By Ishongkun Kurbah, CSC –
Readings: Ex 17:3-7; Rom 5:1-2, 5-8; Jn 4:5-42
Jesus told the Samaritan woman the truth of her life that she was trying to hide: “you are right in saying that you have no husband for you have had five husbands and the one which you are living with now is not your husband.” Truth can be hurtful and it causes pain, guilt, and shame. It is difficult to accept the truth especially when our weakness is exposed. I have seen and experienced it myself.
Imagine someone tells you “you are selfish, jealous, egocentric, corrupt, arrogant or what you have done is wrong” which unfortunately is true, how will you feel? Obviously it would be painful, and you may retort saying “who are you to speak to me like that?” You may never accept, or you may accept and try to change. The Samaritan woman must have felt ashamed and embarrassed when Jesus told her the truth.
But what is amazing here is that, she did not deny it. She accepted what she was and so she was liberated and set free from the bondage of sin and immorality and was filled with joy. We have our own limitations and shortcomings. We need humility and courage to accept this truth. It is probably true that none of us wants to be called selfish, arrogant and so on even though we know we are, just because it is painful or we are not bold enough to accept the truth. Therefore, this Gospel invites us to accept the truth of who we are and explore what change we can bring in to fill our life with joy and happiness.