I have been reflecting on the story in John 4 of Jesus and the woman at the well in Samaria. And since this is Lent, I was wondering what it might have to say to us on our Lenten journey. And there it was. In verse 6, it says, after telling us that Jesus had come to the Samaritan city of Sychar, that “Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.”
I think it is easy, if we try to take with any seriousness our Lenten journey, to get tired and need to rest. That is why this passage speaks to me. Jesus was wearied from the journey. I think it is really good news that Jesus felt tired, which is something you and I have also felt and that that tiredness is connected with a journey. It is good news because he stopped and rested.
It is hard for us in our hectic, time-conscious, result-oriented society to rest. We are all so busy. It seems that all of life’s traffic lights are stuck on green. And this can happen, even on the spiritual journey.
There never seem to be any red lights that allow us to stop, except when we’re sick and are forced to rest. I spent almost all of last week resting because of the flu. It wasn’t always a pleasant rest, but it did cause me to slow down and it did help me to get better. It even helped me on my Lenten journey because it gave me more time to think about what I had been reading and opened me to hearing a bit more of what God wants to say to me. Of course, that was in the later stage of the week, when I got passed the “I want to die” stage. But like a red light, I was forced to stop and rest and reflect.
Edward Hayes writes: “In this Lenten season—when, once upon a time, it was scratchy hairshirts, black fasts, meatless meals, long evening services in church—maybe there is a new, painful Lenten penance, worse than needles under your fingernails. The new penance is to stop. That’s right, do nothing, just stop.”
The point I draw from this story about Jesus as I reflect on my Lenten journey is that it is okay to rest on the journey, to find a bench or a chair or a quiet corner and rest. We need to stop both to rest and catch our breath, but also to reassess the direction of our lives and their pace. Resting allows us to see whether or not the direction we are heading is the right one for us in the light of God’s desire and intention for our lives. Resting allows us to recalibrate and retune our lives for the ongoing journey of life.
May you journey well and may you rest often on the way. Blessings.
