Sunday Scribes Blog – St. Mary's Maine

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Romans 5:1-2, 5-8          John 4:5-42

Jesus engages a Samaritan woman in conversation and asks her for a drink.  (His disciples had gone to town to buy food.)  The Samaritan woman is shocked that Jesus, a Jew, would accept a drink from her . . .  “for Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.”  When the disciples returned with groceries, they were genuinely surprised that Jesus was talking with “that woman.”  Jesus noticed their amazement, but neither Jesus nor they said anything.

What is striking here is that Jesus never judged this woman.  “I have no husband,” she said.  And Jesus responds, “I know.  You’ve had five husbands and the man you now have is not your husband.”  Had this been a harsh judgment against this woman, she would have stomped away never to come back.  But she went home and came back with neighbors who invited Jesus to stay with them a little longer.  He stayed two more days, accepted their hospitality, and ate with them.  Many more began to believe in Him because of His word.

People were always critical of Jesus because He associated and ate with sinners.  “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  If Jesus had not eaten with sinners, He would have had to eat alone all His life or starve to death.  It’s so easy to fall into the practice of judging others to be not as good as we are.  After all, He did come for sinners.  Thank God, that includes me and everybody whom I know.

Where do we come off judging people?  Who are we to send people to hell?  We who are with sin and imperfections pointing accusing fingers at others and telling them how bad they are? What arrogance!

I admit my mistakes, but I genuinely try to learn from them.  Isn’t that the way we all learn?  When we don’t learn from our mistakes, we keep on repeating them until they become habits.  We all know how habits are really hard to change.

Elie Weisel is a well-known author, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp.  He tells this story.  One day in the concentration camp, the Nazis hung a 13-year-old, emaciated boy.  He was not heavy enough to hang and it took him more that 30 minutes to die at the end of the rope.  A prisoner, horrified, asked Elie Weisel:  “Is the Lord in our midst or not?  Where is God, huh, where is God?”  Elie answered with tears in his eyes, “He’s right there hanging and dying!”

No wonder Mr. Weisel went through a period of not believing in a Good God!  He had witnessed so much death and suffering that he could not reconcile that with a God who watched over His people.  In the 1970’s, I met Mr. Weisel at Bates College.  I felt his unspeakable suffering and marveled that he still had hope.

We meet many sick people in our health care facility and many do not consider themselves a member of a church anymore.  They have been too hurt by someone in that church.  Sometimes patients can talk about it and sometimes they can’t.  But along with the non-practice of their religious traditions, we can tangibly feel the long-standing, deep hurt that has ruined their inner peace.  Are these people to be judged as “fallen away” or “faithless” or “weak”?   I always assume that they are wounded and their wounds are still raw!  These wounded people still relate to God, but no longer relate to church.  Jesus came for them, too.  If Jesus were here today in person, He would certainly speak with them, too.  In fact, the lesson from today’s gospel is that Jesus will engage everyone and anyone with no exception.  It is not everyone except “Samaritans” or “gays” or “punks” or “hookers” or “unbelievers.”  It’s everyone who wants to speak with Him — no exception!  Are we lucky or not?  We will not be excluded from Jesus’ care no matter who we are or what we have done!

Kenn Rancourt
Pastoral Care