03/08/2026

I sometimes go out to see the school kids during weekdays, mostly pre-K kids. And I found little kids' predictable pattern when they were upset: They break away from the group, find a solitary spot, and sit crouched.

That departure is their emotional distance, and the crouch is their wall and fortress against others.

But when they do it, that’s not a serious situation. At their age, the walls are thin and break easily; By a kind word from teachers and friends, the fortress crumbles. They reconcile instantly, returning to the group as if the rift never existed. It is a "pure reconciliation"—simple, swift, and total.

But unfortunately, it seems to get harder to make this pure reconciliation as we grow. As we grow older, our conflicts become calcified and complicated. By this, we sometimes forget how to be that child Jesus set as our model.

Today’s Gospel shows us this pure reconciliation through the reconciliation of a Samaritan woman.

The Samaritan woman came to the well alone at noon. In Samaria at that time, women usually came to the well in the morning due to the weather, and in groups for their security.

So her solitary walk to the well is the physical manifestation of her distance from others and the walls against others. She was hiding from the whispers and the judgments of her past.

To her solitary time and place, Jesus came in and asked her for water. Who she was didn't matter to Jesus. There’s no stereotype, no prejudice, no discrimination.

Her conversation with Jesus shows that her walls were breaking down, not by force or persuasion but by invitation to his mercy. Jesus didn’t bring a sledgehammer to break her walls; he simply offered her the truth of who she was– a daughter of God.

Encountering Jesus reversed the situation.

Jesus’ physical thirst aroused her spiritual thirst.

Her question about who Jesus is has now turned into a confession about who she is.

The woman who carried the shadows of the past ran back as a herald of light. The marginalized sinner brought the whole community to Jesus, and they reassembled together.

This is pure reconciliation: being restored to God, and consequently, being restored to the community.  

Today, Jesus comes to the well of your lives. Jesus sneaks into your solitary time and place to meet you.

You don't need to be embellished for this encounter.

You don't have to hide the “misery” of your parched soul.

He isn’t looking for a polished performance; he is looking for your bare self.

Just step out of the crouch to encounter Jesus. He is asking you for water. Make a pure reconciliation.