This passage is so alive for me today. Jesus knew there was something different about her in that she was alone in the heat of mid day. The truth was likely that she was an outcast among the other women , since she had been married 5 times , and lived with someone not her husband. Jesus must have known that her history would yield many problems for her. yet he didn’t condemn her. in fact he treated her as having full dignity and humanity. He asked for a drink.
can you imagine us going around doing good with people who are outcasts , in “irregular “ relationships, who have a myriad of disgusting problems? The last thing we would do is treat them as if we were the ones in need.
what a lesson Jesus provides for us. He treated the woman at the well as the equal she was. More importantly (for me) , he didn’t analyze or try to “fix” her like she was some kind of object. He was honest with her without condemning. He befriended her and her community of Samaritans (outsiders for Jews). He persisted when criticized by his apostles.
her gratitude must have lifted his heart as he made his way to the mountain top to talk to his father at day.’s end.
