Tonight, we joined with men and women around to world to celebrate the World Day of Prayer. This ecumenical service brings us together to worship, learn, and pray for a specific region of the world. The focus of this year's service was the women of Egypt and the passage was John 4:3-42, which is the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well.
Here is my reflection on this passage:
Water. We all need it. Our bodies are full of this life giving
substance and we need to replenish our bodies with it on a daily basis. Our absolute and unequivocal need for water
is one of the ways in which we are all connected as human beings. Our gender, race, ethnicity, nationality and social
status are irrelevant when it comes to water.
And because such basic necessities are universal, the interaction
between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well speaks to us all.
Both Jesus and the woman were drawn
to the well so that they could get water.
It was noontime and the sun was at its hottest. Jesus was tired from his travels and waited
for the disciples to get some food in a nearby town. The Samaritan woman was coming to the well to
get water for her family. So both of
them were alone. This woman did not come
to the well when the other women came – no, that would be too
embarrassing. Too risky. Instead, she collected her water at the
hottest time of the day in order to avoid the crowds. Most women collected their water in the
morning when the sun was not so hot. And
the well was a gathering place for these women.
A time to catch up with neighbours and share the news of the day. A time to watch the children play. But for this woman, this gathering time was
not one of friendship and laughter, but one of shame. All the women talked about her behind her
back. Some were even bold enough to talk
in front of her. Even their children kept their distance. She was an outsider. An outcast.
So the fact that Jesus even spoke to her
at all is a key part of this story because they were separated from each other by
gender, religion, and ethnicity. And yet
Jesus approached her - Can I have a drink? The interaction that followed Jesus’ question
– which we have just heard re-told to us through the eyes of 4 Egyptian women –
is a wonderful story because the woman learns that there is a different kind of
living water. One that goes beyond
providing for our bodies.
The living water that Jesus offers is
one that nourishes our souls and gives us eternal life. And it is freely available to those who put their
trust in God. It is available to us here
in Burlington, to the people of Egypt, to the people of the Ukraine, and to all
people around the world. By offering
this living water to this woman – who is a foreigner, an outsider, and a sinner
- Jesus breaks down the artificial boundaries that are all around us. He breaks down these walls by offering the
same water to all of God’s people.
For Christians in Egypt, this passage
brings them both comfort and hope. The
comfort in this passage comes from the fact that they can relate to this
interaction on a practical level far better than we are able to. We have no such need to gather at a well, but
there are still parts of Egypt where this way of life is a reality. According to UNICEF, over 800 million people
around the world do not have easy and reliable access to clean water. As a result, acquiring this basic necessity
of life demands a lot of time and effort and this work is mostly done by women
and children. So for many Egyptian
women, they can easily picture themselves in this story and as result, they
know that Jesus is speaking directly to them.
This passage also gives Egyptian
Christians hope. Because Jesus breaks
down so many barriers throughout his ministry, he gives them a reason to hope -
that through the power of our God – barriers can come down in Egypt. And there are a lot of barriers that need to
be broken down in Egyptian society.
Barriers between men and women.
Barriers between rich and poor.
Barriers between Christians and Muslims.
Through God, peace and reconciliation are possible.
This is a powerful message for God’s
people - no matter where we live and no matter what challenges we face as
individuals and in our communities – we have hope through Jesus Christ. We have an awesome God, who anointed Jesus to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives,
to give sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free. (Luke 4:18)
We are indeed blessed!
This powerful message is one that
needs to be shared with others, which is exactly what the Samaritan woman
does. She does not keep it to herself,
but goes back to her home and her community and shares Jesus’ living water with
others. Although we are far removed from
the Samaritan woman’s life and from the lives of the women of Egypt, we need to
follow the Samaritan woman’s example and be open to those moments when the Holy
Spirit gives us opportunities to share the gospel at the well. Where are the wells in your daily world? And how can you share your own story of
drinking Christ’s living water so that others might taste and see that God is
good?
As we go from this worship service, it
is our hope that you will feel a deeper connection to the women of Egypt. They are a diverse group, but they want the
same things that we do. They want to
provide for their families and to live in a peaceful and prosperous land. One of the most important ways for us to connect
with these women is through prayer. In
Hamilton, there is one Presbyterian mission outreach for Arab speaking
people. It is called the Al-Manarah,
which means lighthouse in Arabic. The
minister who serves in this mission sent out an email to the Presbyterian
churches in the area who are participating in World Day of Prayer services and
he asked us to pray for the following for the people of Egypt: freedom,
justice, peace, equality, and love. And
so we pray so that we might serve as lighthouses in our communities and our
world in Christ’s name. Amen.
Yours in Christ, Emma.
