time to meet a woman of ill-repute

• Jesus timed his arrival there to meet a certain Samaritan woman of ill-repute.

A Jewish prayer goes like this: “I thank you that I was not born a Gentile, a slave or woman.” Rabbis (Jesus was one) were forbidden to speak to any woman in public, even their own mothers or sisters (Jesus came to break off all shackles that bound people and he was often found in mixed company).

Samaritan women were regarded as ritually unclean from birth. To top it all, the Samaritan woman in question was immoral – she had been through five husbands, and currently had a live-in boyfriend!

She was also an outcast. In a small town like Sychar, she would be viewed as a threat to the other married women, so she was probably ostracized by them. For one thing, there was a well in Sychar, but she was coming almost a mile to this well. Furthermore, most women drew water in the evening or morning when it was cool, and made it a social occasion. But John 4 vs 6 says she came to the well at noon, in the heat of the day–probably because she was ostracized by the other women of the community.

Related posts

Reaching out to Christians –http://travancoreann.blogspot.com/2009/11/reaching-out-to-christians.html

 Samaritan flaskback –http://travancoreann.blogspot.com/2009/11/samaritan-flashback.html

Unbridgeable Chasm

Mankind’s engineering capabilities have grown so far that we are considering building bridges across oceans – once considered impossible due to the magnitude, extreme climatic variations and ocean currents. Often as technological advances are made we forget that there are limits placed that no man is allowed to cross.

One such boundary is found in the gospel (Luke 16.19-31) account of the rich man and the poor man Lazarus. In verse 26 we read Father Abraham speaking to the rich man, ‘between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here (heaven) to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there (hell) to us.’ 

Your  ultimate destination is determined by your choice of a savior. Jesus said, “I am the way… No one comes to the Father except through me”. How more clear can He make himself? Those who reject Jesus’ e offer of salvation will also be rejected and join the rich man in the above the story in hell. No amount of  prayers, masses  or indulgences purchased can bridge the gap for you after you have died, so make your decision to obey God’s command and receive Jesus Christ into your life today. What if this very night your life will be demanded from you! Make sure you are on the right side of the chasm.e