Monday, December 19, 2005 at 1:01am
The woman at the well got a bad rap!
The woman at the well in the Gospel According to John (John 4:1-42), is an archetypal figure who for centuries has represented the fallen woman blessed by Jesus with a conversation and a conversion.... "and he told her everything she'd ever done."
We read her story from our 21st century life experience and miss the real significance and power in what she has to teach us. She was not some brazen hussy who blithely danced from husband to husband. Women did not have that kind of power in first century Palestine. If she had five husbands, which Jesus declared that she did, then she had been thrown away by no less than five men. Her survival choices would have been few: prostitution was the only "job" a woman alone with no support from family or estate could perform.
She could remarry if a man would have her. She could live as a concubine of a man who could support her. If the husband she had now was not her own, this last option was probably her situation. Jesus was not condemning her, only acknowledging that he understood the circumstances of her life. She recognized not only his prophetic wisdom but his kindness in not labeling or rejecting her, as, unfortunately, history has mostly done.
The woman at the well reveals another surprising detail to those who read the story with fresh eyes. Not only did Jesus speak alone with a woman in the common square at midday, which was considered taboo, and clearly shocked his disciples when they returned to discover him in conversation, but he shared complex theological ideas with her. He declared the true meaning of the Spirit as the water of life, and acknowledged that no sacred place could hold the infinite presence of our loving God. That this woman went away joyfully proclaiming the liberating power of God is testimony to the compassionate presence and meaning in her encounter with Jesus. We miss the real depth and power in this story when we focus only on words and miss the spirit of the message. Jesus liberated this woman by respecting her.
Respect for women and their perspective has been sorely lacking in the church universal. A few verses in Paul's letters, some disputed by most Biblical scholars, have been used to try to keep us in our place, silent and servile. Jesus, the Revolutionary, sought to liberate the oppressed, and women were at the bottom of every social pyramid known to the ancient world. Every encounter he had with them, when seen through the eyes of a feminist Biblical scholar, becomes a doorway to liberation of the soul.
The woman at the well went on to be a powerful voice proclaiming the good news of God's liberating and abiding love. I encourage you to take a look at your New Testament with new eyes. It may surprise you!
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Rev. Kristi Denham is pastor of the Congregational Church of Belmont, California (United Church of Christ). Her email address is {email RevKristi@aol.com}RevKristi@aol.com{/email}. © copyright 2005 by Kristi Denham.
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UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum is a big tent for all expressions
of faith and spirituality, neither excluding nor favoring any.
All opinions expressed belong to the writer alone, and are
not necessarily shared by UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum.
We read her story from our 21st century life experience and miss the real significance and power in what she has to teach us. She was not some brazen hussy who blithely danced from husband to husband. Women did not have that kind of power in first century Palestine. If she had five husbands, which Jesus declared that she did, then she had been thrown away by no less than five men. Her survival choices would have been few: prostitution was the only "job" a woman alone with no support from family or estate could perform.
She could remarry if a man would have her. She could live as a concubine of a man who could support her. If the husband she had now was not her own, this last option was probably her situation. Jesus was not condemning her, only acknowledging that he understood the circumstances of her life. She recognized not only his prophetic wisdom but his kindness in not labeling or rejecting her, as, unfortunately, history has mostly done.
The woman at the well reveals another surprising detail to those who read the story with fresh eyes. Not only did Jesus speak alone with a woman in the common square at midday, which was considered taboo, and clearly shocked his disciples when they returned to discover him in conversation, but he shared complex theological ideas with her. He declared the true meaning of the Spirit as the water of life, and acknowledged that no sacred place could hold the infinite presence of our loving God. That this woman went away joyfully proclaiming the liberating power of God is testimony to the compassionate presence and meaning in her encounter with Jesus. We miss the real depth and power in this story when we focus only on words and miss the spirit of the message. Jesus liberated this woman by respecting her.
Respect for women and their perspective has been sorely lacking in the church universal. A few verses in Paul's letters, some disputed by most Biblical scholars, have been used to try to keep us in our place, silent and servile. Jesus, the Revolutionary, sought to liberate the oppressed, and women were at the bottom of every social pyramid known to the ancient world. Every encounter he had with them, when seen through the eyes of a feminist Biblical scholar, becomes a doorway to liberation of the soul.
The woman at the well went on to be a powerful voice proclaiming the good news of God's liberating and abiding love. I encourage you to take a look at your New Testament with new eyes. It may surprise you!
— — —
Rev. Kristi Denham is pastor of the Congregational Church of Belmont, California (United Church of Christ). Her email address is {email RevKristi@aol.com}RevKristi@aol.com{/email}. © copyright 2005 by Kristi Denham.
UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum is a big tent for all expressions
of faith and spirituality, neither excluding nor favoring any.
All opinions expressed belong to the writer alone, and are
not necessarily shared by UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum.