“A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
‘How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?’
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans...
Jesus said to her,
‘Go call your husband and come back.’
The woman answered and said to him,
‘I do not have a husband.’
Jesus answered her,
‘You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband...’
At that moment his disciples returned,
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman...”
If we have seen that we are connected to everything in the universe, that God is connected to us, and that we are connected to God, what gives? I mean, all you have to do is turn on the news or check your social media to realize that we are divided. Human history is filled with war, genocide, enslavement, discrimination, plunder, exploitation, abuse, and so much more. We have often polluted the environment and caused whole species to go extinct. In our local communities and families, we sometimes experience anger, betrayal, exclusion, heartbreak, disappointment, and loss. If our connection is a reality, at least with all created things, it seems all of our actions, good or bad, have an affect on everyone and everything else.
Even in our Gospel reading today, we see division. Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans. A sinful woman must go to the well in the heat of the day to avoid the shame of proper society. Relationships have been broken again and again. It’s improper for a man, Jesus, to be speaking to a strange woman. Marginalization, separation, dehumanization, and brokenness are all around. Jesus transcends the divisions in very practical ways to bring healing. God made man, who is love, breaks down every wall between us, restores relationships, heals our sinfulness and selfishness, and makes us one.
As St. Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” We must discover within ourselves the gift of God; that we are united in love. It takes surrender and intentionality to live according to who we were made to be. It takes faith and trust in the one who both made us and has saved us. In choosing love, we choose to go to the depths of our being where we are connected to God and others in love. To live with integrity, to integrate our identity and our actions, means that we reflect in our decisions, behaviors, opinions, relationships, attitudes, and interactions that love. It means that we love like God loves. We must die to our selfishness and sinfulness to live in Christ. In doing so, we become Christ for others and they become Christ for us.