Lenten journey: Isn't it rich , message at the well at high noon.

      Isn't the passage for today rich? ( John 4:5-42 ) I mean that in all truth and all sarcasm. The richness of this passage and everything in it is quite telling for us as a template of faith, faith in action, perhaps even forgiveness. The passage is incredibly telling to us. At the same time, Jesus is throwing so much of what we profess in our religions on it's ear. It is a diatribe against so much that the Jews were certain of and even portends the crud that many Christian faiths believe even to this day.  It's a slam dunk against so much of the hoopla that churches insist upon. Isn't it rich? The fact is, Jesus is delivering an incredible wealth of information for us. We can easily see where we have gone astray and also what we should truly be focusing on.

     Let's lay some groundwork. Besides the fact that Jesus is Jewish and the woman at the well is a Samaritan and would never even speak with one another, let alone because she is a woman, we must note the time of day which is quite telling. This is not only a Samaritan woman but right off you can see she is a marginalized woman, the woman is not even welcome in her people, a woman with a history. She is at the well at noon, the height of the day and no one comes to the well at the hottest time. Every one comes very early in the morning - unless you are not welcome among the regular people at the well. No, this is not a respected woman. She would be one of the very last people Jesus would be speaking to. And yet, Jesus opens the mysteries of faith, God and the world to her.

       “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, ..."

     Jesus clearly has little respect for specific sects, for the rules and rubrics of religion. Jesus is speaking of Spirit and truth that I dare say any faith could comprehend and understand - and believe!

     Can we practice our faith in Spirit and truth? Can we find richness in acts of piety and richness in traditions but know in our hearts what is truly important , the most important is our faith and our love?