of Samaritans and ISIS

Today in the One Year Bible, Jesus gives us a perfect example of loving our enemies in the reading from John 4:4-42. He is tired, and sits down by a well. A Samaritan woman comes to the well to get water. Not only is she a Samaritan, but she's been married many times and is living with a man who isn't her husband. That is, she's a notorious sinner.

So that's three strikes against her. She's a Samaritan, and Jews despise Samaritans. She's a woman, and in that patriarchal society women were not treated like actual human beings. They weren't even counted when Jesus fed the five thousand. And she's a known sinner. So Jesus ignores her, right? No. He tells her to stop sinning and repent, so that He can then talk to her, right? No. He actually asks for something FROM her. And then, in the course of the conversation, He tells her that He is the Messiah. If she's not the FIRST person to hear this, she's certainly one of the first.

To put it simply, He loves her. And her life is never the same again.

We are called to love people the same way, did you know that? Sinners. Enemies. People we despise. People who are ignored by society. People who have done horrible things. ISIS and Kim Jong-un. White supremacists. Everyone. And when we reach out to those people, and love them, maybe their lives will change forever.

It's also possible that reaching out in love will mean we will be killed. That is happening all over the world today. A genocide of Christians is currently in effect. We need to pray for those who are killed for their faith, and for their families. And we need to realize that loving our enemies might mean dying. But there is no greater honor than to die for our faith. And there is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friend.

God, thanks for giving us a perfect example of loving our enemies. Please give us the courage to follow that example.