The Samaritan Woman at the Well

Earlier this spring, I was riding with a colleague named Wendy to a business meeting. Our route took us a past a group of motorcycle riders who had gathered along the curb in front storefront building facing Main street. The riders were a stereotypical bunch sporting leathers with all manner of patches, and scary looking helmets and leather hats. Most of the men were bearded and were either shaved-head bald or wearing long hair. The women in their company were also a predictably appearing bunch. All in all they were a pretty intimidating bunch.

As we drove by, I could feel my passenger literally tighten up in anxiety because some of the group were less than an arm’s length away. Her concern became even more palpable when the light turned red causing us to stop immediately beside the riders and their friends. There we were, stopped in the middle of the street, hemmed in by cars in front, behind and beside us with a motorcycle gang right there. I mean RIGHT there. If one of the bunch decided to bust out a window of the car and grab her, there would have been nothing we could do. Wendy, my passenger, was obviously very much aware of that fact.

After a few moment’s silence, during which she nervously tried to avoid looking toward the crowd she finally spoke, “Interesting looking folks.”

“They are a pretty scary bunch,” I agreed. “Funny thing though,” I continued, after a moment’s pause, “I would trust any one of them with every dollar I own and a new born child if had one.”

She turned to look me in eyes to see if I was serious. “I am not kidding,” I added in answer to her unasked question. “What you don’t know is every one of those people is a devout Christian and despite what they look like, they live out the gospel as well as anyone I know.”

I then explained we had stopped in front of their church building, a converted insurance office and the group, members of the Set Free ministry, had gathered for a memorial service for the one of the members of the church. Just then one of the guys recognized me, waving and calling out my name with a big smile. He and several of the others whom I proudly call “brother” or “sister” came over to the car. I rolled down the passenger side window so I could visit with them. Wendy remained rigid and smiled nervously while we chatted. In a minute or two, the light changed to green so we had to pull away while exchanging farewells and prayer promises. Wendy finally started breathe but remained a little ashen.

My friend and colleague did what many of us would do in the same circumstance if we did not know the whole story. Instead of seeing the face of God and recognizing all of the Christian symbols on their clothing, she only saw what she was conditioned to see and was afraid.

In the gospel of the Samaritan Woman at the Well, Jesus could very well have seen the Samaritan woman as a defiled foreigner, someone to ignore or avoid, or, perhaps, even be frightened of. Jesus did something very much unexpected by the woman by revealing himself to her. With his revelation and her acceptance of his teaching, her purpose in life metamorphosed from being a worn out survivor of a miserable existence to becoming his first missionary to her people. It was she who was to carry the message and she did just that. She was certain he was about to put her down through derision and insult but instead he lifted her up to an extraordinary future with a supernatural push.

My friends from the Set Free ministry are more like us than they are different. Someone unexpected carried the message to them. They believed it and their new beliefs changed them. We sit in different churches but we hear the same gospel from the same God and we have same challenge to spread the gospel to those who need to hear it.

After she was able to think about what she experienced, Wendy said she had heard about “people like that” but had never met a “Christian motorcycle gang” before and she seemed genuinely impressed by them but also expressed surprise that a supposedly squeaky clean Catholic guy like me was so well known to them. If she only knew…. I have much, much more in common with many of them than a shared faith.

As Christians, we each meet someone like the Samaritan woman at the well almost every day. The challenge is to see what we have in common and not turn away or be frightened because of the differences we perceive separate us. Jesus revealed himself as “I am” to the Samaritans, a people completely alien and foreign to himself and the lesson we should learn from him is to worship God with everyone, not just those who are like us.

In the eyes of God, there was no difference between Jews and Samaritans. Both were called to worship him through the saving mission of Jesus. This lesson is still our challenge –we are to be watchful for the Samaritan Woman we might encounter today so we will have an opportunity to honor God by living out his gospel of love and service to others. 

