Come to rich and poor, young and old, male and female
Reflection by: Emma S.
As the time of Advent comes upon us, we are called to open ourselves up to Jesus while we await his birth. Jesus welcomes all of us and it is up to us to build that relationship and aspire to be more like Him. This time of Advent is a great time for us to reflect on our lives and how Christ has influenced us.
I recently read the story A Well-Woman and throughout these past weeks I have surprisingly found this story very relatable on several different occasions. When Jesus first talks to the Samaritan woman in this story she is surprised because Jews and Samaritans have nothing in common. Jesus tells her that anyone who drinks from the well will eventually be thirsty again, but those who drink his water will never be thirsty. He says, “the water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The first point that I took away was Jesus’ openness to everyone, sinners, believers and non-believers. He does not chastise her for the sins He knows she has committed, but instead gives encouragement and tries to enlighten the woman.
The woman is still unsure of the things Jesus tells her, yet he simply replies to believe Him. Once she admits to believing that the Messiah is coming soon, Jesus reveals that He is the Messiah, He is the Christ. The woman then goes off to tell others in town about the man whom she believes is the Messiah. She becomes a faithful believer as well as bringing her neighbors to faith. When the disciples return with food, Jesus tells them that he does not need to eat, because he already has food that they do not know about. He explains to them that his “food” is to help do the work of the one who has sent him. Both Jesus and the Samaritan woman help do God’s work by welcoming others into their faith. Especially because the people Jesus brings into faith are not only Jewish, but those who appear to have nothing in common with him.
This story helped me realize the importance of recognizing others for their differences and being accepting of them like Jesus. Jesus has welcomed everyone to follow him in his beliefs and way of life. This Advent season can be a great time for us to work on being more Christ-like. You can easily try this by just talking to someone you may think you have nothing in common with, like Jesus did with the Samaritan woman. While we all await the birth of Jesus we can reflect on how we believe Jesus has influenced our lives, and work on something to follow the work of God.
Emma S. is a Senior, English Communication Arts Major. This Easter she will be received into the Catholic Church through the sacraments of Baptism, Communion, and Confirmation.