Who is Jesus? A Lenten Journey through John – Day 6
Read John 4:1-45
Jesus compares the water we drink to quench our thirst and the living water Jesus offers to quench spiritual thirst. With FPC Ambler’s water projects in Haiti, part of what we try to do is address both kinds of thirst.
The bodily thirst portion of our trips conjures up Matthew 25, including “for I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.” The “I” in this instance is later referred to as “the least of these.” In today’s reading, we meet a woman who is one many would consider to be “the least of these.” According to NT Wright, “The first century Jews regarded (Samaritans) as the worst kind of outcasts.” To make things worse, Wright notes that the woman is “obviously a bad character.”
Jesus, however, saw her value. Eventually, Wright observes, “She has become the first evangelist to the Samaritan people.”
How frequently do we label or shun people (individually or as a group), deciding they are not worthy of time or love?
Prayer
Lord, help me to see people the way that you see them: created in your image, valuable, and beloved. Enable me to judge the way that you judge. Amen