Reflections on International Women’s Day & The Woman at the Well

Breaking the Jar

Reflections on International Women’s Day & The Woman at the Well

Today, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, we look back with both gratitude for our progress and a sobering awareness of the hurdles that once seemed immovable. For many in our community, the "old days" weren't just a different time; they were a different world—one designed to keep women in the passenger seat of their own lives.

• Women couldn’t walk into a bank and get a loan without a male guarantor.
• The airwaves were a "boys-only club," devoid of female newsreaders or sports commentators.
• Professions like law, engineering, and architecture were gated communities.
• Even the simple autonomy of driving a car or holding a license was a rarity for many women.

We have mercifully retired the ancient, stifling notion that a woman’s only divine calling is bearing children and ensuring dinner is on the table. But let’s be clear: patriarchy and misogyny still suck. They still wound. We still have a long way to go to reach the equity Christ calls us to.

🪣 The Scripture: John 4

It is beautifully fitting that today’s reading is the Woman at the Well. In a world of rigid boundaries, Jesus sat down and chose a woman to be the recipient of his deepest theological truths. He didn't ask for her husband's permission to speak; he invited her into the "Living Water" of full personhood and spiritual leadership.

To the phenomenal women who have mentored us, raised us, and challenged our church to be better: We see you. We honor you.

"The water I give will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." — John 4:14

Happy International Women’s Day!