The hour is coming, and is now here

Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these 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 proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’

- John 4:16-26

This episode in the ministry and teaching of Jesus is so important that John's gospel gives a great deal of space to tell the story. This is the second reading concerning this story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, and we will continue tomorrow. Jesus and this Samaritan woman have met at Jacob's well. In yesterday's reading, Jesus told her of the "living water" that he offers. In the fashion typical of a story in John's gospel, she misunderstands what Jesus is speaking of, and asks him where she can find this living water.

Jesus, in today's passage, responds by telling her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." She tells Jesus that she has no husband, and he replies, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" As Jesus draws her out by taking a new direction in dialogue, he begins to reveal himself and his own nature. As in yesterday's passage we were reminded of Jesus' encounter with Nathanael by virtue of the association with Jacob and his vision, so it is that here again we have another reminder of this character trait of Jesus that was revealed in his meeting with Nathanael: he knows this woman thoroughly. She mistakes him for a prophet: "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." The Samaritans did not accept any prophet after Moses (see yesterday's commentary regarding their Scripture), but awaited another Moses-like prophet, a Redeemer. Here, she begins posing an important question regarding the dispute between the Jews and the Samaritans: the Jews worship on Mt. Zion and for the Samaritans it is Mt. Gerizim (Jacob's well is located at its foot). Again, we are reminded that the Samaritans' temple at this location was destroyed by the Jews in 128 BC.

Jesus reveals himself further, and invests in her the great purpose of his life in the world. "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem." Commonly in the gospels, "the hour" or Jesus' use of the phrase "my hour" makes reference to the Cross. This transforming reality, this "final sacrifice" will change the nature of worship. "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews." This is the affirmation of Judaism and its revelation for the world as spiritual heritage, and the gospels' context of Jewish life. "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him." Finally Jesus reveals the nature of the transformation that will happen in his Person, through his life and sacrifice. The dispute between the Jews and Samaritans concerned a place of worship - where was the 'proper place?' But Jesus teaches a whole new nature of worship itself, in spirit and in truth.

Jesus' sacrifice, "the hour" that is present with her, will build a transforming reality that will change and offer a new kind of worship. Worship is no longer tied to a place, but to spiritual reality: the Holy Spirit and the truth of the person of Jesus, of Logos. These gifts of spirit and truth will belong to all, and in them will unite all to the Father in worship. It is this power of Presence that will lend any place, any circumstance, to worship -- not to a particular place. "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." God's nature is spirit, and therefore the nature of worship is "in spirit and truth." God seeks those who can receive and practice this worship in the true relation revealed here. Like calls to like, in some sense; we can realize our deep relation and connection to Father, Son & Spirit through this understanding of worship and our capability through grace to practice it. This living relationship reminds us of Jesus' living water. My study bible notes that God "possesses a spiritual nature which cannot be confined to a particular geographic location. Those who believe in the revelation of Christ and have the power of the Holy Spirit can truly worship God anywhere." Jesus is calling on all of us, through his life, to reveal our own spiritual natures in union and worship with God in spirit and by receipt of this grace. Man is elevated in this understanding, this scheme of salvation. We are shown to be like God, and "like God" we relate and worship "in spirit and in truth."

The Samaritan woman says, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." She begins to catch on, to understand Jesus' revelation of himself to her. Her own understanding opens in the presence of this living water, the one whose "hour" will change worship and is present before her. Jesus tells her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." "I am" is the great statement of the reality of the presence of God, the "name" revealed to Moses. This sentence literally reads, "I am, who speak to you." Even before his Passion and death and Resurrection, Jesus' "hour" as he has said is now here. His true presence is eternal and is before her, and he is revealing himself to her. This instance is called a theophany, a revelation of God, and John will use this formula of self-revelation again in his gospel. The great power of the Christ, of true worship, of Spirit and spiritual relation with human beings is revealed to this woman at the well. In this place where Abraham first established a site of worship (Shechem/Sychar), the first capital of the kingdom of Israel, the place of the Patriarch Jacob, Jesus has revealed himself to a woman - who is also a Samaritan, enemy of the Jews. This potent powerful teaching gives us the understanding that this revelation, this "hour" is for all of us. There is no one who will be untouched by it, who will go without this offer of living water, of the grace and redemption in the possibilities of relationship to Creator and our true nature in spirit. To whom is this revelation and relationship not offered? We are all called to this status, capable of relationship, or worship, in spirit and truth - called to our own likeness with God in spirit and truth. Grace exempts no one - not one of us - from this gift of elevation, to understand in relationship to God our true natures and capacity for worship.