In the Gospel of John, Jesus tends to address people individually. He focuses on a personal approach. Faith is, after all, first and foremost my and your personal response to His approach. A profound and life-changing dialogue takes place between Jesus and the Samaritan woman (John 4). “It started off quite ordinarily”: on a hot day, a thirsty Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. This ordinary, chance encounter went on to become a moment of deeper understanding and revelation. Mission and calling can indeed happen at any time, within ordinary contexts and conversations. We generally prefer to proclaim the Good News on extraordinary, formal, official occasions, and often overlook the ordinary, informal opportunities at home, at work, in restaurants or on the street. God sets an example for us: every human moment (khronos) can be transformed into a time for sharing divine grace (kairos).
Jesus’ mission did not begin on a stage or amongst a crowd. It began with just one woman. However, this conversation with the woman would actually draw a ‘crowd’: all the villagers came to Jesus and believed in Him as the Messiah. That is the essence of Jesus’ teaching: building a small, high-quality group will act as leaven for the whole congregation. We should have confidence in the ability of an individual or a group, even if they seem ‘small’, insignificant or slow, so that our proclamation or ministry might not bear fruit and merely waste time and energy. We are often more enthusiastic about evangelising and serving large groups – those who ‘don’t cause trouble’, who are obedient and capable, and where results are immediately visible. Jesus was clearly not obsessed with the size of his audience. He could have gone straight to the town, but instead he began with the woman standing before him.
That is the greatness of Jesus’ approach to mission and proclamation: it begins with a personal touch – reaching out to the human heart. He values people just as they are. His calmness and focus caused the woman to gradually open up. Jesus did not judge her, as others did. Jesus simply asked her: “Believe in Me…”, an expression that was not forceful, but merely an invitation, even a plea. Jesus reveals a God who offers Himself, a God who is vulnerable, thirsty, hungry and always seeking humanity; a God who is open to embracing people just as they are. The Samaritan woman finally set down her “water jar”—a symbol of her attachment to her work and her old life—to go into the village and proclaim her encounter with the Messiah.
For the sake of His mission, Jesus had broken all the taboos that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, between a Rabbi and a woman, with all their preconceptions and suspicions. And He did this often. Indeed, that was His mission: to call all to be children of the Father, especially those marginalised by cultural and religious labels and prejudices, or those who were ashamed and afraid because of their sins, or those who lacked the strength and means to live in peace and tranquillity. The woman appeared nervous and unsettled, for her conscience was not at peace. Her behaviour and responses were somewhat impolite and cynical. Yet Jesus was certain and believed that there was something within her. Within her lay a greater strength and source—a search for true righteousness. For Jesus, that was the potential that needed to be uncovered and nurtured.
A person is not defined by their outward appearance; a person is always ‘more’ than the labels others attach to them. They must be addressed, valued for who they are, freed from all labels and preconceptions, and given the self-confidence to become messengers of the Gospel to their fellow human beings.
Quoted from:
Faces of Mission, Mission Stories in the Holy Scriptures. Anwar Tjen, Hortensius F. Mandaru, Budi Ingelina. Indonesian Bible Society. 2021.
