Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world

And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?" The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Then they went out of the city and came to Him. In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

- John 4:27-42

In yesterday's reading, Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, at the foot of Mt. Gerizim. Jesus is traveling from Judea to Galilee, and must pass through Samaria. As His disciples went to get food, Jesus asked the woman at the well to give Him a drink. She wondered how He, a Jew, would speak with her, a Samaritan. He said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?" Jesus told her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." He told her to call her husband and come back. She said, "I have no husband." Jesus said she'd spoken truly, that she's had five husbands, and the one she has now wasn't her husband at all. She thought that Jesus must be a prophet, and she asked Him about the dispute between the Samaritans and the Jews, where the place was for proper worship: on Mt. Gerizim where they were, or in Jerusalem. Jesus told her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When He comes, He will tell us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?" We again have the emphasis on the unusual quality of this scene. My study bible says, "Jews were not allowed to converse publicly with a woman, and a Samaritan at that. Jesus' words and actions transcend ethnic and gender-related customs of the time." Even though they marvel, the disciples are dumbfounded. They can ask Him nothing.

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Then they went out of the city and came to Him. This woman expresses the action of witnessing, and drawing others to Christ. My study bible calls her the first evangelist, spreading the gospel news - "testifying to the advent of Christ and bringing others to Him." By early tradition she is St. Photini ("Enlightened One)". After the Resurrection she was baptized, and with her two sons and five daughters went to Carthage to evangelize. There they were arrested, taken to Rome under Nero, imprisoned and later martyred. Tradition says that she, who met Christ by Jacob's well, was martyred by being thrown into a well.

In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." Here we have more evidence of Christ's saving mission; He is sent for a reason into the world. My study bible points out once again that John's Gospel uses a misunderstanding - this time between Jesus and the disciples - to draw out further truth from Jesus about His saving mission. "His food is to bring people to believe in Him and be saved."

"Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" By tradition, the fields white for harvest are represented in the people of the Samaritan town coming to Jesus, dressed in white.

And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors." My study bible says, "The Father is the sower, Jesus is the reaper. Jesus will send the disciples to reap; their apostolic mission has been implicit from their initial calling. . . . The others are all those who have prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah: the Old Testament patriarchs, prophets, St. John the Baptist and more." When we labor in any form for this Kingdom, through any kind of service, we remember that we are not alone. All that comes to us is through the hands of others, a communion of saints, throughout a salvation history of the world in which God works to bring us to harvest, to fruition from this labor, to God's Kingdom.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." From one woman's testimony comes a harvest of many believers. There's just no telling how this may work and how the Kingdom may grow. My study bible tells us, "The Samaritans are the first to recognize Jesus as Savior of the world. The gospel is for all people."

When we tell our story to others, there's really no way to know what may come of it. Perhaps others will think about what we've said. Perhaps the thought will grow in them to consider coming to Christ for themselves. One thing is for certain, that encounter has a great deal to do what with what we know and what we tell to others of our own experience. It's not about theory and far more than a statement of belief. The experience and action of this spiritual work in our lives is something that can be shared and expressed to others. That's witnessing, testimony. It's what happens with the evangelists, including the first one mentioned in John's Gospel, St. Photini. She's been enlightened by Christ, and shares that enlightenment with others. When you tell your story, you enter into labors that are not just your own, but everybody benefits. Everybody reaps a harvest. This is the food of Christ, the thing that truly feeds us. Our "supersubstantial" or daily bread is to do this work, to enter into this work, and to reap His joy. The Samaritans come to Christ and have that encounter experience for themselves. It's the shared encounter that creates the real harvest of joy.