The Women

Luke 7:36-50
She entered the room
already carrying a reputation.
Simon saw what kind of woman she was.
Jesus saw more.
She stood behind him weeping,
washed his feet with her tears,
dried them with her hair,
poured out perfume.

Simon thought:
If he were a prophet,
he would know.
But Jesus did know.
He knew her story.
He knew her shame.
He knew her gratitude.

And he asked Simon:
Do you see this woman?
Simon had looked at her.
Jesus saw her.

Her many sins had been forgiven.
Her great love
was the evidence.

~~~~~

John 4:1-30
Another woman
came to a well at noon.
A Samaritan.
Five husbands.
Now another man.

Again, it is easy
to turn a life into a verdict.
Perhaps widowhood.
Perhaps abandonment.
Perhaps one tragedy after another.
Perhaps she was not carefree,
but trapped.
Not shacking up,
but in shackles.

Jesus did not avoid her.
He asked her for water.
He made himself vulnerable
and began a conversation.
He named her life
without using it against her.
And somehow she discovered
the strange freedom
of being completely known
and not rejected.
Come and see,
she told the town.
He told me everything.
And still he stayed.

Gerizim said blessing.
Ebal said curse.
We are always finding mountains
from which to decide
who belongs
and who does not.
But Jesus says:
neither this mountain
nor that one.
Spirit and truth.
Grace crossing boundaries.

And soon the fields are white,
Samaritans coming
because one wounded woman
became a witness.
The outsider became
the messenger.

~~~~~

Jesus kept doing this.
Seeing women
others overlooked.
Receiving their devotion.
Welcoming them into ministry.
Mary Magdalene.
Joanna.
Susanna.

Women who stayed near.
Women who fought
the battles that never seem to end
family,
care,
grief,
marriage,
children,
survival,
faithfulness.

Perhaps this is something
men need to hear.
Not simply:
lead.
But:
see.
See the women
whose lives are bound up with yours.
Serve them.
Honour them.
Listen.
Carry something
they have been carrying alone.

~~~~~

Show me how you treat
the vulnerable,
and I will show you something
about your faith.

Simon saw a sinner.
Jesus saw love.
Others saw a Samaritan.
Jesus saw thirst.
The town saw a damaged woman.
Jesus saw a witness.

And perhaps that is the gospel:
Christ sees the whole story
and still stays.
Still speaks.
Still welcomes.
Still calls us closer.

Until we can finally say:
I have seen
the God
who sees me.

Original message by Lou Fortier
The Bridge Church Macquarie Park NSW
6 September 2026