Reading
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him……
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.
(John 4:27-30 & 39-42).
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Reflection
‘Let’s not speak about …’ or ‘You’d better not say anything about …’ something or someone. Here Jesus’ disciples didn’t say anything about the fact that he had been talking to a woman – and a woman from a place, Samaria, that Jews (and they were Jewish) didn’t approve of, for various historical reasons. Today it seems odd, or even weird, to regard talking to someone of the opposite sex as questionable. But what about foreigners?
My father fought against the Japanese in WW2. We didn’t buy anything Japanese if we could help it, and when Emperor Hirohito came on a state visit, Dad just turned off the TV. But when I went to Tokyo in 1986 and found myself unable to understand the signs on the tube, a man came up and asked me, in English, if I was lost. He very kindly accompanied me all the way to the stop I wanted and made sure I knew where to go. He wasn’t just ‘a Japanese’. He was a man just like me – and he was just as capable of kindness as any Englishman. I even bought a Japanese car after that!
Spiritual Exercise
Your to-do for today: Whom do you know who comes from a different country or nation from yours? Are they different from you? How? Try making a list (no names …) Do they do anything better in that country? Would you like to go there? Maybe you can put it on your post-Covid wish list. Then read John 1:12 or Galatians 3:26.>Music
Music to listen to (and, with Maestro Muti’s permission, to sing along with!)
chorus of Hebrew Slaves, from G. Verdi, Nabucco – and do read the subtitles!’
The chorus of Hebrew Slaves, from G. Verdi, Nabucco
Digging Deeper
Want to spend a little time digging into this series?
Church of England Daily Prayer.
Church of England Lent: LiveLent: God’s Story, Our Story
Link to St Andrews online Services.
