Dear Friends in Christ

One of my daily tasks when I lived in the village of Matebeng in Lesotho was to go to the spring to get water.  The spring was a quarter of a mile away – up hill and down and then into a ravine by a path that was slippery from the many wet feet that went up and down that path every day.  Out of necessity, I learned how to lift the bucket full of water, up onto my head and then balance it there as I made my way back to my house.  

Ever since then, when I read this Sunday’s Gospel about Jesus and the woman at the well and encounter the woman’s reluctance to draw water for Jesus, I am right back in that space where the daily toil of existence was the totality of women’s lives.

This Gospel is a dialogue between two exhausted people: Jesus and a Samaritan woman.  Jesus is tired.  The Samaritan woman is tired.  We are tired.  I know that there are times when I need to do just one more thing and what I end up doing is falling asleep in my chair.

Nothing would be better than a glass of cold water served to us by people who care about us.

As Jesus and the Samaritan woman are drawn into conversation with each other, each of them is energized by what the other one is saying.

The gifts of kindness that we receive from each other give us space to be tired and to rest. The compassion we show to each other and the time we spend with each other keeps us going.

May we continue to the find the Sabbath rest and Gospel energy we need to continue to live our lives in Christ.

Faithfully yours,

Rebecca