He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together

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, we read about the woman at Jacob's well. Jesus is in Samaria, home to a people who were traditional enemies of the Jews. They worshiped the same God, but held only to the first five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch. Jesus revealed Himself to her through a series of questions and answers, gradually revealing more and more, drawing her in with His metaphors or riddles in some sense, a parable of "living water." Eventually, He told her, "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."

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?" Jesus has revealed Himself, in His full identity as Christ, to this Samaritan woman. They have spoken alone, no one else has been near. Quite clearly, Jesus chose to draw her out, in order to reveal Himself to her specifically. Now His disciples come upon this scene, and are astounded that He would be speaking with a woman, let alone a Samaritan woman. Jews were not allowed to converse publicly with a woman. My study bible says, "Jesus' words and actions transcend ethnic and gender-related customs of the time."

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, singled out by Christ for a theophany, or revelation of God, now becomes, in effect, the very first evangelist. An unlikely candidate indeed! And in that, we open our eyes once again to the revelation of the Gospel and what we must understand through it. My study bible says that this woman, according to tradition, was baptized after the Resurrection, and given the name Photini -- in Greek, this means "the enlightened one." Tradition tells us that she, along with her two sons and five daughters, went to Carthage to spread the Gospel. All of them were arrested under Nero, imprisoned at Rome, and martyred. In many branches of the church, she is called St. Photini, and tradition holds that she, who met Christ beside the well, was martyred for Him 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." Again, we have an example of Jesus drawing out people's understanding with statements that on the surface have a different meaning than the one He is introducing to them. His metaphors, or riddles, also appearing as parables, often work this way -- but this conversation is typical of Jesus' style of drawing out meanings for people in John's Gospel. In this case, we understand bread, or food, as that which serves the whole of the self -- particularly the spiritual reality of a person. His work and His food is to "do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." We are introduced to evangelism via the woman at the well, and Jesus begins to teach His disciples what their commission should be, their food, as well.

"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!" An interesting statement, in light of the context and where Jesus and His disciples are -- as those from the city are called by Photini, they come to Christ for themselves. They are traditionally thought to have been 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 that the Father is the sower and Jesus is the reaper. He will also send the disciples to reap. In yesterday's reading, Jesus told the Samaritan woman that the Father is seeking "true worshipers," who "will worship Him in spirit and truth." The fields ripe for harvest are the fruit of the labors of others -- but Jesus' disciples will be sent to reap the harvest. In this we can see all the labors of those who work and have worked for salvation in the world - we all enter into a harvest for which we did not work. All those "others" who have labored would of course include the countless figures of the Old Testament, patriarchs, prophets, John the Baptist and so many more. This ongoing labor is in some sense outside of our normal framework of time: it is a project involving those who have been "sent"in so many ways. Our process is ongoing, we all enter into one another's labor, and that of the Father and Son and Spirit. My study bible says of the disciples, "Their apostolic mission has been implicit from their initial calling." And, we can presume, His direct and special address to Photini is also a part of this process.

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." My study bible says, "The Samaritans are the first to recognize Jesus as Savior of the world. The gospel is for all people." And so it is. St. Photini teaches all about what He revealed to her, and then they come to see for themselves. In some sense, this is identical to the process of picking His disciples we read about in the beginning of John's Gospel: Andrew is chosen, and then he brings his brother Simon Peter. Philip is chosen, and he finds Nathanael. But all have to come to Christ to truly find their calling, to experience this reality. And so it is with the Samaritans. There are no barriers to Christ, but each must come of his own choice, and see for themselves.

How do we find faith? It is necessary, in my opinion, to have our own spiritual encounter, whether that be at worship, in prayer, in times we call upon God or Christ to help us, at times we may least expect it. One thing is certain: Jesus has told us, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." In the Greek, we remember, wind and Spirit are the same word, pneuma. Jesus reveals Himself to the woman at the well, and we can learn from this that there are no barriers, no patterns, no stereotype to salvation but faith and those who are willing to worship "in spirit and truth." The Father still seeks those who will do so. Can you be an instrument of His labor, and help to reap the harvest He seeks?