), health (particularly AIDS and tuberculosis) and economic opportunities especially among the poorest in our world. Progress is being made and there are many wonderful stories around the world that illustrate this. The Episcopal Church expends millions of dollars around the world through relief and development aid as partners in the Millennium Development Goals. The money they give is money that comes through the member Dioceses and individual churches. At St. George's, we have contributed thousands of dollars through the years to Episcopal Relief and Development taking action in ways that we can. Occasionally we send out appeals for this fund and our members are generous and this is one important way that we witness Jesus' love that no one is excluded and that all are important. The nourishment we receive for our souls at the altar of God, in the bread and wine, the prayers and fellowship allow us to extend the grace we receive to feed the bodies and protect the lives of our brothers and sisters around the world.
During this month of February, designated Black History Month, we've heard other stories of people approaching the well looking for the living water of God's promises. Through forums and personal witnesses we've heard individual accounts of lives lived in the shadow of racism and prejudice. Lives of African Americans and lives of Americans of European descent. What has not been said yet, and needs to be said publicly and from the pulpit is that racism is a white person's disease. While prejudice is an equal opportunity character flaw, racism not only includes it but extends further to the abuse of power exercised by one race over another. When the race that is in the majority of power, systematically uses that power to keep another race down, it is racism. In this country racism is rampant and despite our desire to be blind the truth of it transcends our education, economic and justice systems.
The impact of racism is felt overwhelmingly and tragically by African Americans and indeed most people of color. But the sin of racism is felt keenly by white America in ways we can't even recognize. It takes a lot of energy to hate. It takes a lot of energy to fear. It takes a lot of energy to push others down. It takes a lot of energy to turn away and pretend nothing is happening. But all that energy has a twisting, negative effect on the ones perpetrating it. That energy is violence and spiritual disease. Violence harms both the victim and the victimizer, and both are in need of healing.
Black History Month is a wonderful way of celebrating the stories of black Americans who achieve wonderful goals and give pride and energy to those chafing under the effects of racism. It's also a time for white Americans to be honest and as Dr. Raboteau so movingly said in his address to us a few weeks ago, repent for the evil that is the legacy we carry.
Therapists who work with family systems and counsel troubled individuals, can often find the impact of harm done generations before through a variety of diseases or hushed stories. Often referred to as the understated "family secrets," these illnesses may include alcoholism, incest, murder, or even neglect. Damage done in one generation is somehow passed down until it is recognized and the generation who does so has the opportunity to break the cycle and work through God's grace to find healing and only then can the dysfunction turn around to find balance and harmony. Only then is peace and love restored and cleaned through the living water of God's love.
The scourge of racism is like the whip whose fiery lash was felt on the backs of African American slaves but held in the angry fist of the white slave owners. Though the legality of slave owning racism is generations old, the shameful legacy exists today and as part of our commitment to Millennium Development, as part of our commitment to love one another and as part of our commitment to God, we must all seek God's healing. As victims and victimizers. We can break the cycle of violence but we must first recognize its past and how it lives in the present and repent it.
In the words of the Rite 1 confession, I address this to our African American brothers and sisters and to all people of color who have been victims of racism and on behalf of the descendants of slave owners and all those of white America who have benefited from the scourge of racism "I am heartily sorry for these our misdoing. The memory of them is grievous unto me, the burden of them is intolerable..." I ask your forgiveness for me and all others who recognize this sin and invite us to a moment of silence to beg God's forgiveness also.
Jesus reached out to the woman at the well and even in her private shame offered living water. He did not send her away, punish her or ignore her. He satisfied her thirst for God's love. As he does for us and all who ask for it. Amen.
© 2008 St. George's Episcopal Church, Maplewood, NJ
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