A Barren Woman at the Well

On Tuesday I meet with a group of Lutheran pastors from around the county to discuss the texts for the upcoming Sunday.  There are about 8 regulars, people who show up at least once a month and yesterday we had a full table.  As we talked about the gospel for this Sunday (John 4:5-42) we spent a lot of time talk about the woman at the well.  

Traditionally the woman was thought to be a prostitute because she was an out cast coming to the well at noon instead of in the morning or at dusk and she had 5 husbands and was currently living with someone who was not her husband.  However Jesus never tells her to repent or change her ways.  So instead our conversation was around the idea that she was actually barren.  She probably had been divorced multiple times because she was not able to have a child, or even worse, had multiple miscarriages or stillbirths.  And one woman mentioned that she probably went to the well at noon not to avoid gossip but to avoid seeing the other women's children.  She knew that if she went at noon she would not see the children of others that could have been quite painful for her to see on a regular basis.  Children the age her children would be if they survived pregnancy, children that she wished would be hers.  

It was this moment that I heard God, something in me opened.  I have a few friends that have had miscarriages and years later are still dealing with the pain that comes from having their hopes for a child die.  Some friends have gone on to have children.  Some have come to terms with their miscarriage(s) and find joy in their nieces, nephews and friend's children.  A few are still heartbroken.  

But in hearing about this woman at the well and one thought of why she came to the well at noon, I heard God.  I'm not saying I have any more insights to understand what my friends have gone through and what they still feel every day, but I now understand a bit more why this woman at the well so was heartbroken and made whole by Jesus.