Lord,
in today’s Gospel
we heard about the Samaritan woman
at the well.

You could have looked down on her,
like the rest of the Jews,
simply because she was a Samaritan.
You could have looked down on her,
like her own community,
because of the way
that she chose to live her life.

But you didn’t.
You treated her,
a woman shunned by her own community,
with respect.

You transformed this woman,
a reject of her own society,
into a person of importance,
the person to whom the Christ had chosen
to reveal himself.

You turned this woman,
a social pariah,
into someone who was sought-after,
the first in her community
to meet the Messiah.

Lord,
that was so typical of you –
to turn world order on its head
by choosing to spend your time
with the outcasts of society –
tax collectors and prostitutes
instead of seeking the company
of influential people
such as rabbis, priests
and political figures.

You created a new world order
by preaching about a world
where the last would be first,
where the greatest would be a servant
and where a notorious Samaritan woman
would be specially chosen
to meet the Son of God.

(c) Claire Murray, 23rd March, 2014