All Are Welcome Mass

The “All Are Welcome Mass” is significant for our IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY because we need to work together AS ONE BODY, the BODY OF CHRIST and the BODY OF CHRIST has everyone in it: our movement of justice is only as strong as it is diverse.  We MUST THEREFORE find a way to WELCOME EVERYONE! 

Today’s Gospel begs the fundamental question: Who, then, is welcome?  This woman came out at noon to fetch water.  Why? Noon was the hottest time of the day to get water. Village women and children would fetch water early in the morning or evening and when they gathered at the well, friendships and kinship were affirmed and gossip was exchanged. Those who came out at noon would do so for any number of reasons: that they wouldn’t be harassed, they had something to hide, or they might be ashamed of something. 

Another important dimension is that Jesus initiated a conversation with a Samaritan woman. Typically men did not initiate conversations with a strange, unaccompanied women. Rabbis and respected religious leaders would never initiate a conversation with a Samaritan. It would be very atypical for a rabbi to ask for water which would require that hands touching lips. We can tell from this interchange that Jesus did all these things…but keep in mind that he did this in plain sight in the absence of his own disciples. This is an important feature because it would indicate to us that the disciples had much to learn about Jesus’ radical call about LOVING and INCLUSION.  They weren’t ready to take that step.

In my mind the third important feature of this story is the confidence of the woman. She didn’t get up and leave - which would have been the normal behavior of a single unaccompanied woman. From the vocabulary and grammar used, it would appear that this woman possessed the confidence to still sit and chat with Jesus and even question him openly while making no “apologies” for who she was. In fact, her eventual conversion was built upon this confidence. This woman FELT WELCOME!  A RADICAL WELCOME!

Eventually the woman got up from the well and went to the very people that she avoided - or those who avoided her - and she TOLD THEM her story. Her story - built upon her sense of who she was - was so compelling, that they were moved THEY were converted. Eventually they were led by her example to live differently and they were able to tell their story based on their experience of radical welcome.

The turning point for the woman was when Jesus asked if she wanted “life giving” water.  She Jesus promised her that she WOULDN’T “HAVE TO RETURN TO THIS PLACE AGAIN.”  Let’s think about this, she wouldn’t have to be in a place in her life in which she had to avoid social contact, to live as a stranger in the midst of a community.  The “this place” was more than the time and location of the well - the “this place” was an INTERIOR DISPOSITION. With “life giving water,” this woman could be in the open and what was this water? It was Jesus.  Jesus is the deep well that quenches the thirst of those who have been in “that place” in the back of the bus, sitting alone at the lunch table, or hidden in a closet.

Jesus is the moving, life-giving stream of water that flows from his heart into ours. His is the stream that never stops, the LOVE that is NON-JUDGMENTAL.  His water allow us to tell our story without the fear of rejection. His water allows us to believe that we are accepted and loved by GOD and by our brothers and sisters.

Jesus is the life-giving water of SELF-ACCEPTANCE. Jesus is the stream that washes away shame. He is the water that allows us to see blessings, not brokenness. Forgiveness, not guilt.  This cleansing water gives us the clarity to FEEL that GOD has always been a part of us and this CLARITY brings us faith.

When I hear from the people from the LGBT Catholic community I am struck by their faith and resilience.  They believe that there is no such thing as a “disorder” in their lives. They do not see any “grave evil” in their love. In fact, if there is any “disorder” it is the disorder of the lack of self-acceptance.  The LGBT Catholic community has a story to tell and their story affirms for us what we should experience within our own lives: that God made us and what God made is good.

Jesus is the life-giving water this is the  LOVE present in COMMUNITY.  Jesus is the water that connects all life it is the river of acceptance and affirmation.

I invite all of you - especially our visitors and those who are new to this dialog - to come to the reception to hear our community’s stories and to share your story, and after being here in our humble community, live the story yourselves!