Jesus left Judea and parted again for Galilee, and he had to pass through Samaria. John 4:3-4
Going against the culture where you live leaves many around you openmouthed. It's radical to do what no one else would do. Jesus went against Jewish culture many times, and always when the soul of another depended on it. His freedom to do what His Father commanded precipitated acts that appeared to be traitorous of Jewish ways, stirring up the anger of his comrades.
Jews always went around Samaria even though traveling straight through it provided the shortest distance between Judea and Galilee. This convenience was put aside because of the enmity between these two people groups. The root of the Jews displeasure with the Samaritans is another story but suffice it to say that Samaritans, because of their origin, were considered unclean and to be avoided at all costs. John tells his readers that Jesus had to pass through Samaria. The need arose because heaven's clock dictated His path. A woman would encounter Jesus, a woman who would believe despite her substantial emotional and moral baggage, and because of her witness, a whole town would come to the saving faith.
What was it like to be John, or Peter, or James, all Jewish men, and assume you know how your Lord was going to behave? You knew He embraced his Jewish history. He was a student of Torah yet He made lifestyle choices unlike any other Jewish rabbi. He couldn't be predicted. To continue to trust Him and pattern their life after Him had to stretch their faith to its limit. On this day, I'm sure it was taxed. He talked with a woman, a cultural no-no, and a Samaritan woman at that.
Jesus' unpredictability is still a potential stumbling block to His disciples. He works out circumstances in our lives that could never be guessed ahead of time. We're often left stunned, wondering where the sense is in His sovereign plan. We obey but the turn of events can be so distasteful to our world that others assume we heard wrong and have imagined His many confirmations. Jesus' ways are often unconventional and cut across the grain of religious order. A shakeup may not be evidence of heavenly disorder, but of spiritual revival.
To invite the work of the Spirit to our lives is to risk upheaval. What has become comfortable and predictable, a world that we easily control, can become an idol. "Come, Holy Spirit!" is an invitation few make in earnest. If He comes, we can not predict His behavior and that feels too risky for most. Our homes, our churches just might fill up with the likes of 'Samaritan women' and what then! Perhaps their testimony will shake us out of our deep sleep. To follow Jesus is to be radical, to be one who shakes up the norm.
I invite you, Rabbi - who is like none other, to alter the course of my life. Amen
Christine Wyrtzen
Daughters of Promise
www.daughtersofpromise.org
