The odds were stacked against her from the start. She was a woman. She was a Samaritan. And she had a tarnished reputation, at least in terms of her relationship with men. In the cultural atmosphere of her day, she would have occupied a spot somewhere on the fringe of society. There are some scholars who believe the reason Jesus found her alone at the well in the middle of the day was because she was not even accepted among the other women of the village, for whom gathering at the well would have been a social occasion. And none of that gave Jesus even the slightest pause. In the face of the seemingly overwhelming barriers of race, gender and religion, he initiates a conversation. He sees past the differences. He offers the gift of simple acceptance. And what emerges as we watch this marvelously dramatic encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well is a picture of faith as a growing, changing process.
It always interests me when I hear people talking about faith as if it were some sort of fixed and static object which can be possessed. Someone doesn't have faith and then they do -- like a light switch with off or on as the only options. That is not the picture of faith I get when I read the Bible. And it certainly isn't the experience of faith which I have had in my life. Faith is not so much a destination at which you arrive as it is a journey on which you travel. It is a relationship -- always growing and changing, emerging and evolving.
When Jesus first meets the woman she is already a person of faith. She believes in God. She participates in worship with her community. She has hopes for the future. I believe that almost everyone has some degree of faith in their lives, even if it is quite small and undefined. What we learn from observing the Samaritan woman is that the present condition of our faith need not define its future vitality. At the beginning of their conversation, the woman's understanding of who Jesus is and what he has to offer is extremely limited. He tells her that he can offer her living water and she thinks he is talking about the H20 at the bottom of the well. He speaks to her of spiritual matters while she has trouble seeing past the physical. But because he moves beyond the cultural barriers and doesn't allow her initial misunderstandings to deter him, and because she remains open to the possibilities she senses in this relationship, she moves from being a confused stranger to being one who invites others into relationship with Jesus.
It is worth noting that Jesus begins with her where he finds her. He speaks the truth to her, but there is no condescension or condemnation. And as a result, her faith blossoms and grows. He calls her beyond where she is and she responds. And she does not wait to respond until her faith is fully developed. Even when it was defined more by questions than by answers -- "He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" -- she was inviting others to come and see. If faith were a destination, then it would have been inappropriate for her to say anything to anyone else until she had "arrived." But because it is a journey and a relationship, it was not only appropriate but almost unavoidable that she share her excitement about what she had found.
And so it is with us. Each of us here is in a different place when it comes to faith. Some of us have been working on matters of faith for most of our lives. Others have only recently begun to explore the possibilities. For some their faith is characterized by strong certainties and convictions. For others, questions and doubts take center stage. Some are at a high point of faith and their lives are filled with joy and a sense of exhilaration at what they perceive to be the closeness of God in their lives. Others have been battered and beaten down by life and have been left wondering where God is in the everyday living of their lives. But regardless of the current condition of our faith, God continues to call us towards new growth and vitality. What God desires in each of our lives is an ongoing relationship which is meaningful within the context of where we live. Like the Samaritan woman at the well, we can encounter God in any moment of any day. And we can grow and be changed by such encounters. But, also like the Samaritan woman, we must be open to the possibilities of such an encounter. If she had responded by saying, "You aren't supposed to be talking to me. Go away!" then her life would have remained relatively unchanged and her faith would not have grown. If we allow the barriers of our own cultural and personal rules and expectations to keep us closed off and isolated, then we will fail to notice the opportunities we have for experiencing God's presence in our lives. But if we are willing to risk stepping beyond those barriers, there is no telling where our faith might take us. And it is OK to also follow the Samaritan woman's example in not waiting until we have all the answers before we get excited about what is happening in our lives. Growing in faith really is an ongoing process and it begins wherever we are in this very moment. May we be open to the possibilities. May we enjoy the journey. May we invite others to join us.