Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Most, I would assume, are familiar with the story of the Samaritan woman, so I'm not going to summarize it for you. If you aren't familiar with it or need a refresher, you're going to have to go back and read it yourself. There's a ton of interesting tid-bits to gain from this pericope (It's pronounced per-ick-oh-pee. Thank you, seminary.) For example, Jesus spoke with a woman. This isn't the first time or the last time Jesus involved women in His ministry, and John records many of the accounts of Jesus' interaction with women. I have to confess that, as a Christian woman, I'm sometimes embarrassed about how we reach out to other women. We've created this subculture of women's study Bibles (what is that?) and ladies' teas where we talk about "taming the tongue" and understanding our emotions. I don't think these things are inherently bad, but I do wish we valued the theological training of women a little more. And though I tend to roll my eyes at such events and curriculum, I appreciate the effort to teach Christian women how to be Christian women, because it's not easy. We live in a culture that says that men and women should play the same roles in the home, in the workplace, and in the church. And we read a Bible that says that women should submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22) and not have authority over men (1 Timothy 2:12). What are we to believe? (note: As Christians, our final authority is always Scripture.) People often attack Christianity for not valuing women, and I don't deny that historically women have been treated unfairly. However, what I see in this story is a Savior who is concerned for and who takes time to care for a woman, against the social laws of the time. Though we may play different roles (I absolutely believe this is God's intention), God values both man and woman, and His care for the "weaker sex" can be seen even in asking this particular woman for a drink.
Also, I love what happens later in the chapter after the woman runs into town to tell everyone that she's met the Messiah. John says that many came to know Jesus, and they said to the woman, "we no longer believe just because of what you have said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world" (v.42). Wooh! Praise the Lord! Reading that just makes me want to stand up and do a little jig! I just think this is such a beautiful picture for us of what missions should look like. The woman went into the town, telling everyone about the man who changed her life, but she also brought them to where they could meet Him for themselves, and then their lives were changed, too! How stinkin' cool! As excited and encouraged as I become reading about Jesus talking with this woman and about the rest of the town coming to know Jesus as well, I think the most valuable thing I took away from my study was about shame.
This woman knew shame. Like, she knew shame. What we know about the Samaritan woman from her conversation with Jesus is that she was living with a man she was not married to, and that she had previously been married to five other men. Not only was she a woman, socially inferior to man, and not only was she a Samaritan, a "half-breed" looked down upon by Jews, she was also an adulterer, rejected by her own community. She was so covered in shame that she came to draw water from the community well in the middle of the day so as not to have to face the looks and whispers from others. So imagine her shock when a Jewish man asks her for a drink! Jesus uses this moment at the well to begin talking about the water that He can give her, much better and greater than the water she is drawing from Jacob's well. But what this woman doesn't understand is that Jesus isn't really talking about water anymore. Jesus says to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up into eternal life" (v.13-14). That's some pretty powerful stuff! And although the woman doesn't truly understand Jesus' meaning, what she does understand is that she won't have to return to this well in shame anymore. She says, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water" (v.15). For the Samaritan woman, the solution to her shame was to stay hidden. If Jesus would just give her this water, she would never have to leave her home to travel to this well again. She wouldn't have to face the judging stares and sneers of others, she wouldn't have to face the humiliation of the choices she had made. She would be free! Or would she be?
How often do I handle my sin and shame the same way? If I could just find a way to avoid it, to stuff it in the corner, to hide from it, then all will be better. Out of sight, out of mind, right? But I know better than that. Sweeping the dirt under the rug does not make the floor clean, as much as I want it to. But Jesus wasn't trying to give her a carpet to sweep her shame under. He wanted to sweep that shame right out of the door! And that is exactly what happened. This woman didn't run back into hiding after she met with Jesus. She ran into town, telling the very people she was previously ashamed to face about the man who changed her life. This is freedom in Christ!
