As I See It

by Fr. Vin

Well Welcomed

Today we hear the first of the three great Gospels for the Elect.  Our church has read these for centuries as the final instruction for people preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and communion) at the Easter Vigil.  Each is meant to highlight a particular aspect of conversion, and the Elect are invited to see themselves in each story.  They also serve to remind all of us who are already baptized of the call of Christ that brought us into the communion of the church.  Today we hear of “The Woman at the Well.”

It’s obviously a story of conversion (by the end of it not only the woman whom Jesus first meets but many of her townsfolk have come to faith in Jesus), but there’s also a deeper point about the way that this happens.  In a word, and with only a slight nod to the pun, you might say that the woman discovers Jesus because of how she’s treated by him – well.  At the start of the story she’s coming in the mid-day heat to draw water; scholars familiar with the customs of the period suggest that that might be to avoid the inevitable gossip (given her marital history) that would accompany her appearance while there was a crowd.  She comes at a time she knows the well will be deserted out of her shame.  Yet despite her reputation in the town (clearly known to Jesus from how the story develops), and despite the cultural prejudice Jews had against Samaritans and despite the male-dominant culture of the time, Jesus treats her as worthy of respect.  He engages her in conversation, makes her aware he knows her situation and her history without trying to shame her, and listens carefully to her doubts and questions.  By the end of their first chat the woman can go to the townsfolk and say proudly, “He told me everything I’ve ever done!” – quite a shift from her former perspective on herself. 

A few weeks ago I was at a meeting with several of our Pastoral Council members and people from other parish staffs, and one pastor – from a particularly thriving nearby parish – was describing how the senior-citizen group there had not only grown, but now had members from out of state(!)  He said that it was because on trips where others had met the parish’s senior group members, people had discovered how well the group’s members treated them.  So they joined so they could go on future trips with that group.  That pastor attributes the tone in the group, as also so much in the parish he serves, to a consistent commitment to use the Gallup tools (the parish ME²⁵ survey and the focus on people’s strengths) over the past several years.

What I took from the meeting is that it’s possible for a parish to welcome people on several levels: there can be a superficial friendliness, which is fine for people who already know one another but doesn’t include (and can even exclude) newcomers, and there can be something deeper that may not look on the surface like friendliness at all.  (Of course, it doesn’t look like hostility or avoidance either.)  We see it in Jesus’ attitude toward the woman today: He treats her as an equal and gives her his full attention.  He’s not afraid to tell her the truth as he knows it – even the uncomfortable truth of her sad past.  He doesn’t “protect her feelings” by ignoring what they both know, but he also doesn’t use his knowledge to diminish her infinite worth as made in God’s image.  He rejects the stereotypes of his day that some are better than others, and he treats a foreigner and a woman as his equal in dignity.  And the result is that the woman wants more of whatever it is that he’s offering!

Our church hopes the Elect hear in that something of their own story, and that we see in the Elect’s decision to join our communion that our own welcome extended to them has the power of Jesus in it.  Our church also hopes that the Gospel story, and our own experience of seeing the Elect, will help us to focus on the work Christ calls us to: at the very foundation, to treat people well.  To respect them, even when we have to struggle to overcome our differences.  To tell the truth in ways that don’t diminish them or shame them.  To respect what they have to say.  To assume that their motives are honorable, even when they disagree with us.  To focus on their strengths, not their weaknesses.

People love to find a place where they can expect that they’ll be treated well.  It’s a very simple but difficult way to invite people to meet Christ.  What will you learn from the Gospel this week?  Until next week, peace.

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