“Swayed by what they heard and saw”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Monday, March 6, 2023
John 4:27-42 (Forward, p. 36) CEV p. 1105
Today’s passage concludes what must be one of the most remarkable stories of the entire Bible. Jesus has deliberately chosen—or so it would seem—to venture into alien, no, enemy, territory—that of the hostile Samaritans. And then He choses to ‘hang out’, away from His disciples, in a very public place, where He would meet up with a woman who was a pariah among both her own people and the Jews as well. And, add to this scenario the mere fact that, given most circumstances, He should not have been talked to her, a woman, and a Samaritan, at all! All of this adds up to a most unusual situation.
But then, even more surprising—and remarkable, is the response evoked by this encounter. The woman in question immediately leaves her water jar there by the well and runs back into the city, exclaiming, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! Could he be the Messiah?” And, of course, the residents of that city, knowing a great deal of her checkered story and history, would have been intrigued. They probably thought to themselves, “Well, I bet that he barely knows even the half of it.’ Anyway, they have to come to see for themselves. And, as it turns out, many of them ended up putting their faith in Jesus.
And then, still others, when they had met Jesus in person, also decided to put their faith in Him. “We have heard him ourselves, and we are certain that he is the Saviour of the world!”
All of this is most incredible—and surprising. These are the very last people that you would ever expect to come to faith in Jesus. Truly, by this response, by these actions, they put Jesus’ fellow Jews to shame.
All of this puts to mind a question. Jesus says that the fields are ripe unto the harvest: could this be true somewhere today? Are there unexpected individuals or groups who are ready, just waiting for someone to show them Jesus and share the Good News? I suspect so. Maybe, then, we need to be like Jesus, to be willing to go into the most unexpected places, and hobnob with the most unexpected people—yes, perhaps even people that have been ‘written off’, dismissed, by others as unlikely prospects, maybe even people with a checkered history or reputation as did this woman. Maybe Jesus is asking us, you and I, to step into the fray, into these situations, and act even as He did so long ago. Here’s something to think about, and hopefully, to do. Amen.
Forward notes: “They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves’” (verse 42a)
“When I was in my early teens, a woman came to church to offer her testimony. ‘I’ve been a Christian for over forty years,’ she declared. Forty years! I could not comprehend forty years, much less surviving the arrows of faith for that long. Her testimony along with those offered by other adults and even teenagers over the years have strengthened me and guided my immature faith along straight pathways. It is surprising how important words can be.
“Somewhere along the way, however, I had to co-opt faith for myself. No longer could I walk the pathway because of the words and encouragement of others. No longer could I wear the clothes of others. I had to wear my own clothes.
“The Samaritans faced the same situation, to believe not just because of the woman’s words, helpful though they were. These people had to move into adult faith, appropriating faith and prayer and hope and love as their own. We too need to own our faith and live into it.”
Moving Forward: “What words of encouragement can you speak today?