Don’t get into a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Do you ever notice how much more powerful and moving a stage play, or even a movie, can be than reading a book? Nuances of the language and conversation can be conveyed in 3D, so to speak.
Sometimes I think we read stories in the Bible and use a “Church” voice. Rather we should often read aloud–with feeling, and maybe six-part harmony.
Take, for example, Jesus’ two conversations with women. People seemed more shocked that he was talking with a woman in public than their race. But one was Canaanite and the other Samaritan.
When we read them, they can sound too dry. Intellectual. I imagine the conversations in full color and noise. I think in both cases, Jesus was engaged in a subtle battle of wits. And in each case, the woman stood up for herself. And in each case there was change.
The Canaanite women had been a pest. Jesus decided to stop, acknowledge her, and deal with the situation. She stood strong. Her child was healed.
The Samaritan woman was an outcast due to many bad decisions in her life. I grew up in a small town. I can imagine her shame. She’s alone. That fact alone tells us volumes. This is the social media gathering spot for the women of the town. Catch up on gossip and who has done what to whom. She’s alone. Jesus asks a question. That was shocking. She hardly expected a Jewish man, a teacher even, to speak to her. But she held up during the conversation. Changed her life and the lives of her entire town.
A couple of questions.
How often to you engage someone unexpectedly in a conversation that can move deeper?
Where do you find the strength to respond to such a conversation?
Faith Venture 
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