Jesus, the Interrupter
ReRead: John 4:6-7
Thursday 3/12/15 Day 20
Ponder: Jesus is thirsty. Even though he is sitting by the well, he has no bucket with which to draw water. A Samaritan woman comes to the well in the hotest part of the day to draw water. This woman has been shunned and shamed by others; her lifestyle is unacceptable to them. She comes to the well at a time when the fewest people will be there; she does not want to be seen. She would rather brave the heat, then deal with judgmental people. Jesus interrupts her plan to avoid community and asks, “Give me a drink.” Does Jesus interrupt your plans?
Practice: Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and we see that mission clearly in our lesson. This woman comes to the well to dip water that satisfies physical thirst, but Jesus interrupts her inward human focus and asks her to look beyond herself or others and attend to him. I don’t imagine people asked this woman for anything, because to even speak to her would defile their perspective of a clean heart. Yet, Jesus speaks to her. He goes a step further and asks her for something she alone can give him; a willing vessel.
Prayer: Jesus, I come to you because you always fill me with love. I am thirsty to understand authentic love better. I want to receive and give. As I stay at the well of Your Word, teach me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Mission: Jesus reached out to care for someone whom community rejected. Today, reach out and extend the Living Water of God’s love to another soul who feels isolated, alone, or judged.