Women, Wells, Water or just

Reflections from The Hill – Women, Wells, Water or just
Misogyny?

North Queensland at this time of the year oozes
water – the ground, the skies, the plants, the animals, the buildings, even the
humans, drip with the stuff. Every body has a sheen on its skin that is best
dealt with in air-conditioning and not a little deodorant.

While I
confess to having a desire to live in the Antarctic at times like this, a
temporary madness that I know is easily cured, the smelly pillows can be
difficult to lay a weary head on, night after steamy night.

At this time of the year
one needs to constantly re-hydrate, which is kind of nice, as my friend Nikki
pointed out, given that this week’s raft of Readings have much to do with water.


I’ve heard some humdinger
sermons on this story that focus on the woman and her moral state: how only
immoral women draw water during the day out of shame (all the good people are
inside where it’s cooler, it seems) and I’ve preached a few along those lines,
too.


However, in preaching,
it’s never a good practice to interpret a past situation from a present point
of view or to make assumptions about things that are not written in the text.
More than one preacher has foundered on those rocks.


Let’s take the Woman at
the Well. Plenty of preachers have pontificated that the brighter her nails,
the darker her mascara and the shorter her skirt, the greater the testimony to
the power of the converting word. Where’s that come from but an imaginative and
blokey mind, I wonder?


Neither John nor Jesus
demand or suggest that the woman repent of any sin. They don’t mention sin at
all. There’s absolutely nothing in the text to suggest she’s a prostitute or
has a shady past. Yet when many listen to her story this coming Sunday, they
are likely to hear the woman described in just those terms.


There may be many reasons
why the woman was in the situation she was in. All of those reasons are
unwritten; many of them may be tragic rather than scandalous but preachers
prefer the latter rather than the former and, to not put too fine a point on
it, many of those preachers will be male.


There is a long history
of disliking women, called misogyny, in Christian circles that is in stark
contrast to the actual place of women in the Gospels, attested to over and over
by the four evangelists to start with.


From the blame that’s
laid at Eve’s feet for succumbing to temptation while ignoring Adam’s presence
at her side to the making of assumptions about the Samaritan woman’s lifestyle,
there is an unpleasant whiff of chauvinism in some teaching and preaching,
particularly, in those traditions that refuse to recognise that women can
preach and teach with the same authority as men.


The Woman at the Well is
not a tale about immorality; it's a story about identity. In the previous
chapter – we heard it last week – Jesus was shirt-fronted by a Jewish male
(read religious, authority, power) called Nicodemus who couldn’t grasp who or
what Jesus was.


In today’s Gospel, Jesus
meets the exact opposite, and perhaps precisely because she is at the other end
of the power spectrum, she recognizes not just who Jesus is but what he offers.
It’s a precious gift called dignity.


Jesus invites her not to
be defined any more by her circumstances but offers her an identity that lifts
her above whatever tragedy she is in. The woman accepts the offer and, in doing
so, becomes the first character in John's gospel to seek out others to tell
them about Jesus.


If we preachers can rise
above the misogyny and moralising attitudes that characterise much Christian
teaching, we may be able to tell this woman's story for what it is: a story of
the transforming power of love and the capacity to receive and live into a new
identity.


In doing so, we won't be
talking about this woman any more; we'll be talking about ourselves and how we
need each other for this story is all about Jesus showing us a new way to learn
the truth about one other, of him teaching us to learn to need each other. We
are the Body of Christ.


In time, on another day,
also about noon, Jesus became thirsty. Then, his only option was vinegar. The
gift of his living water to the Woman at the Well will not be apparent to the
one holding that sour sponge.


Today, however, when
Jesus and the Samaritan woman meet, life is brought out of death. The water
they offer each other, water that quenches the thirst of body and soul, holds
the gift of life for all of us.


(I’m grateful to David
Lose and Fred Craddock for some insights in this Reflection)





Humour of the Week
(On Reading What the Text Says):


In these days of
climate control and recycling awareness, Bob was trying to do the best he could
for the environment.


He set up a bin near
his church’s doorway in time for Sunday and put up a sign that read:
"Empty water bottles here."



On Monday, Bob found that people were only as good as their instructions. The
bin was half full of water and there were no bottles.





One-liner of the Week:


Clergy and manure are
alike: spread ‘em out and they do a whole lot of good; put ‘em in one pile and
there is an odour.











Quote of the Week:


Every believer endures
attacks at undermining faith and commitment. It may be spiritual coldness, or
addiction to substances, or pornography, or covetousness, or mind- and
body-destroying worry, or a foul mouth, or idolatry, or narcissism.


Each of us is tempted
to allow Jesus last command to take a back seat to personal desires, selfish
interests and even spiritual activity falling short of total obedience to that
command.


Yet we are compassed
about with those who would inspire and encourage us. Chief among them is the
Lord Jesus Himself, whose sympathies are for us and whose help is assured. –
John Haggai





The Bishop and I are
driving to Hughenden, Richmond and Julia Creek
(and back) this weekend, a distance of about 1300kms, to visit with the faithful
there and to celebrate the Easter mysteries with them, even if early. Such are
the vagaries of life in NQ.


In the meantime, drink
plenty of water. Do good. Stay well. Laugh a lot. Love extravagantly.


In His Grip and Making a
Difference

Ian

Ian McAlister

Ministry Development Officer

PO Box 1244

Townsville Q 4810

Ph 07.4771.4175

Fax 07.4721.1756

Mbl: 0417.078.575

email: ministrydevelopment@anglicannq.org

He is no fool who gives away something he cannot keep to gain
something he cannot lose - Jim Elliott