The Woman at the Well
The people are grumbling, complaining that they do not have water. Moses cries out to God that the people are about to kill him, too. We need to ask what has happened to Moses’ faith? When we feel threatened or are placed in a dangerous situation and we cry out to God is our cry one of trust or does it contain a hint of doubt? This sets the stage for the Woman at the Well.
The Woman at the Well is a story that has stirred imaginations for many years. I think it is the perfect story of evangelization. When the woman comes to well Jesus knows her heart. She has had a difficult life. She is heartbroken over how her life has turned out. So many past mistakes. So many times, she has been abused. She does not trust anyone. Does not want to be seen by anyone. Just wants to be left alone. But Jesus sees her as a human being, a person who must be treated with dignity and respect and healed from her many sins.
How can Jesus reach out to her? By a simple request. A glass of water. There is no guile, no trickery, no duplicity. His request is a simple human need. The woman is suspicious but is now not threatened by this man even if he is a Jew.
Jesus recognizes her spiritual need, her desire to live a different life, different than her earthly life. He begins to share the truth of God. Leading her on to know God through the living water He can give her. The woman realizes that he is treating her with dignity, with unconditional love. She now sees Jesus as a prophet. She senses the spiritual, the divinity of Jesus. She begins to trust Him, making something of a confession. Does she somehow know Jesus can forgive her sins?
Jesus forgives her sins revealing he is the Messiah, the Christ, the one who is to come. Believing Jesus, she does the only thing she can. She runs back to the people she has been avoiding, sharing the good news. She becomes an evangelist sharing the good news of a messiah. Her change of heart energizes the people who have mistreated her. They too come to meet the Messiah. And Jesus remains with them for two days.
Is this not a story of our lives? As we come to know Jesus we reach out to others. First to know them as people to be loved and respected. As people begin to trust us we can now share the truth of God. We let God work in their hearts and their souls. Then we can rejoice with them as they lead others to God. This is how evangelization is meant to be.
One last thought. You have followed the example given to us by Jesus. You have shared the gospel message. But for some reason the people you were talking to did not come to church. What happened? Did you do something wrong? Maybe you feel like crying out to God. This is exactly what happened to Moses in the first reading today. God tells Moses – do not give up. Keep trying. Trust in God. God will help the people believe when God knows the right time. Trust in God.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen