The second book of the Pentateuch is called Exodus, which is Greek for "going out", since it involved the exodus or going out of the people of Israel from Egypt. Some Bible students rightly describe the book of Exodus as the "Gospel of the Old Testament", since it announces the good news of divine intervention in the oppression suffered by the Jews in Egypt.

Exodus covers the period in the history of Israel that runs from the death of Joseph (Gen 50) to the building of the tabernacle near Mount Sinai (Ex 40.2-17).

The book begins by depicting the new Pharaoh of Egypt, who is forgetful of the benefits obtained through Joseph's good administration and concerned with the increasing Jewish population (Ex 1.17), so he becomes their oppressor using them for forced labour and imposing post-partum "birth control" (Ex 1.11-16). The events of the exodus, disregarded by the Egyptian archives, form the account that creates the history of Israel as a people. The time of exodus is regarded as the privileged moment of meeting God (Jer 2.2ff., Hos 11.1).

Some of the basic themes of biblical theology are to be found in the exodus-the flight from Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, God's covenant with the people in Sinai and the giving of the Law; the wanderings in the desert and the discontent or murmurings of the people. These are topics that had a profound effect on the history, theology and spirituality of first Judaism and later Christianity.

One fundamental question arises from reading Exodus: "Is the Lord with us or not?" By listening to the events in our lives and reading the pages of Exodus alone and together we shall find the living presence of God that sets us free, that is compassionate, faithful and abundantly merciful.

Sharing the message of the Bible text, some insights and challenges

Just as the hand of God appears, when the earth originates as a "formless void", to sow it with all the seeds, so the powerful divine strength is ever present in the genesis of the people of Israel, filling the empty wombs of Sarah and Rebecca. The task of those women was to bear the People of the Nations regardless of their aptitudes or respective bodies. Life, whether in the womb or in the heart, always goes further, opens up the way and gains new ground.

The sages, recounting the lives of the matriarchs and patriarchs, were inspired by the liberating vision of Exodus where everything emerged from a vacuum, from nothingness, from sterility... The prophets, too, used the same language to exalt the Power of the Lord: "... I shall make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water... so that all may see and know that the hand of the Lord has done this" (Isa 41.18ff.).

The biblical view of life stems always from those men and women who found themselves in conditions where life was denied. Among the matriarchs of Israel and the midwives of Egypt, all struggling for life, a deep-rooted complicity emerges.

The Old Testament tells the story of several women who were leaders of the people, prophetesses, life-givers and defenders and creators of the "new". However, very little is known of them: all that is recorded is a few words, a few attitudes. Yet their scant words, the stands they took, their status or circumstances, their fidelity to God's plan offer a rich contribution to deciphering and understanding the specific value of being a woman.

Generally speaking, traditional theological discourse does not raise the subject of midwives or child-bearers because these are matters not regarded as relevant to scientific discussion. History written by men rather tended to preserve the accounts of Moses but simply did not stifle the acts of the midwives and child bearers to defend life. "Yahweh's plan was fostered by midwives and child bearers; Yahweh's plan was embellished by child bearers and midwives" (Julio P.T. Zabatiero). Many biblical texts tell us of women who took upon themselves a genuine ministry of life. Where death and sterility were found, women pointed to fresh pathways. Throughout our lives, as we go on our way, it is essential to develop a spirituality that is committed to practical reality.

Recalling our text, what is the political situation of the people of Israel? The text tells us that Israel was living under the oppression of Egypt, as a people enslaved by another. As to their religious position, there is no mention of any religious institution but there is a clear continuity of faith in the God of their fathers and mothers.

What was the context that produced the account? Resistance. Pharaoh felt threatened by a people that was increasing in number rather too quickly for his liking. A group of Jews had emigrated to Egypt to look for water and a plot of land in order to survive until they could go home again. In Egypt they multiplied and became a threat (Ex 1.10). First Pharaoh tried to stifle the Jews through labour (Ex 1.8-14) but failed (Ex 1.16).

Two midwives, Shiphrah and Puah were then instructed to do what the leaders and ill-treatment had not managed to achieve. Pharaoh's order was post-partum "birth control" of a discriminatory kind: kill the boys born to every family. The order is an attack on life! And here we see a parallel between the increase in number of the people as a blessing of God and the top-down "birth control" imposed by Pharaoh. The order was given to kill the boys. Faced with that order the midwives gave their answer. It was no rhetorical response. They did not attempt rational discussion with Pharaoh. Despite realizing the danger of disobeying, they challenged Pharaoh by ignoring the order. They disobeyed the all-powerful King of Egypt spurred by a greater awe: the fear of God. They feared God, so they defended life, the higher value, one more valid than the Egyptian ruler's dreams of power. Fear of God swept away their fear of earthly power as enslaved women. They feared Yahweh, the God of Life, whose blessing peopled the earth, filled it with life.

"The narratives of Exodus are not confined to describing the people's general situation; they go into detail about the labour sweated from them in the buildings and in the fields, the humiliations and punishments heaped upon them. But one must be precise. The Empire's domination did not involve only the productive work of men and women. Pharaoh took a very special interest in subjugating women and children.

"The story of the midwives contains much precious information on the position of women and children. The Empire is afraid of women's power of procreation because it needs actions to restrict and control ideals and liberating alternatives.

