The Samaritan Woman-So much to admire and learn from her

The Samaritan Woman-So much to admire and learn from her. Bible Reference: John 4:4-42.

By Evangelist (Dr.) Noyo Anthonia Kubeyinje Edem  –  Hope For The Family.

Quite often, the community that people are born into or where they reside can be very harsh in judging and be critical about the lifestyles of its citizens. Communities have their own social norms of acceptable and appropriate conducts for their people that may not necessarily conform to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Scriptures. While Jesus teaches us to beloving, considerate, merciful, and caring towards one another; the cultural norms of our communities could emphasizeintolerance and utter rejection for lifestyles that we consider unacceptable sinful conducts of people living among us.

The story of the Samaritan Woman is a true reflection of an unloving, hateful, and judgmental community of people who saw in the Samaritan a sinner that they believed was beyond redemption. To her community, the Samaritan woman was notfit to integrate and freely associate with other members residing in the community because of her sinful lifestyle. The Samaritan woman was not a wife of one husband; she had been married previously to five men and the man she was living with was not her husband. Reference John 4:4-42.

In most communities, it would have been an abomination for a woman to have married many men, not to even consider a situation where a woman would live with a man that was not her husband. Consequently, the Samaritan woman knew that her fellow Samaritans hated her and she  obviously felt the rejection because she could not join them at Jacob’s well to fetch water for her household when they were at the well. Therefore, she had to go to the well to fetch water after the rest of the people have fetched water from the well. This community only had Jacob’s well so she did not have the choice of going to another well to fetch her water. This woman avoided confrontation with the people in her community as much as she could possibly do.

Let us just imagine how this woman’s daily schedule would be in such an environment. She would constantly be running behind schedule each day because she would only step out of her house when the haters would not be around. Consequently, she wouldbe delayed in doing the chores for her household. The story did not tell us if this worker had any children. Can you imagine a woman raising up her children in such a hostile environment? We truly need to change our perception of who a sinner is and how we should interact with a person that we call a sinner. We need to accept the truth that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. No one of us is righteous; it is the grace of God that we have all received. Therefore, we need to be more understanding, tolerant and loving towards people whether we approve of their lifestyles or not.

We are called to pray for God’s children while encouraging and empowering them to live aright with the love of God and not to be negatively or hostilely judgmental toward the weak amongst us. We should see sin as a human weakness in character as we humans are still in flesh and blood. We are fragile and prone to temptation in our flesh and blood. This understanding of the frailty of humans should make us compassionate towards the sinner. This does not mean that we are encouraging people to become sinful; it only means that we are imbibing the teachings of our  Lord Jesus Christ who is merciful to the sinner and corrects the sinner in love. Jesus told the adulterous woman who was caught in the act of adultery and about to be stoned to death by the crowd of angry accusers to go and sin no more. This story revealed something about a peoplewho would hide their sins by pretending to be righteous, but they were quick to condemn a sinner whose sin became known to the public.

We have all individually or collectively struggled with sins, and some of us can identify with the struggle of the Samaritanwoman in one way or the other. The moral standard that our Lord laid for us is extremely high; consequently the actual act of committing adultery, murder, stealing or the mere lustful thought of these vices are all sins.

“But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. “ Matthew 5:28 NIV

None of us can boast of having attained unto perfection in regard to living sinless lives. Therefore, some of us may have also been isolated, gossiped about, and hated for our weaknessesor sinful lifestyles. However, when we come to think about the  people who hate, gossip, and isolate us, we will find out that they are just as weak and sinful as we are or have been at certain stages of our lives.

The difference is that their sins have not become public knowledge and it is not glaring in the eyes of thepeople in their communities like this Samaritan woman. Moreso, the woman caught in adultery by a community that was ready to stone her to death if not for the timely intervention of Jesus in her case. Sin is sin, unrighteousness is unrighteousness whether seen or  known by men or not. We must remember that God our creator knows everything and sees all our deeds even in the most hidden and secret places. Let us learn to love and not hate as Jesus teaches us to do. We have received the mercy of God, so we also need to be merciful to the people around us.

It is a waste of time and energy to gossip and hate people because of their sinful lifestyles when we cannot transform them into becoming better people. We should acknowledge that the underlying problem of the Samaritan woman’s struggle was her longing for love, friendship, comfort, and peace. This woman needed love and help from the people and not hatred.

Love will resolve so  many problems in our lives where hatred will fail. Love will make us become considerate towards people where we can empathize with their situations. When love and empathy are present,  then it will be easy to correct people and help them to see what they need to change about their lifestyles. Hostility and gossip have driven some people away from their communities. They cannot integrate into communities that have isolated them or partake in community activities because they do not want to deal with the people’s hatred.

There are two important lessons to learn from this story. The first is Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman. Some of us may think that it was just a coincidence that Jesus came to the well when the Samaritan woman was there fetching water for her household. No, this was not a coincidence. We should remember that it was through Jesus, God created everything and nothing was created that was not done in partnership with Jesus Christ. Reference John 1:3.

Jesus Christ is all knowing and he has always been aware of the situation in that community. He came  to the well at the appropriate time to meet with a sinner that had been rejected, isolated and hated by her community. Jesus said that he came for sinners- the sick who needed a physician and not for the self-righteous who were not in need of either a Savior or a physician. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:32

The woman did not hide her sin from Jesus Christ. In so doing, she inadvertently revealed her acceptance of who she truly was with a deep yearning for Jesus to accept her and help her resolve her life’s situations. She had  found a Savior, a Messiah who hasasked her, a sinner,  to give him water to drink. She found the Savior who could give her the Living water that we all need.

“But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 (NIV)

Jesus transformed the life of this simple woman who her community treated  as a worthless sinner, and he brought joy into her life. Instantly, the woman’s life was changed and she was no longer afraid  of the people in her community . She no longer thought about how they felt about her sinful lifestyle or how she was hated and rejected. She received power and courage to run into her community to call the entire community to come out to meet with the savior, one who told her everything about her life.

The second lesson in this passage is seen in this woman’s demonstration of love for a community that had hated, rejected,and isolated her. She wanted her community to meet with the Messiah. Thus, she became an evangelist, one of Jesus’s foot soldiers who took the gospel message to an entire community that became saved through her. The Samaritans listened to Jesus Christ and they believed in him. It is important to note that thepeople told the woman that they believed in Jesus Christ not because of what she told them, but because of what Jesus told them. Was this human pride in display in the people’s reluctance to appreciate this woman and accept the role that she played in their salvation? This woman exemplifies Jesus’ teaching on the Sermon on the Mount. This woman was poor in spirit and full of love for a people that had no love for her. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…” Matthew 5:1ff.

It is so amazing that one who was so hated  had so much love to give to her community. We must learn to overlook the hatred of people and forgive them for offending us for us to truly become disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. Love does not keep a record of wrong doings; perfect love resolves all situations in life. (Reference 1 Corinthians 13:4-8) 

May we learn to love the people around us and forgive them when they offend us, if we genuinely want to enjoy the good lifeGod has promised us. May we live for God and not be men pleasers. The Samaritan woman has taught us how to love and win souls for our Lord Jesus Christ.

We should not allow the evil of the people around us to turn us into becoming evil people. May God help us all to be loving, merciful, forgiving, and compassionate toward people. During this season of lent as we engage in our Lenten exercises, let us always remember the example of the Samaritan woman and pray to God to give us the grace to be like her in showing the love of God to the people around us in Jesus mighty name. Amen.