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Many Samaritans believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony. John 4: 39

              It has often been noted that women have only a marginal presence in the pages of sacred scripture.  This is not surprising, since these texts were written in patriarchal societies and therefore reflect the male-dominated culture from which they come.  But in those passages where women do appear, their presence often produces startling results which are of critical importance.
            In an early version of the creation story, the world comes into being because a heavenly aeon named Sophia wants to conceive without her consort (Apocryphon of John   9:25-10:6).  In the Garden of Eden, the beguiling of Eve (Genesis 3:13) by the serpent, who is also a feminine figure, leads to the promise of the redemption (v.15).  Mary’s conception of a child outside of wedlock (Matthew 1:18) will lead to the birth of the Messiah (v.21).
            In all three instances, and many more could be cited, there is a suggestion of moral impropriety, which finds liturgical expression at the Easter Vigil, when the deacon sings, “O happy fault which deserved so great a Redeemer!”
            In today’s gospel reading we also see a woman who is no better than she should be bringing something remarkable to pass: the conversion of her Samaritan village (John 4:39).  (Later in the narrative the villagers attempt, in churlish fashion, to dismiss her role [v.42].)
            A recognition of women’s place in scripture is obviously related to contemporary feminist concerns.  But feminism, it seems to me, has more than one aspect.  Political feminism is concerned with the equality of women in society and especially in the workplace.  But there is also a psychological feminism which seeks to retrieve, in men as well as women, the feminine principle, which is illustrated in today’s lesson: “He will not cry or lift up his voice.  A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench” (Isaiah 42:2-3). 
            The masculine principle is characterized by detached rationality; the feminine principle, by a desire to connect.  The masculine principle seeks separation from its object and a mastery over it; the feminine principle seeks intimacy and equality between self and object. 
            When carried to an extreme, the masculine principle is epitomized in the so-called “smart bombs” which inflict devastation, sometimes on innocent civilians, from a great distance, without any direct contact with those being attacked. 
            The feminine principle, as illustrated by the Samaritan woman, seeks personal encounter.  The woman’s many marriages (v.18) suggest that she has not had much luck with men; she doesn’t fit easily into patriarchal society.  And yet she has the chutzpah to approach a man sitting alone by the well to which she has come to draw water (v.7).  Wearied from his journey (v.6) and thirsty, Jesus also breaks convention and asks the woman, “Give me a drink” (v.7).  The rest, as they say, is history. 
            When Jesus was approaching the end of his earthly life, he said to those same disciples who had been scandalized to see him talking with a woman (v.27): “The Father will give you another Advocate, to be with your forever, the spirit of truth” (John 14:16).  Christ must die in order that the Advocate, the holy spirit, can be born out of his death.  In the Aramaic language which Jesus spoke, the word for “spirit” is feminine.

January 13, 2008

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