This encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman is the longest conversation between Jesus and one individual in the whole New Testament. That by itself should cause us to pay extra attention to this scripture.
It is hard to recognize the lures that the devil offers. For the devil knows how to clothe temptations in lovely garments.
Usually in our New Testament readings we hear from St. Paul. But today we hear the words of St. Peter, one of the three witnesses of Jesus’ transfiguration.
Jesus say, “love your enemies.” Which is asking a lot. But Jesus goes farther than that.
St. Paul gives us positive words today: God is the one who gives the growth – no matter how hard we work, all that is good or worthwhile comes from God’s gifts, not our own. But Jesus gives us nothing but hard sayings today, one after another.
In today’s gospel, Jesus says being his follower is having a particular identity. Being salt. Being light. Jesus expects us to be a little different, as salt is different from dirt, or other objects that are granular.
But Jesus does congratulate these losers, these grievers ~ because of what God will do for them.
Now, that metaphor, fish for people, could be taken a lot of ways. Not all of them pleasant.
One of the great common sense mantras that gets repeated by leaders in various settings is KISS: Keep It Simple, Silly. Whoever thought it up realized that it is easy to get lost in the little details. Whenever God’s people start getting all caught up in the details, God manages to communicate the KISS message.