The Broken Ones

"It was about noon."  (John 4:6)  When noon came Jesus was sitting at Jacob's Well near a village of Samaria.  And at the same time, a woman from the village was on her way to draw water for the day.  If it seems late to be drawing water for the day's needs, it was.  But, there was a reason.  As we get into the story we see that the woman was one of the broken ones of the community.  She had made some bad choices.  She was living as a product of those bad choices.  She was not only broken, she was damaged.  She was the talk of the village.  When she showed up, tongues wagged and gossip flourished. 

 

When the woman arrived at the well where Jesus was waiting, she was seeking a time when she would not have to deal with the talkers and those who looked down on her as one of the sinners.  It may have been hot and an odd time, but it was a small price to pay for the solitude.  Little did she know as she walked to the well that Jesus was there waiting.  When Jesus saw her, He knew.  He knew her.  He knew her story before she told it.  And despite all of his knowing, His spirit was not full of judgment, but full of grace.

 

Grace had always been in short supply.  Such was true then and now.  Anyone who knows their own brokenness and lives with the scars of wrong choices knows the importance of receiving grace.  However, receiving it is one thing and giving it is another.  Even as we need it, so do those around us who live with broken spirits and damaged souls.  There is more than enough pain to go around.  No one needs to be reminded of the way they made wrong choices.  What others want is what we want and that is the gift of grace that enables us to move toward wholeness.