"The State assumes it has mastery over labour, over the body that labours, and over the processes controlling them. The midwives' resistance to the State ran into not just one obstacle. More than questioning an order, these women's resistance leaves in abeyance all the basic assumptions of the usurping State. The resistance of the women of the people is surprising: hidden and vigorous, they do not allow the lordship of the Empire to hold sway over their desires nor the government to own their bodies. The King is afraid of the pregnant woman of the people because she is carrying liberators. The King needs to act violently against women and children so that the alternatives cannot be born" (Nancy Cardoso Pereira).

Love and struggle in the Bible were etched in the faces of men and women able to achieve the appropriate, efficient synthesis between word and life.

The midwives left fear behind in a move towards solidarity, thus salvaging the voice of justice, weaving a network of tenderness. The Colombian poetess Ana Mercedes Pereira, in "Canto y Abrazos" (Song and Embraces) expresses this situation in a poem full of life and dreams:

"Woman companion of not just a day
but of hope
Woman comrade you live
the word that makes us free
On your lips, in your hands,
is a sketch of a smile
that the wind will carry far
To every corner of Latin America
The voice of justice has been saved
A network of tenderness has already been extended
Woman, you are leaving fear for solidarity..."

The lives of the midwives and the child bearers were utterly imbued with hope grounded in certainty. Hope of overcoming the dragon that threatened to kill the boy carried to term and born. Like the Jewish midwives and mothers, our Latin American people with their multitude of poor as numerous as the sand in the sea bring signs of hope found in the daily seeking for survival.

In Exodus 1 we are faced with a God whose plan and purpose is life. We are faced with midwives and child bearers whose plan and purpose is life! Whom do we talk about when we talk about the Jews' being freed from Egypt? We remember Moses most definitely. And we forget that liberation began with the midwives' flouting the order handed down by Pharaoh. Two midwives are known to us by name: Shiphrah and Puah.

The study of Exodus introduces us to the story of Moses, the story of a family in the tribe of Levi to whom a boy is born. Given Pharaoh's edict, the relatives deem it necessary to make him disappear. They weave a basket of papyrus, make it waterproof and, with the child in it, set it on the river. We can imagine the feelings of the boy's mother, father and other relatives. Very likely the basket was left purposely close to the place where the Pharaoh's daughter used to bathe. It would then be no chance that the tyrant's daughter found the babe. Probably this was a decision taken by the whole family and each one had a part to play in the story. Also the girl, Moses' sister, has an important role: to follow the papyrus basket to see what happens. Not only was the place preselected. When the Pharaoh's daughter discovers the baby is Jewish, there is another act of disobedience. She was aware of her father's edict. Yet she chooses to keep the child. Moses' little sister is very quick to intervene: when Pharaoh's daughter has doubts, she suggests that perhaps she could find a nurse among the Jewish women. And immediately, the very mother of the child is brought to look after him. How many stratagems, hiding-places or papyrus baskets were needed to preserve the lives of newborn boys?

The account goes on to say that the child was raised by his own family. When he grew up they handed him over to the Pharaoh's daughter who had looked after him as though he were her own son, and she gave him the name Moses. Moses therefore was adopted as a child by the very group that sought to eliminate him. Moses also bears the name of the enemy.

The midwives, mothers and Pharaoh's daughter took a stand against death and were faithful to life.

In Exodus 1 and 2, we see the struggle between two different historical projects, two different powers: the first symbolized by Pharaoh, Egypt-the death project; the second, where Shiphrah and Puah have their place with the Jewish mothers and the Jewish and Egyptian women who acted to defend life. All the men and women in the world who give their lives and personalities over to full and abundant life play an important part in the historical project for life.

What is telling in our account is the way in which women seek imaginative solutions and, here, there is something peculiarly feminine, how to create life in a deadly situation or how to bring babies into the world under conditions of extreme adversity or in the face of death.

The action taken by the midwives, the mothers, Moses' sister, Pharaoh's daughter and her handmaidens sets in train the process of freeing the Jewish people from Egypt. From childhood in Sunday School we learn to see Moses as the great hero of the exodus. Of Puah and Shiphrah, of the Jewish mothers, Miriam or of the Pharaoh's daughter, very little is said -usually just enough to explain how the baby's life was saved. And yet, this courageous gesture of solidarity by the Jewish women and by Pharaoh's daughter unleashed the long march to the "land flowing with milk and honey". The women were active from the beginning of the exodus. They also were prominent in the celebration of victory. At the exodus victory feast Miriam, Moses' sister, had a key role. She led the celebration. Miriam and the women created the famous refrain found in Exodus 15.21 "Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea". This song of Miriam is one of the oldest in the Bible. It seems women were the first to compose songs to record the great event: the exodus from Egypt. Through songs they kept alive the wonderful acts of God in their children's minds.

In a National Consultation of Women promoted by the Latin American Council of Churches in São Paulo in 1994, we learnt with the Methodist theologian Nancy Pereira to reinterpret the early chapters of Exodus from the standpoint of women.

A text usually remembered only because of Moses' calling became the focus of study from the point of view of the midwives who reshaped their vocation. The Jewish midwives who had been officially called in to deal death used their opportunity to defend life! The mother of Moses, scheduled to undergo a motherhood of sacrifice, managed to revalidate her role. Then Pharaoh's daughter as well, moved by compassion, planned her life anew. As an Egyptian and as Pharaoh's daughter she took action against the State plan. In Exodus chapters 1 and 2 there is clear evidence of the participation of women who decided their own agenda-in subtle confrontation with authority. Is this the only way women can exercise power?

