Lent 3: The Samaritan Woman at the Well

Sometimes the Holy Spirit just drops things into your lap – like the fact that this Sunday is International Women’s Day and the lectionary Gospel scripture just happens to be Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. There are so few accounts of women in the Bible, so I’m really glad that the lectionary served one of them up for us on this important day.

Did you know that Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman is the longest sustained conversation that he has with anyone in all of the Gospels combined? Women mattered to Jesus. It boggles the mind, therefore, how women have been treated through the millennia of the church.   

So, this Sunday, we celebrate women’s voices. It felt important to find prayers and hymns that were all written by women. It took some doing, but as always, when you add a dose of intention into a task, it leads you to new places. I found some beautiful hymns and prayers that I’d never encountered before, and they will be part of the service.

Pat Neuwelt and I have been practicing an exquisite piece of music for this Sunday, “We Shall Be Known” by the American group Mamuse. We’re singing a cappella. A bit nerve–wracking…

And, on Sunday, you’ll need to do a bit of work, a bit of thinking within the service…

To prepare, read John 4:5-42 and ponder the following:

1.      What are five words that you would use to describe the Samaritan woman?

2.      What are you celebrating on International Women’s Day? What are you lamenting?

Image: Cara B. Hochhalter, “Woman at the Well,” from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN