Picture, with me, the twelve men sent by Jesus to buy lunch – in a Samaritan village – from real-life Samaritans! This was a first for all of them, an unpleasant first, even a dreaded first. Their whole lives they had learned to avoid all dealings with this inferior group of people and now Jesus makes them do business with them to satisfy their hunger! It’s humbling. It’s aggravating. They love Jesus and want to obey him but this time he has gone too far so the grumbling feels justified. What is he thinking? Later, with purchases in hand, they gratefully take their leave of the village and return to the well where they had left Jesus resting. And they find him, not snoozing, but in conversation with a woman – a Samaritan! This makes no sense at all! In broad daylight, he is flaunting so many rules of propriety! A closer look at the woman tells them she has a checkered past, else, why is she out here at the well in the heat of the day? As they get closer, she just drops her water jar and takes off toward the village! (Don’t ask questions! Don’t ask questions!)
Jesus refuses the lunch they’ve brought, claiming another (mysterious) source of nourishment. (So perplexing!) And Jesus launches right into an explanation about the real timing of the harvest being not four months away but right now, pointing to the crowd of Samaritans streaming out of the village toward them. Was he really saying that the villagers were the harvest? Was he really saying that they, his Jewish friends, were now the reapers of this ‘special,’ Samaritan harvest? Surely not! This was getting too weird. But yes, here was Jesus joyfully welcoming the Samaritans as a reaper rejoices over a bumper crop!
I wonder what their eventual reaction was to all these Samaritans listening to and responding to, the message of God’s love for them. As the villagers were brought to salvation, weeping and confessing their sins, expressing their love and gratitude to Jesus and his (somewhat reluctant) disciples, what was going on in the disciples’ minds? Were they being spontaneously hugged by these surprising new believers? Were barriers crumbling inside? Were they repenting for the separatist attitudes, their snobbish superiority? Were they finally understanding what Jesus was trying to tell them? Were they rejoicing, with Jesus, at this abundant Kingdom harvest? Would we? PD