"The question of women today is the question of humankind as a whole... it is a profound view demonstrating that, from the awakening of women's historical awareness, a qualitative change has been coming about in humankind, a change that suggests a new anthropology presiding over human relations... The new anthropology outlined by the feminist movement does not merely announce a new woman but also a new man, born of a slow and arduous struggle to win their own humanity. It is an anthropology that seeks to rewrite the history of men and women by trying to "make straight the ways of history" in other words to try and restore to those events a reading that is closer to the truth...thought must also be given to a theology that has a foundation, symbolism and language profoundly respectful of the creation of humankind-men and women. Doubtless, the theology drawn up is a secondary act, that is, one that comes from the practice of Christian communities. Hence the introduction of new forms of behaviour and the lucid questioning of practices that exclude women must begin to be part of our catechism and evangelization. Such a practice is seeding the birth of another sort of society, another kind of relationship between men and women. It is a practice that announces the coming of the kingdom for those who believe in the justice of God... The human body as such, a man's body and a woman's body, are holy ground, a theological site, a place for the demonstration of the divine. It is in the relationship of the bodies, in their quest for salvation, for the building of a better world to bring about a coexistence worthy of such bodies, that we talk about divinity present in human history, that we talk about the justice of God and his salvation" (Ivone Gebara).

Group discussions

In the light of Exodus 1 and 2.1-10 and considering our prevailing circumstances
- what are the characteristics of the death project?
- what are the characteristics of the project for life?
Inspired by our Bible text, try and find insights/incentives/challenges for men and women to work together as equals in God's mission, in building the kingdom, in commitment to the historical project for life.

The woman of Samaria

John 4.1-42

John's Gospel is different from the first three gospels-those according to Matthew, Mark and Luke that are very similar and known as the synoptic gospels. Modern studies have shown the originality and independence of John. It must be taken as a separate source that without a doubt was cognizant of the synoptic tradition since it sometimes complements it and at other times disregards it.

The subjects in John's Gospel give a good rendering of the Judeo-Christian environment from which it seems to have sprung. It is more cultural and sacramental in nature than the synoptic gospels. It is in the context of Jewish liturgical life that Jesus lived out his human span. The fourth Gospel is very similar to the most primitive form of Christian preaching. Its thinking is dominated by the mystery of the Incarnation.

In John's Gospel, Jesus is revealed and reveals God. This revelation occurs through Jesus' meetings with men and women who see him, his gestures, the signs he gives and who believe in him.

From the first half of the second century, many authors were familiar with and used the fourth Gospel, which proves it already had apostolic authority.

Symbolism

John's Christ tends to use words that, apart from their normal meaning, (the only one understood by his hearers) may show another, that is figurative or transcendental. So a misunderstanding is created that makes it possible to reveal profound, decisive truths.

For quite some time, the Gospel according to John was set to one side, regarded as spiritualistic and little related to practical reality or history.

In John's case, symbolism and history should not be seen as at odds: this symbolism is that of the events themselves, it springs from history, is rooted in it, expresses its meaning.

Recently, we have been seeing it at its proper value and appreciating its transforming power for the present moment in history. As far as the evangelists are concerned, they are not cartographers; geography is another way of talking about Jesus (theological geography).

Symbols, like impossible ideals, have a key role to play as mediators between reality and its realization and have a force that moves all the existing potential to serve the future, the different, the new.

Authorship

At the end of this Gospel, we read: "This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true" (Jn 21.24). The Gospel is presented with a guarantee from the disciple beloved of the Lord, an eyewitness to the events he recounts.

As happens in many books of the Bible, we do not know exactly who wrote this Gospel. But we do know that behind any Bible text there is always a community of believers.

There is now a tendency to consider the community of John connected to the origin of the fourth Gospel. Emphasis is placed on the presence of Lazarus, Martha and Mary representing the community at Bethany, appearing in the Gospel as very close friends of Jesus, dearly loved by him (Jn 11.5-36). The community of John began its life certainly by following Jesus from Palestine. Diverse circumstances led the community to make its way to other places. From Palestinian times, people in the community began to band together and materially organize spoken memories and written fragments about Jesus of Nazareth. Those collections of Jesus' words, embodied in the community's experience of faith, little by little formed the written text of the fourth Gospel that was only completed at the end of the first century in Ephesus. Like all the nascent Christian communities in the early centuries, the community of John lived under the domination and persecution of the Roman Empire (Jn 11.48).

John's community was characterized as being peripheral, marginal, outside the mainstream of the system. In our text, we clearly see how the Samaritans, excluded by official Judaism, were affectionately welcomed by Jesus. This was a community of resistance, a persecuted minority. Hence the presence and significant leadership of the women in John's Gospel. As in the whole biblical tradition and to this day, women are a symbol of resistance at crisis points in community survival. Everything indicates that the community was organized under the leadership of the beloved disciple.

The conclusion is that the Gospel is the result of a lengthy drafting process, the fruit of fresh community readings as new situations arose.

The purpose of the Gospel

The purpose of the Gospel clearly emerges in its first conclusion: Jn 20.30-31. The Gospel was written to relate some of the signs given by Jesus that acquired significance in the history of the community to bring it home to themselves and to the readers, so that all would be led to believe in Christ Jesus and participate in, partake of life. It therefore seeks the fusion of faith and life from practical signs.

