I’m catching up with my bible readings after returning home from a 2-day stay in the hospital and was listening to the May 14 reading where Brian talks about the woman at the well. First of all, I’m so grateful to be home in my own bed and back to work. Will share another time re: what Neurosurgeon discussed with me.

Back to the woman at the well. I’ve always loved this story. At 16:55, Brian begins to discuss the story: “They’re trying to entrap him by humiliating her. His first move is he stoops down and lowers himself to the ground. Just that act gives a little bit of dignity. Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone. He’s not willing to humiliate her even though she’s humiliated. And slowly that does its work because the people disperse until they’re all gone, beginning with the OLDER ONES. These guys who have been around long enough to see how things are, they understand, and they disperse. And then Jesus faces the woman in her humiliation ‘Where are they? Didn’t anybody condemn you? What is beautiful, neither do I. Don’t do this anymore.’ We’re all the same woman in one way or another in our lives. We all deserve judgment. We’ve all done things that we’re hiding from. Ironically, we embrace a story like this, and it comforts us. It’s claiming the grace for ourselves that was given to this woman, while simultaneously we are often playing the role of the religious accusers toward our brothers and sisters. We are often willing to drag our brothers and sisters, who have fallen down in one way or another, toward their judgement while completely excusing our own shortcomings. Jesus did NOT do that. He entered into the humiliation and set her free. To be like Jesus requires we stop being merciful to ourselves while judging everybody else. It applies to everybody. We don’t do this very well. We are a very judgmental people. We have opinions and feel entitled to those opinions about everybody and everything and we walk around like a living judgment about everything constantly. This is not the posture we find about You as You are portrayed in the gospels. That’s not how You were. And so, we find ourselves so often just being like the crowds in these stories. Help us because we don’t want to be like the crowds. Come Holy Spirit, we pray.”

I’ve been judged like this and it’s beyond painful. Approximately 11 years ago, a new friend came to visit me at my cubicle at work, but I was away that day. Later he told me, “Do you want to know what the people you work with said about you? They told me: ‘You don’t want to be friends with her. She has ISSUES.'” I was completely taken aback by such cruel, heartless words. The very people I worked with 8-10 hours a day were figuratively stabbing me in the back! I kept this pain inside for 2-3 years. Then one day I separately confronted these TWO people. The male coworker was one level above me, and the female coworker was borderline MANAGEMENT. I told each of them, “I hope that you never have to raise a severely disabled child alone or have to deal with the tragic loss of a child to suicide. In the darkest moments of my life, my coworkers, who I considered like family, were stabbing me in the back. And what’s so sad is that I’m alone in this city with no immediate family around to support me.” I eventually resigned from a very good position and ended up working 2-3 jobs to make ends meet after this all transpired. Food for thought when we are judging others. As I listened to Brian talk about the woman at the well, again, the tears rolled onto my pillowcase. It doesn’t matter what I did because we’ve ALL done things. Not one of us is perfect. Let today be a new day and may we each heed the words: “Don’t do this anymore.” May God help us all.

With love, LivingAgain