Sunday, March 15, 2020

John 4:27-42

As Jesus ends his conversation with the Samaritan woman, the disciples return. They assume he must need something to eat, and Jesus tells them that he has food to eat that they do not know about. Further, they see him with this woman whose reputation puts them ill at ease. But the woman … she had gone to tell her villagers about this man … this prophet … who knew everything about her and then still kept talking to her. There was something powerful about this stranger traveling in their midst.

It seems that the disciples might be ready to pack up and just get out of there, but Jesus is talking about a harvest that is ready to be brought in. Perhaps the disciples are thinking that, if they could just get out of this neighborhood, they could then focus on the harvest. Jesus tells them to open their eyes … look around … and see that they are called to be right there … right then … just for that purpose.

The woman and her villagers return to see just who this is. Imagine the discomfort of the disciples in realizing they did not get Jesus out of there sooner. Then it only got worse. The villagers asked Jesus to stay … and he accepted! Then he (and presumably the disciples) stayed with the villagers two days.

Where do we find ourselves that we would rather not be? Is it in the company of people who make us uncomfortable? Is it people whom we have written off … marginalized … considered to be unworthy? The calling that is Wellspring’s is to challenge others to wake up … to see that the field is indeed ripe and ready for harvest. It is the calling to open our own eyes and see Christ in the people of God all around us who ask only that the gift of hope and life be shared with them.

Lord, open our eyes to the world around us, and may we respond as Jesus taught us … loving others as you love us. Amen.