According to John's Gospel, the mission of the Son is definitely to demonstrate supremely the Father's love for the world (Jn 17.6).

The announcement of the good news told in the form of the Gospel emerged from the community of John as a report on Jesus through the working of the Spirit/Paraclete (Jn 14.26). John's Gospel was written as a form of resistance, mainly in two decisive situations for the life of the community:

against attacks from outside, mainly in the Jewish synagogues, from Gnosticism and from the Roman Empire;
to encourage and spur the community which ran the risk of disintegration and loss of identity.

Invitation

We are invited to approach the Gospel of John with the same attitude shown by Moses in the face of the burning bush, leaving all behind us and listening closely to God that manifests himself in the signs of our times. He is a free and surprising God that walks with us and creates the story with us, men and women.

Let us remember: there is no real understanding of the Gospel without imaginative and creative dialogue between the text and its context and the reader's context.

Retelling the text, including information, challenges, incentives, insights

The early verses of John 4 are an introduction to the entire ministry of Jesus in Samaria. Jesus' success in Judaea was greater than John's and so the vigilance of the Pharisees shifted to Jesus who then temporarily leaves the centre of Judaism where the control of the authorities was more stringent. Samaria was closer but it was not the only way to go. Jesus could have gone through the Jordan Valley to Galilee and avoided Samaria. Going through Samaria therefore shows God's will for his mission to the Samaritans.

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar. Perhaps Sychar was a village now called Ascar at the foot of Mount Ebal near the land Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

In the Bible account it is close to midday. The sun is burning hot. Jesus is tired from the long journey and very thirsty. "Jacob's well" or "Jacob's spring"-a little oasis for anyone overcome by tiredness and thirst!

Jesus was not alone for long. Someone approached. A woman. A Samaritan woman who came alone to fetch water in the heavy heat of noonday. Women used to go to the well in groups and at cooler times of day. Why was this Samaritan woman without female companions? The evangelist does not say explicitly: prostitutes go to the well on their own. They were discriminated against because of the life they led, were resigned to carrying the water jars alone under the intense heat of high noon when no one stirred to go to the well. Was it by chance that these two met?

By Jacob's well, there was a meeting between two people. She was a Samaritan come purposely to avoid being seen, but who is nonetheless "discovered". Marked by society's inhuman rejection, labelled impure by religious laws, she had learnt to hide herself away. In essence she made herself invisible in the eyes of the other Samaritans.

The meeting at the well is a lovely theme in patriarchal literature. Wells and springs marked the earthly and spiritual journey of the patriarchs and the people of the exodus.

To reach the well was the immediate objective of shepherds and their flocks. Caravans and migrations marked the stages of their journey by wells and springs. Wells very quickly became no longer simply places to stock up and rest but meeting places. Wells became a communications network among the tribes, a place for barter, negotiations, the cradle of human relations. Here, embryonic forms of grassroots' organizations began to emerge. The spring holds in its depths an almost inexhaustible symbolism that the world of technological invention is losing by burying wellsprings in pipes that have none. Only rural women still know the value of a spring and fight to preserve and defend it from the threats of the huge landowners. The well as a symbol touched every aspect of human life-family life, social life, political life, religious life. Today's Christian women need to recover their place at the well, in other words take their place in public life, being present at and part of the decisions adopted.

Jesus was thirsty but had no bowl or container to take water from the well. So he asked the woman to give him a drink. Jews did not use dishes or utensils used by Samaritans because they would be deemed religiously impure.

The woman spontaneously expressed her surprise. Asking a Samaritan woman for a drink is something no Jew would do.

The Samaritan woman was quite open and sincere. She reminded Jesus of the age-old separation between Jews and Samaritans. There was a considerable distance between a Jewish man and a Samaritan woman. Enmity between the nations and disagreements that culminated in God and places of worship.

For the Jews, the Samaritans had a Yahwist overlay but deep down were syncretists with touches of paganism about them. In 721 BC when Samaria was wiped from the political map, the victorious Assyrians mixed the local population with settlers who were in the main Babylonians. A revival of Yahweh worship was coupled with the emergence of a strong religious syncretism. That syncretism continued under the political domination suffered by the Samaritans under the Babylonians, the Persians, the Macedonians and the Ptolemies. Despite being syncretists, the Samaritans regarded themselves as genuine worshippers of Yahweh. In 350 BC they built a tabernacle on Mount Garizim and dedicated it to Yahweh. Many Samaritans went to the temple of Jerusalem. They accepted the Pentateuch as sacred writings.

The Jews considered them apostates and after returning from exile rejected unification with Samaria. They did not accept help offered by the Samaritans for the rebuilding of the Temple or of Jerusalem. The Jews saw fit to trace a dividing-line between real Jews and the rest. They declared:

there was only one chosen people: the Jews,
there was only one lawful dynasty: that of David, King Yahweh's representative,
there was only one temple: that on Mount Zion.

"Give me a drink!"-such a simple request had the power to throw down the wall cemented by so much hate, built up on rigid and inhumane legislation.

Jesus felt that it was up to him to recreate behaviour wherever people were excluded. Asking for water could be the first step to changing the situation.

