Reflection and art work by Revd Sue McCoan
Bible reading: John 4:1-18
Here’s a woman who has to go and fetch her water alone, in the heat of the midday
sun. All the other women would go together, in the early morning, while it was cool.
The only reason to go independently would be if you had some real issues with
these other women, or they with you.
And if the issues between you were bad enough to make you take this risk with the
water-fetching, then for sure they will show up in other ways too. This woman, we
imagine, is living everyday with being excluded, belittled, gossiped about. And you
can imagine, or perhaps you know, what that does to her; the defences she has to
develop, just to get through everyday life.
But at the well, she can leave all that behind. At the well, she is out of the village; she
is away from the other people. At the well, she can drop her defences, and just be
herself.
In my sabbatical, part of my reflection on this encounter was through making a piece
of art – or rather, a set of 5 pieces – which I’d like to share with you.
Read on! at
