JOHN 4:1-6 DETOURS OR FROLICS?

1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

Opposition can sometimes bring opportunity. Jesus knew the rumblings of the Pharisees spelled trouble and that the timing was not yet right for the final conflict, so he departed for the hinterlands. We can only surmise why “he had to go through Samaria” since on other occasions he traveled along the Jordan River, which was the way the Jews would avoid Samaria in their travels. Perhaps he was avoiding the Pharisees or maybe he just had to go to Samaria.

Not only did Jesus experience political opposition, but physiological opposition also. St. John again does not tell us why Jesus was tired from the trip, but his disciples were able to go into the town in search of food (4:8). What is important for us to know is that this opposition also provided an opportunity for ministry and the spread of the Gospel.

So often we read opposition in our lives as a road block that keeps us from accomplishing our purpose rather than a detour that provides us with opportunities yet unknown. Just as a detour can take you off the sterile interstate highway and into a quaint town or past a beautiful waterfall, being diverted from our planned course of life can provide interactions with people we would not otherwise ever meet and situations we would miss experiencing. It has been said that God is the great maker-of-lemonade-out-of-lemons. In more theological terms, we recognize God as the One who redeems all things. When we face opposition, whether through politics, economics, logistics, social relationships, disease or even a literal road block, we need to exercise our faith in God by not concentrating on our loss but on what God will do for his kingdom and our gain.

When I am faced with disappointment and opposition, may I first look to you, Father, so that I can see your redeeming hand at work in the world around me. Help me not to avoid fully experiencing the detours of life and seeing them as opportunities through which I can experience you more completely and participate more fully in kingdom work. Amen.