In the Name of God: Earth maker, Pain bearer, Life Giver. Amen.
On International Women’s Day (March 8) we’re invited to strive for a world free of discrimination and bias; a world that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive; a world where difference is valued and respected.
Against the current backdrop of nations set alight by international conflict and alongside the displacement and death of thousands this invitation will be for some an idle dream. But, for others, and I include myself – it’s a glimmer of hope and a positive way forwards.
It’s also one gigantic challenge.
So let’s embrace the challenge. But – where and how – do we begin to create such a world? As to the where – why not our own backyard – right here in Aotearoa New Zealand?
As to the how – why not with us – the people of this land? After all it’s people who have the potential to shape and determine so much of our nation’s character.
That being so, I’m going to suggest we keep it simple and take time to think about how we respond to the everyday situations we encounter within our own communities and neighbourhoods.
The Samaritan woman (c.1919), by Ettore Tito
And to help us, I’d like to return to our Gospel reading and take a closer look at the woman at its centre.
Whatever the reasons, the other women have turned her into a victim – a victim of their gossip and prejudice.
Perhaps we can recognise this woman – especially now, as we become a more ethnically diverse country.
And perhaps too, we can recognise ourselves as among those who make her life difficult.
But for this woman, something life changing is about to happen. She and Jesus begin to talk and we listen on. We hear that she’s had five husbands and that her present partner is not her husband.
For something like 2,000 years its been assumed that
this woman led a sinful life; that she was a woman of
‘questionable’ character. Some feminist scholars take exception to this. They argue that we know so little about her and that there could be any number of reasons for her current predicament.
Possibly, she was a woman who’d been forced into a situation from which she couldn’t escape. Life was tough in those days – even more so for women. All too often they became victims of forces over which they had very limited – if any – control: – forces such as poverty .. abuse .. poor health .. lack of status.
There are many such women in our own country – women who are victims because they too have been forced to tread a path not entirely of their own making or liking. Many of them struggle to make positive changes. The last thing they need or deserve is other people’s criticism or other people’s judgement and contempt. But all too often that’s what they receive.
As we move on to near the end of our reading – we begin
to discern a change in this woman. Having listened to Jesus and dialogued with him, she begins to experience a shift within herself.
There’s an awareness of who Jesus is and with it comes a sense of a new way of life opening up within her. Despite everything with which she’s had to cope there’s a realisation that her life does have meaning and that she has a role to play within God’s great drama.
So she returns to her city and begins to share her discovery with her community. The people listen with interest – but then some of them go and spoil it all. They can’t – or won’t – believe that a woman like her can be relied upon to tell such news. So they by-pass her – they go directly to Jesus to check it out.
I find that quite patronising. And for those many women who’ve experienced such behaviour, it’s hurtful and belittling. Furthermore, it’s ongoing. And sadly, I have to say, it’s something of which the Church is often complicit – albeit more out of habit, I think, than careful thought.
Let me explain.
Despite numerous Biblical images of God as female the Church repeatedly thinks and speaks of God as male. Terms such as King .. Father .. Lord; pronouns such as he .. his .. and him – they litter the pages of our liturgies and hymn books.
Their continual use, has the potential, I believe, to create the impression that to be a male is to be like God and as such to be superior to females. And that, in turn, canso easily lead to the assumption that women can be dominated … can be treated as inferior and made to feel of lesser worth.
But God – that Divine Being and Creative Force that is the source of all love – God has no gender which is why I prefer to speak not so much of being created in the image of God but rather of being created out of the essence of God – out of that self-giving love which comes from the very heart of God.
Celtic Spirituality refers to this creative force of the Universe as the heartbeat of God; a heartbeat that gives and sustains all life and lies deep within all created things.
And although people speak of listening for the heartbeat of God it’s not something we hear with our outward ears.
Rather – to listen for God’s heartbeat is to listen deep within ourselves and find God there. As such it’s more of a perception and with it, a growing and gradual shift in our focus and within ourselves. We begin to realise that if God’s essence .. if God’s spirit is in all created things then each and every person is inherently beautiful; each has dignity and worth.
It’s this shift that we witness in our Gospel.
As the woman listened to Jesus she began not so much to hear words but rather to discern something much deeper. She found in Jesus a person to whom she could open herself; And the more Jesus talked the more she discerned and the deeper she went. She began to experience a shift .. a transformation. There was a new confidence and a real sense of a new identity opening up within her. She went from being a victim to a person with confidence and strength; a person with a new dignity and sense of self worth.
Today – on this International Women’s Day we’ve come to our well – to our place of refreshment .. to the place where we encounter Jesus as he approaches us – not as a weary stranger, but as the Risen Christ.
Although we cannot see him he makes himself known to us in the breaking of the Word and in the breaking of the bread. And as we listen deep within ourselves we find him there. And into those with receptive hearts, the living water of God’s grace is poured.Transformation from within begins and with it a new way of being and living and seeing.
But how can we be so sure?
After her encounter with Jesus, the woman left her water jug behind. All that it symbolised and represented was over – all that pain associated with living on the margins and of being misunderstood was gone – transformation had begun.The question for us is what will we leave behind?
If it’s our biased and prejudicial thinking; if its our judge-mental and arrogant ways – if it’s those things that we leave behind because we no longer want or need, then yes – our focus has changed and a new way of living has begun. As such, we’re ready and equipped to embrace the challenge of this International Women’s Day.
We will be a people who respects and celebrates difference; and who values and treats all as equals. We will be co-creators of a world that’s diverse, equitable and inclusive.
And so to God; Creator Christ and Spirit, be the glory now and forever. Amen.
Sermon by Rev’d Corole Grahamer
The Transitional Cathedral Christchurch 8 March 2026
Used with kind permission