“The Woman Who Testified Heather King Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in [Jesus] because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I have done.” When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. (Jn 4:39-40) Christ constantly stretches himself beyond his “comfort zone.” Would you want to hang out with strangers for two days, eating their food, adapting to their schedule, putting up with their kids? Often we want to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, but on our terms. We want to sow the seed, but to people whom we handpick. I was once asked to speak for a charismatic Catholic women’s prayer group. Their approach was somewhat different than mine. A certain portion of the program was devoted to speaking in tongues. They seemed fixated upon miracles. When I got up to the microphone, several of the women gathered around, placed their hands on me, and prayed. I did the best I could. I told my story. I said that the miracles I’d experienced tended to take place over a long period of time and after a lot of inner work. I said that a miracle for me was to refrain, for once, from the sharp retort. Afterward, I felt like I hadn’t done a very good job, or said what they wanted to hear. But then I thought, how do I know what people hear? How do I know whose heart is broken? How do I know who is struggling with an erring husband, a drug-addicted daughter, a fruitless job search? How we long for everyone to “speak our language.” To get our jokes. To have our taste. To “get” our elevated “spirituality.” Such thoughts only prove we are not elevated at all—only Pharisees who are completely missing the point. We need to remember that none of us is the keeper of miracles. We are hardly the arbiters of miracles. How do any of us know the day when we are hot, put-upon, and thirsty, and Christ himself appears to us, with his own special word, at the well? How do we know the day when we can be Christ for someone else? Almighty Father, help my hardened, discriminatory heart. Help me to remember that everyone is struggling, everyone is suffering, everyone longs for a compassionate word.”
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 11:50:16 +0000
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