“A Samaritan women came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ The Samaritan women said to Jesus, ‘How is it that you a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” [John 4:7,9]
Recall a memory from a recent travel experience that caught you off guard. An experience that shifted your awareness or gave you a brand-new insight. The Samaritan woman was at the well to draw water. In her leaving and traveling to the well, I suspect she thought today was going to be like any other day. She would simply draw the water she needed and return home. Yet, this day something unexpected happened. A Jew asked for a drink of water. Not only a Jew, but a man! A man willing to break two social taboos. The woman, who is never named, has an encounter that not only changes her life, but the life of her hometown. Have you ever had an encounter that has changed you? I remember an encounter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. I was simply at the water’s edge watching the water lap gently over the stones scattered along the shore. It was there that I had an encounter with Jesus. It was there that my soul was nourished with living water. The encounter changed me; it released me from a burden that I had been carrying. What about you? Are you open to the possibility of an encounter with the divine; to the Holy One who offers all of us living water?
Prayer
Dear Jesus, I appreciate that social boundaries don’t deter your love. Your living water is available to everyone. Give me the courage to drink deeply of the living water you offer my soul, so that I might be able to lead others to the wellspring of your life, too. Amen.
Comments