Thirsty 2

...Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour (high noon). There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away.... (John 4:6-8)

I am still exploring the different facets of thirst that I am finding in this passage. At the same time I am also feeling more thirsty myself as I come under conviction that I am much dryer than I thought I was when it comes to a real and intimate knowledge of God that is necessary to be prepared for judgment day.

I find some compelling things in these verses about Jesus' example of how to relate to thirst.

• Jesus had good reason to be thirsty. He was in the middle of a long trip on foot and it was high noon. He likely had not had a drink in some time and His human body was in need of refreshment and hydration.

• He was not ashamed of admitting His thirst. There was nothing about having a legitimate need that inhibited Him from asking for help. He was willing to express His needs to someone else; He does not keep them hidden or suppressed.

• Jesus felt no reluctance to seek assistance from someone out of the ordinary, someone not of His nationality, belief system, social status or even gender.

• Jesus was willing to freely admit His limitations and ask for help. His disciples had gone away so there was nobody else to help Him who normally might do so. If they had been there the situation would have been different. But He was all alone, was very thirsty and it was obvious that this woman had the resources and abilities that could meet Jesus' needs that He did not have at that point. It is implied that she had the equipment to draw water because that is what she was intending to do when she arrived.

There are some more things in these verses that I find pregnant with possible insights.

His disciples had gone away.

This is part of the transition to focusing on heart thirst. Soul, or heart thirst involves bonds, connections with other people at the heart level. Those involved in Jesus' life were away now and Jesus can feel His aloneness. A woman comes along and He is no longer alone. Or is He? That depends on how He feels toward women, toward Samaritans and how He perceives what is proper about these kinds of relationships and encounters.

Jesus breaks the taboo's.

He ignores and violates the accepted social rules. He startles the woman by breaking out of the box, by violating the norms that everyone strictly maintains. He ventures into the arena of the unexpected with His friendliness. She is so surprised by this that her immediate reaction is to point it out to Him. She wonders if maybe He is clueless or maybe doesn't realize who she is. Or maybe the sun really has gotten to Him too much. This is clearly unacceptable social interaction according to what everyone is expected to do on a number of levels.

He begins to synchronize with her.

As is seen later in the text, Jesus is using His own thirst as an access point to awaken this woman to her own condition, longings and desires. She is coming to draw water because she needs it. Jesus needs water too. As two thirsty people they have something in common. One of the best ways to connect with people is to focus on what you have in common with them instead of focusing on the differences. I see a number of things that they either share in common or things that are parallel between the physical and the spiritual.

Both Jesus and the woman are in need of water. They are together in this situation. They are also both exposed to the same heat of the day. But Jesus likely appears more tired than she is, more thirsty than she is and in greater need of help than her. He has walked much farther so is more tired and more thirsty than she is. But in the area of soul thirst things are just the opposite. She is exposed to the intense heat of human scorn, shame and even hatred. She is a despised object of most people's prejudices. She is a woman, less than human in most people's eyes of that time. She is also a Samaritan who were a people considered to be less valuable than dogs by the Jews. On top of that she had ruined her own reputation among even her own people by the life she had experienced and so she felt very alone and ostracized and misunderstood on every front.

This woman of Sychar feels separated socially from others, misunderstood and isolated. Jesus is also alone, without His friends at the moment. But much more than that, He is in this world completely misunderstood by everyone because no one believes the real truth about Him. (John 2:24) They do not see what is in His heart just as no one sees the true desires and longings of this woman's heart. But at this point she is still unaware of just how much they really do have in common and how much Jesus has to offer her. Yet Jesus sees something in her that no one else can see, an attitude and spirit that is potentially open to perceiving and accepting the truth about Him and connecting with Him at a level far deeper than anyone else on earth had done up to that point.

In this encounter, Jesus was physically in need of help and assistance. Emotionally and spiritually the woman was in need of help and assistance. The physical needs were easy to see and talk about. The emotional needs and available resources were much more nebulous, at least in her thinking. So Jesus starts with the obvious to engage and synchronize with her long enough so that she would be more open to listening and learning about the resources that He had to offer for her needs.

Jesus was very physically thirsty. She was very emotionally thirsty. She could minister to His thirst if she was willing. But would her own prejudice and fear preempt her from offering a simple kindness to meet His needs and prevent her from becoming aware of His resources? Would she allow Him to reveal to her His willingness and ability to address her needs which she was certain were far beyond help? Her response to a person in need would be the door she must choose that would determine what her future life would look like for eternity.

How often do we forget the clear words of Jesus to us that in the way we relate to those most vulnerable and most helpless we are relating to Him. How many opportunities do I pass up because of my own prejudice, fear or selfishness, overlooking Jesus again and again as I turn away from the homeless person, the elderly who are not very appealing, the ugly people who don't make me feel good or even through fear of what others might say about me if I get involved helping someone of the opposite gender? And yet it is in the way I relate to the most vulnerable and helpless that Jesus measures the way I really feel about Him, not by how good I feel in the middle of an inspiring, well-executed worship service full of music and praise.

By speaking to her in kindness and with full respect, Jesus was honoring her, valuing her, lifting her up emotionally and offering her an opportunity to connect with Him and to God Himself. But Jesus never forces anyone, He only makes offers and waits for a response. As she responded to His initial contacts and kindness He was able to continue to lift her even higher, to bring to her more hope and more of what she deeply thirsted for. But the choice was always hers as to how much she would be willing to interact and respond to His potential offers of real living water.

*******

How does Jesus try to connect with me? How does He bring me hope and express His great sense of value for me as one of His children? I am not talking about theological discourses that only stir around in the left brain but don't reach my heart. I am asking about how God tries to get those messages deep into the areas of my mind and heart that are walled in with fear, shame and prejudices that need to be exposed and healed like this woman had. How can I have a similar experience of incredible discovery and joy and bonding with Jesus like this woman experienced later in this story? Because that is exactly what I desire for myself and for those around me.