Category: Speaking to the Soul

The beginning of today’s gospel reading includes the last moments of Jesus’s conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. We’ve skipped over all the extraordinary content of the conversation, but the brief scene in today’s gospel tells us some remarkable things about Jesus without saying a word.

In the past few weeks, I’ve met with people who, when they try to take a step toward mercy and help, find their way blocked. In some cases, the church itself, and me personally, have been experienced as barriers to that mercy and help. Sometimes, particular communities and individuals are very powerful conduits of the merciful embrace and gracious help of Jesus. But at other times, we find ourselves blocking the way between the powerful work of Jesus and the profound needs of people.

Today is when we can open and soften our hearts, and keep them from closing off. Today is when the people around us can feel the compassionate difference we make in the world, even if they can’t see us at work.

We forget that we’ve eaten our fill thanks in part to whole systems of undercompensated labor, generations of agricultural advances, and the blessings of fertile soil and favorable climates. We forget that we have shelter thanks in part to government subsidies and home mortgages that have historically favored some racial groups over others.