Religious art comes to us in many shapes, sizes, forms and media. Aside from the liturgical holidays of Christmas and Holy Week, one of the most often art-adapted scripture can be found in John 4:5-42. It is the familiar story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, a sacred writing that brings both the woman and Jesus into unlikely conversation with one another. It is often depicted in ways that place Jesus clearly in charge of the chance meeting. Various works underscore the power differential that is present by the placement of Jesus whose figure is nearly always positioned higher than the woman whose name is not known. Jesus is seen as teacher and rabbi, someone altogether in charge of the situation and asking key questions that we would expect from him.

An alternate depiction is found in the fired clay sculpture ”Christ and the Samaritan Woman” by Austin D. Miller, ca. 2006. The piece rests on its own laurels, not in competition with established artists of today or yesteryear, but as a statement of the human condition. In this piece, Jesus is not shown as clearly in charge, as many works do, but as a human being in deep conversation, one that helps the reader to discover and rediscover the meaning of grace. The sculpture is earthy and places Christ in a position of vulnerability as well as the woman. To even be seen talking with her would have caused a stir in many quarters. It is a boundary that Jesus would not have crossed lightly.

Miller brings out the human qualities in both the woman and Jesus. Such a conversation they must have had! We get the truncated version via scripture but surely the discourse went deeper than that. The sculpture underscores the reality that life is hard and challenging, not at all like the cartoon Bible stories that we colored as young children. Jesus sits with the woman who continues to be amazed that he is even risking conversation with her. She is in the act of pouring water as they converse with one another, shards of fragmented clay vessels to one side in validation of our brokenness. Jesus does not tower over her but sits partially to one side during the encounter. Their garb does not suggest finery of any kind. There is, instead, a measure of authenticity and a reminder that many challenges in life are gritty and complicated, beset with vagary and whim. It’s Jesus without handrails as we venture down a new path; truly another way of living.

2 Corinthians 4, paraphrased in part by Eugene Peterson in The Message, puts it this way… “If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that… We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side… “

The Samaritan woman discovered new paths from her encounter with Jesus that were life-changing. That’s what living water is all about.