This Gospel of the woman at the well is really about Evangelization. Jesus shares with the woman at the well - the goodness of a life of Grace and she responds. Jesus shows us that we too can follow a similiar way to help others understand the good news of Jesus Christ.
We too are called to evangelize. When I went to Canada to spread the gospel of Jesus with the youth up there, we looked for every opportunity to talk about Jesus Christ. We would at homes, in gas stations, in the stores, and wherever else we could find someone to hear about the good news of Jesus. One time, we were asked to street preach. We set up a little display at a festival and began to yell.
I have a friend whose name is Jesus Christ! Do you know this friend? Jesus Christ wants to save you. Jesus Christ wants to bring you life. Jesus Christ wants to be your friend. Do hear Jesus Christ? Can you hear his voice? Can you feel him move? Come Jesus Christ! You Lord who died for these people here! Come! Let them know your great love!
You know what happened? They began to throw things at me, especially frisbees. Ok so street preaching is not the best way to evangelize. The best way to evangelize and share the good news of Jesus Christ is person to person. It is with our husband or our wife. It is with our son or daughter. It is with our coworker, our neighbor, our friends. So with this in mind lets look again at the story of the woman at the well.
The first thing we hear is that Jesus met the woman at the well around noon. We need first to look at what the well signifies. The well is the place where the women would gather around 6:00 am to gather water for the days household errands. They would normally gather and socialize as the retrieved the water. They would talk about what had happened in each other’s lives and as they got their water they would leave wishing each other well. Interestingly enough, the woman at the well missed her alarm clock. She was not their at 6:00 am but at noon. What happened? Well she was an outcast. She was disregarded by others and was forced to go alone to the well. People didnt like her lifestyle and so they said that she was not with them.
This did not stop Jesus. Jesus went to the woman and talked to her. This was radical. First, Jesus, a man, was not supposed to talk to a woman alone like this. Second, a samaritan and a jew never mixed and third this woman was considered the worst of all women who had slept with many men. Yet Jesus went to her because Jesus wanted her to have the life-giving water of the grace that flows from his pierced heart.
For us who are quick to reject someone because they have done something against us, for us who are quick to judge someone and refuse to have a conversation with them and for us who are quick to only spend time with the people we like and exclude others, we need to stop, and think what would Jesus do? Jesus would invite all to his life-giving waters. Why can we not talk to all people? Why can we not seek out all types of people in hopes of helping them encounter the love of Jesus Christ? What is keeping you from doing this?