John 15 1-9

I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
This passage is one of the most famous, most often quoted and one of the most inspirational for those of us, which, of course, is all of us, who seek a purpose in life beyond the ordinary. Even though very few of us today have ever seen a grapevine in a vineyard, the powerful imagery evoked by Jesus in the Gospel is just as relevant today as it was in His time. Jesus is the vine. God is the vine grower. We are the branches. It is we who bear fruit as long as we remain connected to him. He tells us in the gospel without him we can do nothing. Knowing we have a place and purpose – I have a place and purpose - is very comforting but is not completely soothing for there remains an unanswered question. What fruit are we to bear? If Jesus is the true vine, the fruit we must bear must also be true.

The answers lies bearing fruit by becoming His disciples. To become more like Him. To do what He would have us do which is to serve others as he served us.

Every day, we seek to see the face of Jesus, to remain with him and to remain in him. Recently I spent a day on a river which runs through a land my family has called home for generations. With some brothers in Christ, I joined in worshiping God through appreciation of his creation and appreciation of the gift to enjoy his creation. We floated on waters which have flowed since before our time and which will flow until the end of time. We saw creation but I did not truly see the face God as he passed by my tent. I had yet to bear the fruit we are called to bear.

Returning home, we stopped in a restaurant to grab a pork chop sandwich. While waiting in line, two men came through the door. They were both short in stature and both seemed to be older, perhaps in their 70’s. The clothing they wore was simple and clean but not stylish. One man was black and the other either Asian or Native American. I could not be sure of which.

I was instantly on edge because I was unsure what to expect from them. They appeared as though they might need money or they might want to engage me in a conversation. When they nodded pleasantly and ignored us, I was relieved. I was not going to be asked get outside my comfort zone. They were just a couple of guys out to enjoy a pork chop sandwich just like my friend and I. Even so, I still kept an eye and ear focused on them. I secretly almost hoped they might struggle to pay the bill so I might have an opportunity to contribute to their dinner but money was not an issue. I was hoping for a chance to be a good guy without actually doing anything personal.

After being served, they sat at a table next to us, and I continued to listen in on them from time to time wondering what kind of oddness or weirdness I might hear. All I heard was conversation. They talked about the big fight that night and they talked about the weather. Their conversation was not so different from that of my friend and me.

When it came time to leave, I turned to them and said, “I see we scored a great meal tonight.” 
They both looked at me and, smiling back, responded, “We sure did. Have a great night.”
“You too,” I said and with that my friend and I left.

The Asian/Indian guy, by the way had an opaque left eye that flashed in the light in a seriously spooky way. The black guy was missing several teeth and had a crippled and withered hand. Neither guy was much like me or my friend but God put them in my path to remind me of what it means to see his face and be to be changed by the encounter.

The fruit we are to bear. We sometimes delude ourselves into thinking it has to be something big or important. We are called to comfort the ill, to feed the poor, to offer shelter and food to the hungry. Big stuff. Stuff that requires a sacrifice of time or treasure. But not always. 

Sometimes all we are called to do is just be kind. It can be just that simple.

Today the fruit we must bear to remain in Him might be difficult. It might be hard. It might require us to get outside ourselves and be uncomfortable. We might even be called to change arc of our lives so that we can follow the path he has set for us. More likely, however, it might be nothing more demanding than to smile at someone who is not like you and simply be kind.

Prayer
Give me the strength to remain in you and the courage to bear the fruit of your vine.

John 3:16 

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

The Rest of the Story 

The late Paul Harvey had a radio program called “The Rest of the Story” which consisted of stories presenting little-known or forgotten facts on a variety of subjects with some key element of the story held back until the end. The broadcasts always concluded with a variation on the tag line "And now you know the rest of the story."  Today there is a story behind the Gospel which bears telling.

Starting in 1977 a man begin to appear at major sporting events wearing a rainbow colored wig and did everything he could to draw attention to himself.” The broadcast networks tried in vain to avoid showing him on air but the man always managed to find a way to be where he could not be overlooked.