The Samaritan woman probably wondered-who is this man that is not afraid to make himself unclean by contact with me? Should I remind him of how strict his religion is? Who is he to speak to me in such a humane way?

Jesus asked a question. She cleverly answered with another-a question that goes to the very heart of being, tantamount to asking-who are you?

Jesus answered: "If you knew...who it is that is saying to you "Give me a drink" you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water". What a turn-around! Unexpectedly a request becomes an offer! It even seems that this "Give me a drink" means "ask me for water". The dialogue that follows between Jesus and the Samaritan woman hinges on a central theme topical today for people in the East: water. He asked her for water from the well and then explained to her that he could give her a different water: living water from a spring such that those who drink of it will never be thirsty again.

In verses 10-15, John the evangelist sets down a wonderfully rich conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. She, in a very down-to-earth way, asks human, day-to-day questions. Jesus, taking up the woman's words, talks about essential, existential things. Her superficial way of being does not deflect Jesus from his original intention: to offer her living water.

The words "living water" seem to make an impression on her. This could be the solution to one of her problems. She would no longer have to make those daily, tiring, lonely, dragging visits to the well. She still has not grasped that Jesus is not really directly addressing her practical problems. Her whole being expressed a deep-seated need-deeper than Jacob's well that is about twenty metres deep. Jesus wanted to make her aware of the pressing need to meet the deep-seated lack or want.

Fetching water was woman's work! A hard and heavy task; one she did under the high noonday sun or lashed with rain. The Samaritan woman dreamt of the day when she would not need to go to the well for water any more. Jesus saw beyond the empty water jar that needed filling... Jesus met her as a person, as a body and soul lacking living water, a body and soul needing law, liberty, love, acceptance.

Reading verses 16-19 we realize that the moment of truth has come. This woman's life is an open book to Jesus. He knows her past, her daily round, her hourly doings... he is familiar with her joys and her bitterness, the good she does and the sin that binds her. She feels that Jesus is plumbing her depths, reading her very thoughts.

(Reading of Psalm 139.1-18 and 23-24)

This woman had already had five husbands "and the one you have now is not your husband". Jesus touched on a nerve, put his finger on the Samaritan woman's wound. She had already had so many men and was now living with another one... This woman's story seems to be the history of Samaria. Samaria too had whored after the gods of the peoples that dominated her. The Samaritan woman had already had five husbands. Samaria gathered about her a religious syncretism and was unfaithful to the "first love". By putting his finger on the painful wound, by seeing the Samaritan woman as the person she could be, Jesus healed her. He gave her back her freedom to be transparent, "visible" in what is essential!

This man must be a prophet! The mission of the prophet or prophetess is to condemn, proclaim, break chains, restore freedom, be a ray of light, bring to the light. To denounce the deserts and proclaim living water! "Sir, I see that you are a prophet", is all she manages to say.

Then she starts talking about the faith of the Samaritans and of the Jews. She shows she has some theological knowledge, knows how to talk about religious customs and even knows where the Jews usually worship God. The Jews worship God in Jerusalem; the Samaritans on Mount Garizim. There they raised a temple (to rival that of Jerusalem) that was destroyed in 129 BC by John Hyrcanus. Neither Jerusalem nor Mount Garizim can guarantee genuine worship of God. Jesus reveals that worship must take place "in spirit and in truth".

The woman knew that the Messiah called Christ was to come. Israel dreamt of a marvellous kingdom of justice and peace where the anointed of the Lord, a descendant of David, would reign (Meshiah in Hebrew, Christos in Greek). The Samaritans seem to have shared this dream.

And the Samaritan woman's heart was filled with a deep yearning for the Messiah. Jesus makes of this disinherited and scorned woman the privileged bearer of the arrival of his kingdom. He makes her fully a part of the community of the sons and daughters of God.

In verse 26 there is a beautiful moment when Jesus reveals his true identity to the Samaritan woman as the Messiah, the Christ. He does so in a very basic theological statement: "I am he!" Christ is no impossible ideal. He is there before her. The time of the Messiah has come. Before the woman stands the living water that slakes the thirst of body and soul. Before the woman lies the possibility of taking action, holding a dignified place, making history, bringing about transformation... Throughout the experience there is a gathering swell of understanding of Jesus in the thinking of the Samaritan woman and afterwards of the Jewish inhabitants of her same city (v. 9); greater than Jacob (v. 12), prophet (v. 19), Messiah (vv. 25-26, and 29), Saviour of the world (v. 42).

The disciples return. They are patently surprised. Rubbing shoulders with the Master has not yet cleansed them of prejudice against women or against Samaritans. Not one of them speaks to the woman. The evangelist seems to suggest that the disciples' wonderment was caused by the fact that Jesus was talking to a woman. Yet they did not understand the most surprising aspect, in other words, that Jesus was revealing his true identity precisely to a woman.

Jesus' freedom from social, political and religious structures and strictures prompts us to have the courage of our convictions and the break with alienation and non-love.

Jesus' freedom in conversing with the Samaritan woman astonished the apostles (Jn 4. 27) but liberated the Samaritan woman. She was trapped, by her submissiveness, into accepting a lower status for women, an alienating political situation, a sectarian concept of religion. Jesus' conduct frees us from fatalism. Political and social determinism can be sundered! New relationships have to be forged between men and women, between brothers and sisters in our churches.

