Water Jars
“The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?’”
John 4:28-29
Who among us can say that we have not sinned or have not done something that we wish would not come into the light? We all have a past, but that past, no matter how much we sometimes wish could be erased, is a part of our story, a part of God’s story in our lives.
We encounter the Samaritan woman at the well, who goes to draw water at a time of day when no one else is there so that she might not be shamed. She was an adulterer and the people knew it. It was not a good look to be with sinners, but Jesus not only remained in her presence, He also spoke with her, saying, “Give me a drink.”
The Samaritan woman was surprised that Jesus initiated conversation with her, perhaps for a couple of reasons: (1) She was a woman and (2) She was a Samaritan. Men did not usually speak with women, and Jews most certainly did not speak with Samaritans for they had a rocky relationship, to say the least. So, for Jesus to look into her eyes and speak to her was quite scandalizing, but it didn’t matter to Jesus. He looked at her with love, not judgement. He spoke with her to save her, not condemn her.
Perhaps for the first time in a long time she felt seen and heard and valued. Although Jesus knows her sins, He doesn’t call her by them. Instead, He invites her into relationship, one that goes beyond gender norms and religious or political factions. The woman was so moved that we are told she goes back to her town and tells the people about Jesus. This woman goes from trying to hide from everyone to now proclaiming Jesus at the rooftops, unafraid of being seen be all. This is the fruit of the freedom and peace that Jesus offers. With Jesus, the woman no longer needed to live in shame because of her sins for she knows she is not defined by them.
Before she left Jesus we are told she “left her water jar.” By leaving her water jar, she was also metaphorically leaving behind her sins, her shame, and everything else that kept her from living. A life knowing Jesus gives us the courage to leave behind those water jars we so desperately clutch onto to keep some sort of fake control that in reality holds us back from living fully and freely.
Jesus comes to offer us that peace and freedom. What are those water jars that I need to leave behind today?
Lord Jesus, You come not to condemn me but to set me free. Give me the courage to leave behind my water jars.
For another reflection on the Samaritan Woman at the Well, see this “Power of Encounter” and “For What Do We Thirst?”
For a deeper study of this powerful encounter, see previous year’s Lenten Conference, “Meeting Jesus at the Well.”
