Please note that the content and viewpoints of Mr. Hansen are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. We have not edited his writing in any substantial way and have permission from him to post his content.

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Dear Friends:

The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” (Jn 4:9).

The problem is presented. This is not a story about the quaint founding of a tourist site in the Holy Land. It isn’t reserved for seminar discussions in cross-cultural theology. It is a real story about human needs and the murky doubts that plague our humanity. It is a story of the healing that happens when grace in the person of Jesus Christ confronts the broken-hearted ache of a soul lost in sin. We cannot jump right to the healing. First, we must face the disease and it isn’t pretty.

Graphic labels of race and history, religion and gender have been inscribed in flesh and blood long ago. He is a Jew. She is a Samaritan and a woman. Fear and prejudice mix to glue the labels tight.

“(Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)” The parentheses in the text give a picture of John putting his hand over his mouth and turning his head to the side for the knowing whisper about bigotry.

Children share their toys and sweets until they attain the shrewdness of experience to understand the harsh concept of loss. This shrewdness is not to be confused with maturity. True maturity is something different. The mature have attained a deeper faith that believes and commits to a truth beyond experience and behave accordingly. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: A Word of Grace, Christianity, Devotional, Kent Hansen

Please note that the content and viewpoints of Mr. Hansen are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. We have not edited his writing in any substantial way and have permission from him to post his content.

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Dear Friends:

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her , ‘Give me a drink.’(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food). (Jn 4:7-8).

She slips out the door into blinding light.

It’s noon in a high desert town. Buildings and streets flicker and blur in radiated light. Nothing else moves. Dogs are too engrossed in their panting to bark.

Hot rocks and sand beneath her sandals bring the soles of her feet to a slow broil. The relentless sunshine glints off the glaze of the water jar under her arm and magnifies its heat on her face.

There is no shade at mid-day. One either stays inside or moves quickly out to a task and back inside.

She prefers this time to get the water. The other women do this chore before the day is an hour old. She wakes late to their banter and lies still to wait for the sound to drop to murmurs as they pass her house. It’s a grim game she plays with herself each morning, knowing they are talking about her, imagining the insults. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Christianity, Devotional, Kent Hansen, word of Grace