He started his campaign at the 1977 NBA finals and then appeared again at the 1979 World Series and then in 1980 he underwent a Christian conversion experience after listening to a TV based evangelist while cooped up in a hotel room.  Filled with the zeal common to recent converts, he began a crusade to convert the world showing up at major sporting events and holding up signs which read “John 3:17” anywhere a broadcast camera might be pointed. What began as lonely drive by one man turned into a nationwide sensation as countless others joined in on the campaign. In just a few weeks it became rare for a “John 3:17” sign to not be prominently displayed in the end zone behind the goal posts where they might be seen by millions during every field goal and extra point kick not to mention in the stands at baseball games or NASCAR race.

The seemingly ever-present appearance of the “John 3:17” in virtually every major sporting even has become a national phenomenon much to either delight or consternation of either approving or disapproving viewers.

There is a still valid question to answer as to how much good the public demonstration of John 3:17 really accomplishes. To some it smacks of street corner bullhorn evangelization which many people believe gives public evangelization efforts a bad name. Many others, in fact, most others, probably don’t even notice the signs at all. Some people, however, are curious and pay attention. There are reports that internet searches of John 3:17 tend to spike immediately after an instance where a 3:17 sign has appeared on TV. If true, then there is good to be found from the public display. We as Christians know that any encounter with a Gospel can change lives and the message of this Gospel is one with the power to alter the arc of a human life. We can be impacted by even the most obscure encounter with Christ.

Truly, when we read John 3:17, we are moved to ask if there is a more effectively telling of essence and purpose of our faith. To say God so loved the world he gave his son so we would have eternal life is to say it all. It is a perfect message from a God.

It is time to hear the rest of the story. The man who started the John 3:17 campaign with infected with so much fervor he would not be turned away from his single handed devotion to tell the world was named Rollen Stewart. The rest of the story tells us that as humans we are imperfect and broken messengers but we can still bear witness to a perfect message. Beginning with St. Peter we learn that redemption comes from having been broken and then seeking forgiveness. Our telling the story of salvation does come from the power of holiness but from our brokenness.

Today Rollen Stewart is in a California prison serving 3 long term sentences for kidnapping and holding three people hostage because he believed the rapture was immediately forthcoming and somehow taking hostages made sense to him. There are also reports of other abhorrent behavior which would not be surprising to hear about a man who believed wearing a rainbow colored wig and waving religious signs in public was a good idea.

And that, Paul Harvey used to say, is the rest of the story.

Prayer:

We are broken and sinful but we come to you to because of your promise that whoever lives the truth will come to the light, so our works may be clearly seen as done in you.

The Road to Emmaus

The Gospel for today begins with these words, “That very day, the first day of the week”

What day is the first day?

Resurrection day, the day which we now celebrate as Easter Sunday. Until the Resurrection, the day of worship, the day of the Sabbath, had been Saturday, the seventh day of the week. After the resurrection, we observe the Sabbath on Sunday. We also call this time after the resurrection the 8^th day of creation. The world was made new by the death and resurrection of Jesus and so we are today living in the 8^th day.

A very intriguing and exotic word, Mystagogy, refers to the 4^th stage of RCIA which starts with an initiation into the church at the Easter Vigil and ends on Pentecost Sunday. The word is derived from the Greek words for mystery and leader so mystagogy literally means to be led through mysteries. The reality is all of us who earnestly seek to know God live in an ongoing period of mystagogy. God is not a mystery to be solved but God is mystery, mystery which we can only embrace but never break open.

Cleopas and the unnamed disciple were clearly lost in mystery as they puzzled to make sense of what had transpired during the preceding three days. The first part of the mystery for us to consider is the city of Emmaus. Curiously, there is no real evidence proving where Emmaus was located or even if the city existed at all. It is very possible that rather than being a road to somewhere, the road to Emmaus might not be a road to anywhere physical. It is entirely possible the city of Emmaus is irrelevant. The road itself is the point. Cleopas and his companion were on a journey but not a journey that would take them to a place but would lead toward a destination not meant to be reached. They were, in fact, the first ones to live in a time of mystagogy. They were seeking to be led through mystery.

