When
I was in high school, some friends and I skipped school one day to go
to a Chicago Cubs game. I can’t say that was the worst thing I’ve
ever done in my life—in fact, given the opportunity, I’d do it
again. But we did all we could to hide our “playing hooky” from
our parents and school. We were sure we would be in trouble if we got
caught.
Our
reading today shows that Jesus had an incredible conversation with a
Samaritan woman. During that talk he revealed that she couldn’t
hide anything from him; he knew all about her. We might think the
conversation would have stopped right there. But Jesus didn’t
dismiss her, as many others would have, and she didn’t run away in
shame.
That’s
not even the most incredible part, though. When their conversation
was over, the woman went back to her town and told everyone to come
and meet Jesus. In fact, she used her own story to introduce everyone
to Jesus.
We
all have things in our lives that we aren’t proud of. But there is
nothing in our lives that Jesus can’t forgive, and there is nothing
in our lives that Jesus can’t use to build our faith in him.
What’s
more, there is nothing in our life story that Jesus can’t use to
introduce others to him. All he asks is that we be open to his grace
and tell other about his transforming work in our lives.