I’m not disagreeing with you but I just wanted to point out that someone made a decision to use precisely John 4:5-42 for this past Sunday. Some reason must have been given for that; perhaps the ability of a normal churchgoer to be able to absorb all that at one time and no more, perhaps not. Then there is the shortened version, perhaps to allow those pastors who think it’s too much for their congregation. At least that’s the way it was set up. We expect longer readings in general moving toward Good Friday but I don’t know if I’d call any parish “liberal” for using the short form. As I stated, I attended a Spanish Mass where the deacon, a not-very-fluent Spanish speaker, struggled enough with the shortened version, with most in attendance were stirring around quite noticeably in the pews. During that time I could have probably read the longer reading twice in English.