So what does this mean for me? Well, I think it means I need to pick up the rug I've been piling my shame under. I need to bring all my dirt to feet of God. Hebrews 4 says that, because we have such a High Priest as Jesus, we can come boldly to the throne of grace, and that there we will find grace and mercy in our time of need. Though it's difficult to admit, I tend to identify more with Jonah, who ran and hid at the bottom of a ship when he disobeyed God, or with David, who thought that, after killing Uriah, no one would discover his secret sin with Bathsheba. But true freedom comes not in hiding or running away from or covering up my secrets but in exposing them before a holy God and humbly accepting the cup of grace He has offered me. So, shame, be gone! You are no longer my master. You no longer direct my steps. I have accepted a drink from the Savior and my life now overflows with grace and peace and freedom. He has made my life full, and you, o shame, have no home here in my heart!
Also, I love what happens later in the chapter after the woman runs into town to tell everyone that she's met the Messiah. John says that many came to know Jesus, and they said to the woman, "we no longer believe just because of what you have said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world" (v.42). Wooh! Praise the Lord! Reading that just makes me want to stand up and do a little jig! I just think this is such a beautiful picture for us of what missions should look like. The woman went into the town, telling everyone about the man who changed her life, but she also brought them to where they could meet Him for themselves, and then their lives were changed, too! How stinkin' cool! As excited and encouraged as I become reading about Jesus talking with this woman and about the rest of the town coming to know Jesus as well, I think the most valuable thing I took away from my study was about shame.
This woman knew shame. Like, she knew shame. What we know about the Samaritan woman from her conversation with Jesus is that she was living with a man she was not married to, and that she had previously been married to five other men. Not only was she a woman, socially inferior to man, and not only was she a Samaritan, a "half-breed" looked down upon by Jews, she was also an adulterer, rejected by her own community. She was so covered in shame that she came to draw water from the community well in the middle of the day so as not to have to face the looks and whispers from others. So imagine her shock when a Jewish man asks her for a drink! Jesus uses this moment at the well to begin talking about the water that He can give her, much better and greater than the water she is drawing from Jacob's well. But what this woman doesn't understand is that Jesus isn't really talking about water anymore. Jesus says to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up into eternal life" (v.13-14). That's some pretty powerful stuff! And although the woman doesn't truly understand Jesus' meaning, what she does understand is that she won't have to return to this well in shame anymore. She says, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water" (v.15). For the Samaritan woman, the solution to her shame was to stay hidden. If Jesus would just give her this water, she would never have to leave her home to travel to this well again. She wouldn't have to face the judging stares and sneers of others, she wouldn't have to face the humiliation of the choices she had made. She would be free! Or would she be?
How often do I handle my sin and shame the same way? If I could just find a way to avoid it, to stuff it in the corner, to hide from it, then all will be better. Out of sight, out of mind, right? But I know better than that. Sweeping the dirt under the rug does not make the floor clean, as much as I want it to. But Jesus wasn't trying to give her a carpet to sweep her shame under. He wanted to sweep that shame right out of the door! And that is exactly what happened. This woman didn't run back into hiding after she met with Jesus. She ran into town, telling the very people she was previously ashamed to face about the man who changed her life. This is freedom in Christ!
So what does this mean for me? Well, I think it means I need to pick up the rug I've been piling my shame under. I need to bring all my dirt to feet of God. Hebrews 4 says that, because we have such a High Priest as Jesus, we can come boldly to the throne of grace, and that there we will find grace and mercy in our time of need. Though it's difficult to admit, I tend to identify more with Jonah, who ran and hid at the bottom of a ship when he disobeyed God, or with David, who thought that, after killing Uriah, no one would discover his secret sin with Bathsheba. But true freedom comes not in hiding or running away from or covering up my secrets but in exposing them before a holy God and humbly accepting the cup of grace He has offered me. So, shame, be gone! You are no longer my master. You no longer direct my steps. I have accepted a drink from the Savior and my life now overflows with grace and peace and freedom. He has made my life full, and you, o shame, have no home here in my heart!
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