John Frye, always a must read, has outdone himself with his last two posts based on John 4, the Woman at the Well story. Jesus as a Fundamentalist,
A Samaritan woman came to draw water and seeing Jesus asked, “Sir, will you give me a drink?”
Startled, Jesus said, “How is it that you, a Samaritan, ask me, a Jew, for a drink?”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I am thirsty. I am weary in this hot sun. I am weary of bearing shame from those in my village.”
Jesus replied, “You are a woman. Do not speak to me in public.”
“But, sir,…”
“Silence! Do not speak. You and your water pot and all you touch are unclean!”
Jesus as an Emergent Talker is even better. Some of us may feel skewered. Perhaps we should,
The woman smiled, responding, “I am so hopeful because even in my societal weakness and personal brokenness, I feel that I am more qualified than the religious power-brokers to find G-d. I am an authentic seeker.”
“Seekers are finders,” Jesus warmly replied.
The woman paused a moment before she spoke. Then she confessed, “Did you know I am living with a man who is not my husband? I have had five husbands already. I will form a loving community of multiple-husbanded women and there encounter and define a loving G-d for us.”
“Yes, yes, you are the messiah for your niche. Welcome to the wonder of liminal space. Your loneliness gives you the moral authority and right to live with whoever and with as many people as you wish.”
Make a point of reading both of them in their entirety @ John's blog, please.
