Divisiveness, then and now

For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Blount's current Living by the Word column as well as past magazine and blog content. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.

Several months ago, I was invited by a journal to reflect on the meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech 50 years later. Two months after that article was published, I was asked to give a brief talk on the civil rights movement and how it impacted me as its events unfolded.

In both cases, I was asked to discuss the divisiveness that was addressed in the civil rights movement—and I could not help but reflect upon the divisiveness that bedevils much of American social and political life today. The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman presents a prime opportunity to continue that reflection through a biblical lens.