As for the woman, she left her water jar and went back into the city bearing the good news. To her alone - whom a prejudiced society forced to go by herself to the well - did Christ accord the grace of bearing the gospel message. The Samaritan woman realized that this was no chance encounter, no ordinary meeting. Something like faith began to burgeon in her and setting aside her water jar she ran to the city to announce: "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" "Come and see" is her invitation to anyone who wants the personal experience.

The woman had more to communicate than new ideas. She became an apostle to the people of Samaria by proclaiming the living presence of Jesus. With her proclamation she brought her people to Jesus to experience for themselves what was happening. What the Samaritans had to say speaks for itself. "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the saviour of the world." The Christ is no longer just the "king of Israel". He is the saviour of the world. Universality is one of the characteristics of John's Gospel. The woman sowed the seed and in so doing prepared the ground for the apostolic harvest. Yet again, the Gospel shows a woman announcing the good news of Jesus. Both the Samaritan woman and Mary Magdalene were sent as missionaries on a equal footing with men.

The scene that opens with the coming of the Samaritan woman closes with her leaving the well, the source. Behind her, near the watering-hole, lies the water jar, the water pot. How much symbolism John manages to encapsulate in the image when he says... "The woman left her water jar"!

The water jar - the symbol of the past, of the five husbands, the hours of loneliness, the memory of the scorching heat of the day, her shoulders bowed under the weight, the soreness against her head. The water jar - the symbol of the thirst that burns the body, the soul, and that the water from Jacob's well can never slake. Perhaps we may repeat the gesture of the Samaritan woman in leaving our water jars beside the wells that do not slake our thirst. In Latin America as well women are beginning to rediscover their real identity in the body and in the soul! Like the Samaritan woman, women are discovering face to face with Jesus their own identity, their inner strength that comes from the spring of living water - the water that gives them the courage to endure in the struggle for a better life for all, as a way of reflecting the God of Life. Like the Samaritan woman, our women are realizing how empty the earthenware jars are!

We have to dare leave the water jars behind and try and remake a living, dynamic church whose strength lies in the quest and worships God in spirit and in truth. A church that knows how to be a true community of equal men and women!

Some suggestions about methods of approach for working groups

Sharing/updating

Each person shares what
- has impressed him or her,
- has caused difficulties.
The group members try to help each other.
What does this text mean in our lives today?
What challenges and incentives does the text provide for a church that wants to be a community that includes men and women?

Listen to the message of the text

What message does the text hold for us today?
What is the face of God revealed by Jesus in this story?
What is the face of woman shown in the woman of Samaria?
At what wells or watering holes do the men and women of Latin America seek to slake their thirst?
What do we keep in our hearts from the text considered today?

Questions for reflection and discussion

Is there any similarity between this story and any story of our own time? Why?
What happened to you as you heard this story? How did you feel? What prompted you to feel joy? What difficulties did you experience? If you met the Samaritan woman what would you say to her?
Let's run through the problems of women today. What insights can we offer them starting with the text?
In the light of John 4.1-42 how can we contribute to building a community that includes men and women?
When we place Jesus in Jewish society, we discover the full value he gave to people rejected by that society. It is up to us to recreate forms of behaviour or conduct wherever people are excluded, with all the responsibility and thoroughness of a lucid political analysis. Where to recreate behaviour patterns? How?
There is no understanding the Gospel without a creative exchange between the text, the context and the readers. Placing yourself in the Latin American context as a Christian man or woman, try and discover the message of John 4.1-42 for a church willing to accept the challenge laid down by Jesus in the Bible text.

If you have time... deepen your analysis!

I have here some questions that may be raised by the text of John 4:

ecumenism
racism
sexism
coexistence with foreigners
acceptance of people who have sex lives outside marriage.

Women with opportunity and voice

Acts 16.11-15; 18.1-4; 24.26

Difficulty of distinguishing mud from living water

" .. the hierarchical view of relationships between men and women is clearly seen throughout the East, even in Judaism, but is not found in the outlook or teachings of Jesus. On the contrary, his way of relating to women was always to push them to leave that relationship of subordination, making them equal and treating them on a equal footing with men."

We know that women played a decisive part in the cross and resurrection. They interpreted the death of the Messiah as victory. They unveiled the secret of the empty tomb when they announced "Jesus continues to be among us."

In the early communities, women held keynote positions. They had the opportunity and a voice. But in later centuries women were increasingly silenced in the communities. The topic of female ministers is very comprehensive and inclusive. It is important to dwell on the historical, theological, biblical and cultural factors that distanced women from what today we call the ordained ministry.

"One of the biggest problems in the church is the difficulty of distinguishing mud from living water and translating what it believes into something plausible for prevailing circumstances. Cultural elements formed part of the agenda of many Christians over the centuries and were implemented as though they were gospel" (Ilze Zirbel).

In Jesus' time, as in "late Jewry" women, children and slaves were discriminated against. But Jesus clearly, definitely, openly and supportively opted for the excluded classes of his time: the poor, the sinners, the tax collectors, the sick, the women and children. Jesus' choice of religiously and socially rejected people was no momentary, incidental, passing phenomenon. The Incarnation marks the arrival of a new era. It is the era of the kingdom of God made present in the person of Jesus Christ. The work of Jesus Christ touches the human being, man or woman, and transforms all their relationships.

