Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked. They couldn’t believe he was talking with that kind of a woman. No one said what they were all thinking, but their faces showed it.

28-30 The woman took the hint and left. (The Message)

I wonder how many people have entered our churches and, sadly, like the Samaritan woman, they have taken ”…the hint and left.” It is easy to communicate warm acceptance or cold disapproval with just a look. Of course people can get this wrong. It is possible to misread body language. But it is thought that up to 93% of communication is non-verbal, where this involves attitudes and emotions, so we need to walk carefully. People see more than we might like to think. We can give off the wrong ‘vibes’.

Thankfully, this woman met Jesus personally and, as we shall see, was not put off from following Him. But the church can get in the way of people coming to Christ. May God mercifully grant that this is not true of us.