Speaking up
Jesus asked a Samaritan woman for a drink. He challenged cultural practice, shocking the woman and his disciples. However surprised and disturbed she may have been, she did not back away. She faced up to this disconcerting stranger and questioned him.
People often asked him questions - straightforward ones, as the Samaritan woman does here, but sometimes patronising ones or devious ones to catch him out. The rich young man asked Jesus what he should do to gain eternal life, but the answer in the end was too much for him and he turned away. The Samaritan woman went on asking questions and listening to the answers, and found the Messiah.
Good questions are a good guide to the success of human communication. I remember classes where teachers were so intimidating that no one dared ask a question, or so lax that silly questions were asked to waste time. At work where managing, planning and being efficient require meetings and conversations of all kinds, we need to check whether people do feel free to ask straightforward honest questions - and to go on asking. We need to create climates where questions are permitted and encouraged. We may need to ask necessary questions ourselves when we sense that others dare not ask them.
In the same way, space for questions is crucial when we are communicating our faith. Courses aimed at those on the edge of faith, Alpha and Christianity Explored, for example, come with the strap line, no question too simple, no question too hostile. But we should also always make sure that there is adequate space and time for questions within the on-going life of the church. Our growth into a mature understanding of our faith depends on a Spirit-led process in which we build each other up. We need to share all our questions with each other in this process. The Samaritan woman was not intimidated; she listened, questioned and commented. Then she fetched her neighbours and friends, invited him to stay for a couple of days, and many became believers.
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