Bridges, not walls

In many churches this Sunday we will be hearing the story of the woman at the well and how Jesus was prepared to ask for a drink from a Samaritan woman. The story in John’s Gospel says, “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.)” Two things would be surprising to his disciples when they found him, the first that he was talking alone to a woman and secondly that she was Samaritan. This is a bit like a Sunderland supporter asking a Newcastle supporter for some help. At that time in history there were some serious divisions between Jews and Samaritans, going back to the time when the people of Samaria were conquered by the Assyrians and taken off into exile and they inter-married and many Jews felt they had betrayed their faith and become a mongrel nation. These historic divides were difficult to cross and many did not even try, yet so often Jesus seems to ignore them and get on with his mission of engaging with people and sharing God’s love. It seems to me that Jesus personified the love of God which sees no barriers but reaches out to everyone. We seem to be at a point in history where there are huge pressures to build divides within our society or between countries – walls are on the agenda! At the heart of the Christian faith is someone who seeks to break down the dividing walls of hostility and to bring people together within God’s love. There is a fine new bridge being built across the Wear. Can this be a symbol to our city that love seeks to bring people together and not divide, and it doesn’t matter who they are? Stuart Bain Archdeacon of Sunderland