But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (thought Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and 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? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to 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."

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." Jesus said to 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 in 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."

- John 4:1-26

In yesterday's reading, John the Baptist spoke to his disciples about Jesus' disciples baptizing. John's disciples told him about Jesus, "He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!" John told his disciples, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease."

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (thought Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria. So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. My study bible points out that, because Jesus is wary at this time of confrontation with the Pharisees, He departs for Galilee. Samaria is a land in which the people, for the most part, were considered traditional enemies of the Jews. It is the region to the north on Jesus' journey, between Judea and Galilee. Sychar is a town identified with an area where Jacob owned property, according to the Old Testament. My study bible notes, "Wells and springs are significant in Scripture because of their rarity in desert life. In the Old Testament they often symbolize the life given by God, especially a life of blessedness (Ps. 36:8). This particular well, located at the foot of Mt. Gerizim, is maintained as a shrine and pilgrims can drink from it to this day. Jesus is wearied and thirsty from the labors of His journey, showing His complete humanity which He voluntarily assumed. The sixth hour is noontime."

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. We can assume this is a rather shocking encounter, as evidenced by the question of the Samaritan woman. Not only is she a Samaritan, and He a Jew; it would perhaps also be unusual for Him to address a woman.

Jesus answered and 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? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" "Living water," according to my study bible, may mean fresh, flowing water from a spring or other flowing source, rather than a pond or cistern. Of course, we know that Jesus means something else, but she doesn't. He is once again, as with the Pharisee Nicodemus, drawing someone in to ask questions, to be curious, to find more. In the spiritual sense, "living water" - my study bible notes - symbolizes true life from God, who is the fountain of life (see Jer. 2:13, Ezek. 47:1-12, Zech. 14:8, Rev. 21:6 and 22:1).

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? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" Jesus answered and said to 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." Is Jesus greater than Jacob? Jacob is the Patriarch which both Jews and Samaritans revere, and it is he who had the vision of Jacob's ladder which was alluded to by Jesus in His first encounter with Nathanael. She still doesn't understand, of course, what Jesus is talking about, and wonders where she can get the water in the physical sense. Jesus makes His spiritual promises to her, and opens the door to her greater understanding. My study bible points out that while Jacob is revered and through him revelation of God has been given, Jesus is therefore in this picture the fuller revelation, just as He is introducing her to the "living" work of the Spirit, in the "living water."

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly." Before He proceeds, there is a kind of a test. Let us look to our lives, where we have been and where might wish in the future to go. It is also a revelation; Jesus once again discloses His knowledge of people (as with Nathanael and others in the Gospel). In effect, it draws her further in toward Him, and toward understanding. But I also see in it an encounter typical of a spiritual nature in Christ: we must face ourselves; all knowledge or mystery includes with it the transformation of who we are, who we know ourselves to be.

The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship." This part of the reading is an expression of a dispute between the Jews and Samaritans. While they also worshiped the God of Israel, they had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim (as opposed to the temple in Jerusalem). Jacob's well is at the foot of Mt. Gerizim. The temple was destroyed by the Jews in 128 B.C. The Samaritans accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) and also waited for a Messiah, a redeemer. Perhaps Jesus is the Prophet they await (after Moses).

Jesus said to 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." Jesus begins, in context, to address the dispute among these peoples that she brings up. But He gathers them both in the assertion that worship at a particular site will no longer be an issue. First, however, He asserts the value and truth of the fullness of Jewish spiritual heritage, and the understanding of all the Jewish prophets who spoke of the One who was to come. And through this heritage, Jesus has been born a Jew, also in fulfillment of Scripture. It is through the fullness of such knowledge that we understand who Christ is.

"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 in truth." Here is the revelation that unites Jew and Samaritan, and all of us who would worship, in a powerful truth: God is Spirit, and God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth. A living reality, among us and with us - not confined to one temple here or there, one church here or there; but living, among us, with us, within us, everywhere present and filling all things. What powerful words to tell us this message: the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God seeks us out - as Jesus seeks her out. This revelation cannot and will not be contained.

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." Jesus' words here reinforce the ever-presence of God, of spiritual reality. Ego eimi in the Greek, "I AM, who speak to you," is literally what Jesus says here. I AM, of course, is the name of God. Its use, according to my study bible, constitutes a theophany, or revelation of God (see Gen. 17:1 and Ex. 3:14). My study bible says, "Jesus reveals Himself to be more than the Mosaic Prophet and more than the Jewish Messiah; indeed, He is the Incarnate God Himself." What we learn here is about the power of the presence of Christ, of God: I AM teaches us the nature of God: ever-present, always with us, and filling all things. Jesus reveals Himself to the Samaritan woman.

It teaches us of the tremendous power of the Spirit at work within us and among us that Jesus would reveal Himself to this Samaritan woman. Misled regarding the importance of where one worships and the disputes thereof, not fully understanding previous Scripture and revelation about the Messiah, and not having lived a necessarily pristine or exceedingly virtuous life in a conventional sense, this woman nevertheless encounters that brilliance of Christ's Presence which is revealed for her. How does this happen except by a God who is ever-present for all of us, for each of us? It illustrates the nature of this relationship. God comes to us where we are, in a private moment, at an unexpected time and place. Jesus is alone with this woman for this tremendous and powerful revelation; and yet, it is recorded for us so that we know it. His disciples are away and no one else is near. How can it be that our God will be there for us when we are ready? We need not be entirely understanding, nor powerful, nor even prepared, but God is always present. I AM is what we encounter. Let us not be unaware, and let us always remember, wherever we are in life, to be prepared for such an encounter in spirit and in truth - "for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."