In “Going Back to the Well” (January), Brad Roth speaks of an abiding, immediate presence of Jesus. I respect that. However, I fear he presents this subjective experience as a model for all Christians. God comes to us in many different ways. 

Roth argues that ethics may get in the way of a personal encounter with Jesus, yet one of the two Great Commandments is to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Contrary to Roth, I do not think the essence of Anabaptism is a subjective experience of Jesus’ presence. Rather, Anabaptism originated as a community of believers who in adult baptism broke with the political authorities. This is an important reminder today, with the rise of Christian nationalism.

Roth invites us to go into a deep well of emotional experience with Jesus. But there is another well story in John’s Gos­pel that might be more appropriate in today’s world of religious, cultural and political polarization. Recall the encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well — a hated Samaritan and a woman in a male patriarchy. Let us look across the well and ask: Who is our neighbor? 

David L. Swartz, Newton, Mass.