Everyone enjoys a good story. An unexpected romance, 
a daring hero, a heartfelt connection. We all love it. Each of us has a favorite story; whether it’s a movie, a book, an oral tradition, or a play, there is some story that holds a special place, if not in our heart, then in our memory.
And within the story, there’s always that one moment. You know what I’m talking about. That place where the story turns; where there is a sharp twist.
Luke is battling against the Dark Side when TWIST…Darth Vader is actually his father. She falls in love with the perfect man but TWIST…John Smith’s people want to destroy Pocahontas’ home and kill her people. All you think is that the mouse is hungry but TWIST…the mouse is actually super needy and needs milk with his cookie and all the follows.
If you think about it, stories in Scripture have the same twists. Adam and Eve have the perfect life and then TWIST…their choice changes everything. The lion is certainly going to devour the young man but TWIST…Daniel is saved. All hope was lost as Samson’s hair was cut off but TWIST…the Lord helps him bring down the temple. Jesus died and the world grew dark and then TWIST…He saved us all, defeating death.
That’s why Jesus often speaks in parables, or stories, to his listeners; he knows that those stories, especially with unexpected results, will challenge them, will leave them thinking.
Following the “twist”
This year, I’ve been reading books and reflecting upon the concept of discipleship, specifically Christian discipleship. And there are many many stories of discipleship in the Bible. We know the story of short little Zacchaeus climbing the tree, encountering Christ, and radically giving away half his possessions and four-times what he stole from people. There’s the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, asking for Christ’s living water, and running to tell all of the townspeople she’s been shunned from. There’s the story from of the men who leave their nets to follow Christ (I shared a blog on this two years ago, and it’s still one of my personal favorites.).
We are familiar with all of these stories, and likely in the context of discipleship, but do we recognize the thing that makes them such examples for us? Once we see the twist in the story, do we recognize what happens next?
For Zacchaeus, it was giving away his possessions. For the Samaritan woman, it was leaving her bucket and running. For the fishermen, it was leaving their livelihood.
All of these people learned the cost of discipleship in their own personal ways. But let me focus on the woman at the well (John 4). Her story resonates with me more than others.
The Bucket and Social Insecurity
Without diving into a lot of the background and significance of her story, let’s begin understanding that the reason she was at the well at the heat of the day by herself was because she had been shunned by her community. If she’d been in full communion with them, she would have drawn water with other ladies in the cooler morning, talking around the “water cooler” and sharing town news.
So her encounter with Christ came at a moment when she was most vulnerable, out in the world, easily recognized as an outsider by whatever issue the community labeled her with. She was drawing water with essentially her security blanket, the only thing that gave her comfort during this time of social awkwardness, to say the least.
And then once she encounters Christ, recognizes Him as God, what is the next thing she does?
Our gut reaction is to say, “she runs and tells all the people in the town!”
WRONG.
She drops her bucket.
SHE DROPS HER BUCKET.
>> || Y’ALL. SHE DROPS HER BUCKET. || <<
I just needed to make sure you get that. An right now you’re probably like, “Sarah. Chill. It’s just a bucket. That is probably one of the most insignificant details in the Bible.”
BUT IT ISN’T. It’s literally lifechanging.
When the climax is a detail
This. This bucket. This little security blanket that is quite possibly the only reason she leaves her house during the day at all. Quite possibly the only reason she feels a sense of purpose in her little town that’s turned her back on her. She leaves it behind.
Just, that’s it. It’s gone. And it’s all because she knows she doesn’t need it.
THIS moment, for me, is the climax of the story.
It’s not the moment when her heart is opened and she sees the Lord as Lord and King. It’s not the moment when she lets herself be vulnerable and asks for this living water that Christ offers her. And it’s not the moment when she turns to leave and tell the townfolk.
No. When she drops her bucket, everything changes.
You see, she could have just as easily run back to town with her bucket, right? She could have symbolically dumped the water she’s just drawn in favor of the living water and run back into town with her belonging and told people of the Christ who’s just changed her life.
But she leaves it. And praise God she does because we too must leave our buckets.
We know that the way to heaven is through Christ. We know that He gives us life each day. We know that we are called to evangelize to others. But at what cost? What is the cost of these things?
The cost is that of our own bucket.
Made for greatness
Sometimes the cost feels too great. Like the rich young man, the Lord asks us to remove the last thing separating us from a personal relationship with Him, and we just aren’t ready to do it, and we leave our encounter with the Lord unchanged.
Mother Angelica, foundress of EWTN, said, “We are all called to be saints. Don’t miss the opportunity.”
Don’t let your call to discipleship continually pass you by. It’s a constant call from Jesus Christ to follow Him. And goodness knows, we will never be disappointed with a deeper relationship with the Lord. We will never be unsatisfied if our hearts rest in His andif we act on the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2).
We are being challenged to leave whatever it is that’s preventing us from a deeper relationship with Christ. And for most of us, it’s likely not going to be to sell all of our possessions or to leave our livelihood and live as hermits. (Maybe for you it is…pray on that.)
But we each have an opportunity to reflect on our own lives and see what is holding us back. What is our security blanket that keeps us from more fully relying on, trusting in, and following our God who leads us ever closer to perfection?
Bringing it back home
What is my bucket? Honestly, it’s like a shape-shifter; it keeps changing. For a while, it was most certainly pride which was overtly challenged by huge helpings of humility. Then it turned into distrust of the Lord’s providence, overcome by small but distinct rations of “God-moments.” Recently, it’s been allotment of my time. I still am trying to remember what St. Francis de Sales said: “every one of us needs half an hour of prayer each day…except when we are busy–then we need an hour.”
But this story pops up in my life at the most perfect times, calling me back to the life of true discipleship.
So now, I invite you to get rid of your own bucket. Whatever it is. Drop it now, and never look back. The woman never looked back; that bucket was not necessary for her salvation.
We can possibly gather that her dropping her bucket allowed her to change her community. That they realized she was all-in for this man who promised salvation that they too would step out in faith.
What’s your bucket? What’s your cost of discipleship? Don’t worry; the Lord will never be outdone in generosity or sacrifice.
Plus, we already know how this story is resolved.
