Like the Samaritan Woman by the Well By Sister
Claudia Hae-In Lee (1945 - ) Translated from the Korean by
Brother Anthony of Taizé Lord, won’t you come and quietly
speak as if asking me for one cup of water first like you did the
Samaritan woman who came to draw water out of Jacob’s Well? You
know that I’m a sinner I lack courage— Speak quickly, please,
I want to hear directly from you today who I am and who you are
and what our encounter means. I keep drawing water for you
from the well of daily life in my small shabby bucket but won’t
you show me a way to draw water without any bucket at all?
From the moment you took your place beside me, deep pure well of
water that you are, every day has been a new festival for me. My
long stagnant sorrow and thirst like drops of water in my jar Have
risen up to dance, all smiling now. The happiness of meeting you
is such I may forget for a moment how sinful I am; I hope you will
forgive me? Lord, the happiness of loving you can really not be
kept hidden. Grant me now to go running farther like that
Samaritan woman beside the well who left her pitcher and ran to the
village. To bring many others to you and also to tell about the
living water—
This week, we’re reading “Like the Samaritan Woman by the Well,” a
poem of Sister Claudia Hae-in Lee of Korea. Sister Claudia was
born in South Korea in 1945. She joined the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters
of Busan in 1964, after her graduation from high school. She holds a
degree in English from St. Louis University in the Philippines and
published her first collection of poems in 1976, at the age of 31.
Since that time, she has taught and held various leadership positions in
her congregation. She has also lectured widely, including in the United
States. In 2008, she had a serious bout with cancer. She has said:
"After fighting cancer, I started using more words like happiness and
enjoyment which I didn't use often before. I realized that pain can
become an opportunity for blessing.” In 2015, a news report circulated
that she had died, and her “last poem” was widely shared. Reports of her
death were greatly exaggerated. Lee said, “I could forgive the fake
news, but I can’t go easy on the fake poem.” Sister Claudia is
still alive today, a beloved and best-selling poet in Korea. In
the poem that Jackie read, Sister Claudia reflects on the Gospel story
of the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well.
In that familiar story, which we hear every year during Lent, Jesus
encounters a woman who has come to draw water from a well. She is not
just any woman! She is a Samaritan—the archenemies of the Jewish
people—and she has a checkered past. But Jesus enters into conversation
with her, and gradually the conversation deepens, as Jesus leads her
from the water of the well, to himself, the living water. By the end of
the passage, the woman has run home to tell others about Jesus, the
source of living water. Lee’s poem begins with a prayer for a
similar encounter. “Lord, won’t you come and quietly speak / as if
asking me for one cup of water first / like you did the Samaritan woman
who came / to draw water out of Jacob’s Well?” She identifies
closely with the Samaritan woman. “You know that I’m a sinner / I lack
courage.” She longs for a meaningful dialogue with Jesus, like the woman
at the well had. In that encounter, the woman not only learned who Jesus
was; Jesus also revealed to her who she really was. “I want to hear
directly from you today / who I am / and who you are / and what our
encounter means.” It’s a wonderfully simple prayer, isn’t it, for a
relationship with Jesus. She wants something deeper and more meaningful
than she has now: “I keep drawing water for you / from the well of
daily life / in my small shabby bucket.” She longs for the living water:
for a relationship that is not rote or mechanical, but that springs up
naturally. In the second part of the poem, we get a glimpse of
what that deeper relationship looks like. “From the moment you took your
place beside me, / deep pure well of water that you are, / every day has
been a new festival for me.” Sorrow and thirst “have risen up to dance.”
This encounter is so joyful that “I may forget for a moment how sinful I
am; / I hope you will forgive me.” When she encounters Jesus, it’s all
about Jesus, and the joy of this encounter overwhelms everything
else—she forgets her own sinfulness, her own checkered past, and simply
wants to share the encounter with others. The poem ends with a prayer
that she might “go running… To bring many others to you / and also / to
tell about the living water.” The story of the Samaritan woman
at the well is a story about becoming a disciple. A chance encounter
leads to dialogue, which leads to relationship. But relationship with
Jesus is never exclusive, for ourselves alone. Relationship with Jesus
send the Samaritan woman running, as she tells the people of her
village: “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he
possibly be the Messiah?” Relationship with Jesus leads to discipleship,
prompting us to share the joy we have found, and inviting others to meet
Jesus. This encounter with Jesus, this journey to discipleship, is about
coming to know Jesus, and in the process, discovering who we really are.
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