What can we learn from Cleopas and the second disciple? The first lesson is to understand is the importance of seeking mystery. What we know about God is limited to what God has chosen to reveal to us. In the Gospel the disciples seek to understand what happened on that day, the first day, and the days prior to that day. Jesus responded to them.  He joined them on the journey and stayed with them until he finally revealed himself.  The disciples invited Jesus to continue with them. 

We should also invite Jesus to join us as we journey through life and not just on Sundays but every day and in every way. When we ask Him, He will accompany us as we travel our own individual Roads to Emmaus. In what manner will he respond to us? In the gospel he responded by sharing scripture with them, providing them with a testament of how the prophecies of the Hebrew Testament were fulfilled in him. We have the same testament available to us today in the New Testament. Jesus also responded by revealing his person through the Eucharistic breaking and sharing of the bread, the gift of Himself.  He gives the same gift to us in the Mass.

During this time of mystagogy, we should join the new members of the church with the same sense of awe as Cleopas and his fellow traveler. They said, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” Shouldn’t our own hearts burn when the scriptures are opened to us? Just like the two men in the gospel we should be inspired to tell the story what happened and in so doing help lead ourselves and others into mystery.

Prayer:

Jesus, fill us with the desire to join your disciples on the Road to Emmaus and to celebrate our own encounter with mystagogy in this Easter season. Have mercy on us and grant us your peace. 

Lesson 6 - Action

Scripture Passage - Luke

The Presentation in the Temple.

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,”and to offer the sacrifice of “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel,* and the holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:


“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Learning point

Joseph was completely silent in all scriptural passages in which he is mentioned. There is no canticle attributed to him contrary the examples of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon. Would we not love to hear what Joseph would have to say about his view of Jesus and Mary? All three of the canticles we have are part of the Liturgy of the Hours. Surely if Joseph had been given a voice, we would sing his canticle every day to celebrate his role. Instead all we know about Joseph is what he did and that is enough. What he did was to be a complete father to Jesus.

Lesson 5 - Leader

Scripture - Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

While they were there, the time came for her to have her child,and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Learning Point

So we meet Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. The text is very simple, the narrative very matter of fact but the story is world changing. Joseph is a leader in this story but not in the way we tend to understand modern leadership but rather a model for Jesus in servant leadership. Joseph did what he was called to do. He led Mary to Bethlehem so Jesus could be born where it was foretold he would be born. As an adoptive father, he gave Jesus the lineage to the House of David. He was present when Jesus was born and he gave Jesus and Mary a home, Jesus a trade craft to earn a living and, as the story unfolds, he led the holy family to safety in Egypt and back again.

The last time we encounter Joseph in the story of Jesus was when Jesus stayed behind in the temple after the rest of the family had left to return to Nazareth. We recognize Joseph was a servant leader because he, Joseph, presented Jesus in the temple as an infant and again and again as was expected in Judaism of this era.

As fathers we assume we are leaders. To be a leader is an integral part of job. We are responsible for nurturing and protecting our children and to provide them with shelter and all other basic necessities. There is more to our servant leadership, however, because we are not just about physical issues but emotional and spiritual matter as well.

Lesson 4 - Involved

Scripture Passage - Matthew 2

When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

Learning Point

There is something different about this exchange between Joseph and the angel. We have the same visitation we have seen a couple of other times. The issue of fear comes up again as it did in the first visitation. This time, however, Joseph is seemingly allowed some degree of latitude in responding to the instructions he received. He took his family back to Israel as he was asked but he was allowed to admit fear and to allow the fear to influence the decision of where the Holy family settled. Because of his fear they did not return to Bethlehem but instead went to Nazareth.

Of course it was already foretold Jesus would be raised in Nazareth but how the prophecy came to be fulfilled was in response to very human reaction to a very dangerous situation. In this passage we best see the humanness of Joseph because he was intimately and decisively involved in protecting the infant Jesus.