Going Beyond Race

She must have made the same trip several hundred times. Walking out of Sychar in Samaria to Jacob's well to fetch water, the task of women back in those days. A man standing by the well and striking up a conversation with her wouldn't be that unusual. The Jews held that those who wished to get wives went to the wells where young women were accustomed to come and draw water, and it was not unusual for women of ill-repute to frequent there as well. However, this man was a Jew and she was a Samaritan and this made the tension even more dynamic because as she herself asked, "How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9, KJV). The Jew replied, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (v. 10).

There is a lot more to the narrative of course. John goes on to detail the conversation between the two and the woman's subsequent recognition and testimony of Jesus as a prophet. However, of importance is the crossing of the racial divide. To the Jews, the Samaritans were like poison. They avoided them so much so that they refused to walk through the country. A Jew would not be caught dead talking to a Samaritan. The situation was of such that Jesus, knowing how vociferously the disciples would have objected to the situation, had sent them away to buy meat (v.8) so He could minister to the woman. What Jesus knew, and the disciples hadn't yet recognized, was that the message of the good news was for everybody regardless of race or creed. The Jews worshipped in Jerusalem and the Samaritans at Mount Gerizim, but Jesus had come to break down those walls of division and make divine worship a matter of the heart and not one of location. In order to do that, He had to cross the racial barrier.

As human beings we like what feels comfortable and we are comfortable with what we know. Taking the message of Christ to people of a different culture is not something we instinctively gravitate towards, especially if we know their beliefs are different from ours. This does not necessarily mean going overseas because one of the benefits of globalization is that people of different nationalities, cultures, and beliefs are living and working side-by-side and together. We may view some of them as "the enemy" but we still have a responsibility to share with them the love of Christ.

Does it make you feel uncomfortable? That is not a bad thing. It just mean that we have work to do and because Jesus is our example, we can rest assured that the same Spirit that guided and enabled Him stands ready to guide and enable us. Befriend a non-christian from a different race and culture and allow the love of Christ to shine through you. If you already have such friendships, keep in mind the words of St. Francis of Assisi, "In everything you do preach Christ, and if necessary, use words." We are commissioned to cross the racial divide and like Christ, we have a responsibility to do so.