Women and men will manage to live together more fully as together they eliminate all forms of repression, discrimination and violence whether found at work, at school, in the family, in the church, in social legislation or throughout society at large. However, it is not enough to eliminate the negative. New relationships of coexistence and joint responsibility have to flower, new forms of social and economic organization have to come into being, a new cooperation in work and in policy has to come about.

In the constant, daily realization of the image and likeness of God in ourselves, women and men, through a pattern of relationships of partnership, we shall be bearing witness, showing signs of the new heaven and the new earth where justice in solidarity shall prevail.

The Acts of the Apostles

This was written in the first 90s A.D. when the gospel was spreading "to the uttermost ends of the earth". That faith spread through the witnessing of persons persecuted, often fugitives. It was spread, too, through the witnessing of travelling craft workers (men and women) who sold their wares. Local missionary work done by women and men also helped to spread Christianity. Christianity was further spread through the work of itinerant missionaries such as Paul's group, for example.

From the second century, tradition has it that the Acts were written by Luke, who wrote the third Gospel. Probably Luke was from Antioch, of pagan origin, and had a thorough knowledge of Judaism. He must have been one of Paul's travelling companions and his "beloved doctor". In writing the Acts of the Apostles, Luke took care to gather information about the church "from the very first" (Lk 1.3). To that end, he made contact with the Christian communities and moreover sought the testimony of people that had lived through the events. From a certain stage in the account (Acts 16.9-10) Luke is a personal witness to most of the events being recounted.

Luke regards the Gospel and the Acts as forming the Way of Salvation. If Luke had to choose a name for his second book perhaps he would have opted for "The Propagation of the Faith" (possibly "The Spreading of the Word" (Acts 6.7) or "The Advance of the Word (Acts 12.24) "The Growth of the Word" (Acts 19.20). Perhaps, too, he might have chosen the title "The Story of the Way" since the Way is often used to describe the Christians' new manner of living (Acts 9.2; 18.26; 19. 9,23; 22.4; 24.14-22). There are people who think that Acts should be called the Gospel of the Holy Spirit since it recounts the workings of the Holy Spirit.

Luke's Gospel was born of careful investigation in order to write an orderly account of what the primitive church was teaching through catechism. While the third Gospel shows the way of Jesus, Acts shows the way of the church, as an extension of the way of Jesus "to the uttermost ends of the earth". Both books focus on Jerusalem. For the Gospel, Jerusalem is the arrival centre; for Acts, it is the point of departure.

The good news transforms people, relationships and structure in society, bringing about alternatives that clash head-on with prevailing social interests. Conflicts arise within the church and in its relationship to society. In the church's relationship with the society of the time, conflict arose with the political power of Rome. That conflict can be traced throughout the book as an extension of the conflict of Jesus with the political structures of his time. Also economic conflict is basic in Acts. A proposal of solidarity and equality among all human beings gives rise to opposition and clashes.

In Acts, the church appears as witness and missionary. The work is intended for Christians of Jewish and Greek origin. Luke wrote a didactic work in order to

spur Christians of Jewish and Greek origin to greater faith
help spread the gospel
help expand the church among the pagans.

In the Acts of the Apostles, fragments of stories are to be found that form part of the expansion process. There are also stories that record conflicts in the early communities. There are stories of men and women in the way, going towards a goal: Jesus Christ. Sometimes they make mistakes, stumble and fall, stray. Admonishments and support from the brothers and sisters are needed at such times.

There are not many stories of women in Acts. However, it is gratifying to discover that women did take part in the whole process of spreading the Christian faith. There is also a pressing need to reconstruct part of that history of the Christian women who preceded us in the faith. It is important not to lose the historical record, the Way that links us to all the other people who go to make up the "cloud of witnesses".

Certainly there are women "who were silenced and rendered invisible in the selective process of conveying the experiences of faith and the organization of church community life" (Ivoni Richter Relmer). The women mentioned in the New Testament writings can refer us to those who were silenced or rendered invisible.

Along the ways of the biblical text

Paul, Silas and Timothy visited the communities of Syria, Cilicia and Lycaonia (Acts 15.41-16.5). Guided by the Holy Spirit and by a vision, they travelled through Macedonia where they planted the gospel seed. They left Troas, went direct to Samothrace and on to Neapolis. From Neapolis they went to Philippi, a Roman colony, an eminently Latin city on the Ægnolian Way, a crossing point of the routes from the East and West, a main communications centre for the Adriatic and Byzantium. Phillipi was the main billet for veterans of the Roman Army.

Our text introduces the story of Lydia. She was a porphyriopolis-"a dealer in purple cloth" - usually rendered "a seller of purple". She came from Thyatira, a city in Asia Minor. The colour purple was obtained from both animal and vegetable extracts. The raw material of the purple-coloured animal extract was obtained from certain marine snails and was very expensive, a luxury, used in royal cloaks. Its production became a monopoly of the Roman Empire. There were also various plants that furnished purple colour. According to Pliny, plant-based purple colour production was heavy, dirty work.

