Daily Office Readings for Thursday of the Second Week of Epiphany: Year 2
Morning, Psalm 37:1 to 18; Evening, Psalm 37:19 to 42;
Genesis 11:1 to 9; Hebrews 6:13 to 20; John 4:1 to 15:
“A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” (John 4:7 – 9)
Many of Jesus’ teachings, as well as his miracle stories, take place with people outside of the Israelite people. In this particular case the woman at the well is not only a Samaritan, she is also a woman who may not be liked in her own community. She has had many husbands; she goes out at noon, in the heat of the day alone, when no one else is at the well. All of this speaks of her isolation. She is estranged from her own community, but not from Jesus.
It seems Jesus had to be free of his cohorts in order to have this exchange. They might have interfered. We’ve seen where the apostles wanted to send hungry people home rather than feed them; keep children away from Jesus, stop a blind man that needed our Lord Jesus and other such instances where the apostles tried to “protect” Jesus. Jesus, nor we, need protection from people just because they are different from us. That is, when they are not the same sex, orientation, nationality, language, so called race, religious affiliation or political stripe. But like Jesus, we might have to get away from our regular crowd of influencers in order to be honest with those who differ from us, and with ourselves.
When we hear a stranger ask us how it is that we will be with them given that we are so different, we will know then that we’ve made it. Thank You Lord Jesus.
Today our Church remembers the Confession of St. Peter. When Jesus asked his followers who they said he is; “Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven; (Matthew 16:16 and 17). Jesus is the rejected stone by humans that is the true Cornerstone of our lives. God’s revelation still guides us into all truth today.
Please keep up your thoughts and prayers and hopes for Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Palestine, and our schools.
As we listen to what the Spirit of God is saying to us, let us live to love and serve, and to teach others to love and serve, while pondering anew what the Almighty can do. John
onewhoponders 