John chapter 4, verses 1 to 15
It is incredible how things so simple in our world, intended for us to build on and grow in, can become divisive and destructive. In the passage of the Samaritan woman, we hear the conversation between Jesus and this woman at the well. And there’s a whole manner of aspects to this story. But today, I would like to focus on the sense of unity.
The Jews and the Samaritans have the same God, and they have the same ancestry, but the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. For the Jew, the Samaritan is an impure Jew. The Samaritan’s lineage got corrupted, and for that reason, others avoid any contact.
Why do we see difference as a point of departure? Why do we see difference as something we must be annoyed and angry about? Why do we clamour for sameness in a world of such tremendously beautiful diversity? Why fight and destroy because the other is not as we are? Why? What is it about us that causes us to be anti-creation? Because all around us in creation, we see the diversity of God. We know the richness and the splendour.
It is fantastic because even within ourselves, we see that diversity. We know that difference. Looking at each half of our face, we realize that each half differs from the other. It’s not perfectly the same, and that slight difference gives us our unique features. We see this in almost every aspect of ourselves. One foot is slightly smaller or larger than the other. One eye is shaped differently to the other eye. This reality is in us, “for the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.” We are always into ethnic cleansing, always into fights.
The woman in the passage points out the difference to Jesus. Jesus goes beyond the difference and says, “If you knew the gift and who it was, that was asking you for a drink of water. You would have asked of him, and he would have given you life-giving water.” The woman is indicating the difference. Jesus is saying come, and I can give you the source that undergirds you and me. I can lead you there, and we can find common ground there. And that is of far greater importance than the distinction that you are making at this level.
Jesus gives us an example. He invites us down to the source to learn how to deal with these differences. To understand the source, embrace the source, and then come back up from the source. There will still be a difference. But because we have understood the common source, we also understand the oneness. We realize there is diversity, which only has one source, so, when I seek to defend my source, and you strive to protect your source, we are defending the same source. You have nothing to defend. The source has given rise to you and me.
What if we were to go out into the world today with that understanding? As we face differences of opinion, remember that it is only the opinion that is different; the individual is as you are. If you can begin there and realize that that person is you and you are that person, you can always have that sense of the various dialogues within yourself and you do not hate yourself because of the dialogue within you. We often refer to it as having an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, but we a say there is a dialogue within ourselves; We get the sense that we are in the middle of that dialogue, hearing both sides and trying to find a way forward, listening to those two sides. So, it can be with the Jew and the Samaritan, with yourself and the other, that space between the two. There is always a way forward if we are willing to allow that space to occur.
So yes, this well was given to us by a common ancestor. You have no dealings with us but you just said a common ancestor gave us this well. Start there by remembering that common ancestry. See what we can build from it so we do not have to fight. Together, we can grow day by day into a greater understanding of each other. We can find new ways of being in the world that lead us to a better experience and because of a better understanding there can be more fruitful benefits for us all.
