The Gospel Reading tells the story of a woman who is worthless by the standards of Jewish society at that time.
Jesus has sent his disciples off for food, and he is sitting at a well when she comes to draw water. There is every reason why he shouldn’t talk to her at all.
What Jew or Samaritan would want to invite her to lunch?
First, she is a woman. It is only the disciples’ awe of Jesus that keeps them from asking him what he thought he was doing when they return and find him talking to her without even a chaperone by her.
Secondly, she is a Samaritan. As she herself points out to him, Jews don’t talk to Samaritans. Samaritans are self-made outcasts from the Jewish point of view, and self-respecting Jews stay away from them.
And, thirdly, this Samaritan has the sort of history that makes women pariahs even in their home communities. Jesus knows her status, and he lets her know he does. She has had five husbands—five husbands!—and she is currently living with a man to whom she is not married. Even by the lax standards of our own day, this sort of history would make people look askance at her. In her village she is undoubtedly a shamed person.
So, take it all and all, she’s a worthless person, isn’t she? What Jew or Samaritan would want to invite her to lunch?
But, you might be thinking, the savior of the world could certainly spare a crumb even for a shamed Samaritan woman. He could preach to her that her sins are forgiven, you might be supposing, or he could offer her some other kind of pastoral help.
But he doesn’t, does he? No, he asks her to help him. He opens the conversation with her by asking her to give him a drink.
And then look at how this story ends: she brings belief in Jesus to her village, and the villagers come to Jesus because of her.
She isn’t worthless then, is she? No, then she takes her rightful place among the apostles. The evangelization of her village is her accomplishment.
And so when Jesus asks her to care for him, he starts a process that brings her from being worthless to being the apostle to her village.
The remedy of love for human worthlessness is modeled for us here, isn’t it?
In the past month, I believe the humble Anglo and Mexican families at Divine Mercy PNCC church in Las Vegas have felt like that Samaritan woman. Their church was “dissolved” in a legal proceeding that denied this faith community from worshipping in their church.
Sadly, the good people have been cruelly judged as unworthy because they chose to pray and serve in the Polish National Catholic Church. They were falsely told that the sacraments they had received at this altar were not valid. That is absolutely not true.
Since this terrible scam, Fr Andrew, Fr Matt and Bishop Mack travelled to Las Vegas to encouraged all these beautiful people not to be tempted by the devil “to be discouraged.”
Rather, the community celebrated the First Communion of 70 young children with their parents and godparents and told them the story that God loves them very much at Divine Mercy PNCC. Then they celebrated the Confirmation of another 40 young people with their parents and sponsors and told them that the Holy Spirit dwells in our midst to give us the gifts of courage, strength and wisdom during these difficult times. Then, Bishop Mack ordained deacon Erick, the most humble, hard-working, dedicated parishioner to serve as the new pastoral leader of this broken community.
By coincidence, this Sunday our brothers and sisters in churches around the country celebrate the Institution of The Polish National Catholic Church. The Polish people in a small Catholic church in Scranton, Pennsylvania were also criticized 125 years ago for standing up for their beliefs. They became a Catholic community that focused their life following the way of Jesus and continue this mission by inviting all nationalities Mexican, Puerto Rican, South American, Polish, German, Irish, Italian to learn what the Samaritan woman discovered when she met Jesus at the well. “No one can make us feel inferior.” In the eyes and heart of God, we are all his brothers and sisters. While Divine Mercy PNCC legally restores its status as a legal entity in Nevada, I firmly believe that deacon Erick will lead this compassionate community back from the dust of prejudice into the light of truth and justice.
The plan is to reopen their doors on Palm Sunday and invite all 1500 people back to church. In the footsteps of the Samaritan woman, I encourage you to take your rightful place among the apostles. The evangelization of her community is her accomplishment and the return of all families to Divine Mercy PNCC will be accomplished by the power and grace of Jesus who sees all the good you have accomplished by your generosity and faith.
Your mantra “don’t get discouraged” and your vision is that you are one family united in Christ bringing His love and comfort to all who have been abused, misunderstood and rejected by the stigma of prejudice and bias.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who have been victims of abuse.
It was the love of Christ that changed a Samaritan woman with a checkered past into a future saint of the church. Give the parishioners of Divine Mercy PNCC the grace to be agents of transformation in the lives of others.
Follow Divine Mercy PNCC on their new website page: divinemercynv.org
