SERMON: 23rd March 2014
The (Samaritan) woman at the well. John 4:5-42.
May I be helped to speak in the name of the Living God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. Amen.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus encounters a woman from Samaria. He is sitting by a well when the woman comes – as she does every day – to draw water. He speaks to her, and the two of them are drawn into a long conversation.
It may sound quite unexceptional to us, but in the Middle East of two thousand years ago that was a very unusual thing to do. It was not normally acceptable for a man to approach a woman who he didn’t know. It was not normally acceptable for a Jew to talk with a Samaritan – let alone drink from the same cup. But since when did Jesus worry about what was normally acceptable?
By speaking to a Samaritan, to a woman not known to him, Jesus teaches his followers a lesson. In the eyes of God, women and men are equals; Jews, Samaritans and, indeed, Gentiles are equals. In the eyes of God, every single human being is of equal value.
In this country, in our present age, that is something most people tend to assume. We assume that the colour of skin shouldn’t matter; that gender shouldn’t matter; that social class shouldn’t matter. It hasn’t always be that way.
In this country, in ages past, it was quite clear that dark skinned people were not the equal of whites. Slavery was acceptable, and slaves regarded as nothing more than a piece of property. Colonisation of India and Africa for economic exploitation was deemed totally acceptable.
In ages past, it was quite clear that women were not the equals of men. For long years women had few rights and were utterly dependent on their father or husband. They had no say in elections. If they worked outside the home it was in extremely poorly paid jobs.
In ages past, it was quite clear that the poor were not the equals of the wealthy. Education, health care and housing for the poor were basic, minimalist. The right to vote was restricted to property owners. The wages earned by the providers of labour were pathetic compared with the profits earned by the providers of capital.
Thankfully, this country has come a long way since those times. Slavery is illegal and the expoitation of empire long gone. Women have gained equal rights to education, to electing the government, even leading the government. The poorer classes, for want of a better term, have more realistic wages and improved support through the welfare state. Much has changed, much has improved.
But lest we take all this for granted, we need to remember that we are far from perfect. Though our attitude to people of different skin colours, to people of different genders, to people of different social classes has changed, this country is still far from perfect.
Our society is not perfect on racial equality. There are increasing numbers of prominent non-white faces on our television screens, in our sports teams – but there is plenty of room for improvement. The likes of the BNP and EDL still spouts their bile and attracts votes. A major political issue of the day is immigration, and the apparent fear it seems to instil in many.
Our society is not perfect on class equality. In the aftermath of the banking crisis we are enduring huge cut-backs in government spending on social provision; a huge, ideological and largely unwanted reorganisation of the NHS; an increasing emphasis on a culture of volunteerism rather than professionalism – quite where the volunteers will come form is beyond me! As far as I can see the people who will really suffer from these changes are the poor, the elderly. I’m afraid I don’t have much sympathy for those bankers and other higher earners who still complain they deserve their bonuses, or they’re being taxed too heavily.
Our society is not perfect on gender equality. Women may have access to most types of jobs these days, but the so-called ‘glass ceiling’ is still there, barring the top jobs to most women. There’s still a pay differential between the genders. Even in the church we still live with the reality of churches, one not far from here, which will not accept women priests. And though the moment is drawing closer we still haven’t yet got a women bishop in the Church of England.
Our society is not perfect on equality, be it racial equality, gender equality or class equality. To borrow from George Orwell, all animals are equal, but it seems some are more equal than others!
Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said: ‘I am puzzled about which bible people are reading when they suggest religion and politics don’t mix.’ There are political implications in what I’ve just said, and I don’t expect everyone to be comfortable with it. But like it or not, religion and politics cannot be kept in two different compartments.
The equality of every human being in the eyes of God is a basic doctrinal precept of the Christian faith. And our society is far from perfect in how it puts that into practice. By speaking to a Samaritan, to a woman not known to him, Jesus teaches that in the eyes of God, women and men are equals; Jews, Samaritans and, even Gentiles like you and me are equals. In the eyes of God, every single human being is of equal value.
Like Jesus two thousand years ago, we his followers, the church, are called to bring God’s values to the society we live in. We are called to show our society that all are equal: by the way we treat others individually, by the causes we as a community, an institution, put our weight behind.
So which of society’s failings do you think we should be addressing? Which group of people do you think are most treated as being less (or more) deserving than the rest of us? Because believe me, in this country not everyone is treated equally.
Rev’d John Routh.
Rector of Holy Trinity.