Truthful Conversation

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.John 4:16-26

These days, we are surrounded by conversations abotu the truth. At this very moment, our Senate is hearing some truths and trying to ignore it. We are caught in an age when people prefer to be entertained than understand the truth, from professional wrestling, to "reality tv" to the halls of justice. Yet, when we do tell the truth, when honest conversation prevails, things change for the better and enemies become friends.

Jesus encounters a woman, he should consider an enemy. They talk openly and he tells her the truth. She doesn't deny it and in her honesty, she received the keys to the reign of God. Her heart is open, unburdened by lying, and she and her people are some of the first to know Jesus. Not only did enemies become friends but her whole community was changed. We are invited to model a life of truth telling, even when making up a cover story might make us more comfortable, personally and financially.

Today, I ask God to help me live an honest and truthful life. May our honesty open our hearts to the love of God in our midst.