Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony.
After Jesus drank from the well tended by the Samaritan woman, she returned to her people and told them of his great deeds -how he knew everything about her, and drank from her well. The people believed her, and welcomed him to stay with them. For two days, he stayed, and taught them. After he left, they told the woman that it is no longer because of what she’d said but because they’d heard his teachings directly from him. As a result, many more believed he was the Savior.
What a difference in a few paragraphs, or perhaps what a difference as a result of the human witness of the Samaritan woman. Immediately before this part of John, the woman was surprised because Jesus asked for a drink from her well. She was aghast because Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans, never mind that they were all children of the same God. Jesus broke down that barrier with human interaction. She was changed forever. She went and talked to her people, and they were changed forever. Changed enough that they invited Jesus back, never mind that Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans.
All this started with the simple act of asking for water. A close friend, who’s not religious has taken this on in downtown Portland. When they see a street person begging, they stop and do the equivalent of asking for water – the well-heeled do not associate with beggars. After asking the person’s name, they share their name, talk about how things are going. Then they offer a hug. They were thinking about systematically offering to buy a hug from people on the street. Not in a creepy way, but in a genuine way of offering what we have - money, for what they truly want – to be seen and treated as a fellow child of God. Yesterday, such an exchange left the beggar changed, smiling and crying. More important, it left my friend changed forever, with empathetic tears to prove it.
We so desperately need to connect with each other. We need to share God’s love with each other in real, physical and meaningful ways. This will humanize all of us – particularly the ‘other’. Whether it’s working with criminals, street thugs, supremacists, or street beggars. Human connection between me and someone else will change us both. Forever.
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