In Asia Minor there was a region called Lydia that was very well-known for its numerous dye-makers. There they imitated the animal extract purple colour by using vegetable dyes. Lydia came from Thyatira, a city in the region of Lydia. Thyatira had professional schools to teach the art of dye-making to men and women. There, purple was extracted mainly from the madder or madder-root. Women slaves from every part of that region were called "Lydia". Could the person in our text be merely a vendor of purple cloth? Or was she also a producer of the dye, a dyer of clothing and woollens to sell? There were many women who like Lydia did that work and travelled around in groups. Generally speaking these were former slaves. Many continued to work for their former masters. The people who travelled and worked together in this fashion used to organize themselves into guild associations and thus formed a lodge or "house". Perhaps this was Lydia's "house" or "home". It is possible that women coming together to celebrate the Sabbath with Lydia would have worked with her in producing vegetable extract purple dye and in making and selling purple clothing. Also, there are interpretations of the Holy Texts that conclude that Lydia was probably a widow who had inherited capital and a business from her husband and the word "home" is construed strictly in that family meaning.

Lydia is given a prominent position in Luke's account. She even speaks (Acts 16.15). The words of Saphira and the slave girl who had a spirit of divination are also recorded in Acts 16. She is the first person to hold a church service in her house.

On Saturday, Paul and Silas left the city to look for a synagogue where they could meet the Jews gathered for Sabbath observances. Literary documents and inscriptions attest to the fact that, for Roman-held cities, outside the city and near watering places, there was a building of sorts called a proseuche-literally, a synagogue property. This property was near a watering place because of the ritual ablutions that had to be performed in observance of purification and was outside the city to prevent offending Roman customs. Scripture interpreters recognize that proseuche was a place intended for holding Sabbath worship, meetings to read out and study the Torah. As for Acts 16.13, most interpreters do not see here the existence of any synagogue as a building. Others are hesitant. The text barely mentions the presence of women. Christian interpreters, basing themselves on one rabbinical tendency, say that to hold Sabbath worship at least ten people had to be present-this quorum is called a Minyan. While there are also those who say that women and minors could take part in the Minyan, most interpreters of scripture state that all ten had to be men.

Here the record of what we find in Acts 16.13. "On the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there". Other versions do not differ as to content.

Paul's custom was to try and evangelize first the Jews in every city they reached. He therefore always went to the place where he knew the Jews would be meeting.

The text clearly shows that the women, among them Lydia, were gathered to hold a meeting to celebrate the liturgy. Paul announces to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that Lydia was converted to Christ. The text says nothing about the other women. Lydia's conversion must have had an effect on her companions. After Lydia and those of her house were baptized, she says: "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home". Certainly Lydia made the offer/invitation as a result of her faith. It is highly probable that Lydia was trying to offer shelter and safety to Paul and his companions, who were under threat. In olden times, to offer someone hospitality meant guaranteeing that person's physical safety. Lydia's house or home became a Christian centre in Philippi. It is the first Christian church on Macedonian soil, today in Europe.

Throughout his main apostolic activities, Paul never allowed the taking of money or any other sort of material help from the communities. He always continued to be a tent-maker since he did not want to be a burden on other Christians. The only church where Paul accepted economic aid was the church of Philippi where Lydia was the first representative. In Philippians 1.1-11, Paul writes very affectionately to the church of Philippi.

In Acts 18.1-4 and 24-26, the story of Priscilla and Aquila, a married couple, is told. Both were very active teamworkers in propagating the Christian faith. Priscilla is mentioned more than once in the New Testament. Her memory is enshrined in Acts 18.1-4, 18-22; 24-26; 1 Cor 16.19; Rom 16.3 and 2 Tim 4.19. The story of these two craft workers, Priscilla and Aquila arises in the context of accounts of missionary activity and Paul's manual work. Priscilla was very important in missionary work. That is clear from the fact that four times over she is mentioned before her husband. In olden times, people were mentioned in order of importance. Luke mentions the couple in the context of the second missionary trip Paul took. Luke tells us about an imperial edict that ordered the expulsion of Jews resident in Rome. Claudius issued that edict in 49. Historical data show that only those Jews-male and female-were expelled who had converted to Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of the Messianic hope of the Jews provoked a lot of political and religious unrest. So the couple left Italy. Paul met them in Corinth, joined with them since they were performing the same office, and stayed in their house. They worked together.

Acts 18.1-4 does not tell us of Priscilla and Aquila's conversion. Certainly, both had already embraced the Christian faith before meeting Paul.

Acts 18.2-3 are among the texts in the New Testament that were most extensively altered in the first five centuries. Some versions insist on excluding Priscilla and Aquila from the craft trade considering that only men did such work. However, historical documents and archeological data show that women also did metalwork, ironwork and leatherwork. St. John Chrysostom and Origen both refer to Priscilla as a great craft worker missionary, known and praised throughout the Christian world of the time. Priscilla and Aquila, when they arrived at a place, set up a stall that served both as a workshop and as a community meeting place. Thus they carried on their evangelizing mission.

In Acts 18.24-26 it is clear that the couple were taking part in synagogue worship. They did not therefore break with Jewish tradition. They were also committed to the teaching ministry, to catechism, to doctrine. When the couple went to Ephesus, they met Apollos, "an eloquent man well-versed in the scriptures...who spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus". He also taught in the synagogue at Ephesus where Priscilla and Aquila heard him. After Apollos had spoken, Priscilla and Aquila explained the Way of God to him in greater depth.

Group work

1.Share with the group how you feel the text has affected you.

2. From the text and from reflection, discover insights/challenges/proposals for our topic: Men and Women in Partnership in God's Mission.

Rev. Maria Luiza Rückert is a hospital chaplain at the Evangelical Hospital of Vila Velha, Brazil