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

Over the past two readings, we have read about Jesus' encounter at Jacob's well with a Samaritan woman. He began (in Thursday's reading) by asking her to get Him a drink of water (a surprising thing for Jewish man to do!) -- and told 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." In yesterday's reading, He replied when she asked for this water, "Go call your husband, and come here." She told Him she had no husband -- and He replied that she'd spoken well, because she had had five husbands already, and the one she had now was not truly her husband. Because of this knowledge, she thought He must be a prophet. She asked Him about the dispute between the Jews and Samaritans over the site of temple worship. But He replied 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 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?" 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. His disciples seem to be so stunned that He's speaking to this woman that they fail to say anything to Him or to her at all! Jews were not allowed to speak publicly with a woman, and furthermore with a Samaritan woman. My study bible notes, "Jesus' words and actions transcend ethnic and gender-related customs of the time." It also notes here that this Samaritan woman becomes the first evangelist, "testifying to the advent of Christ and bringing others to Him." It continues, "According to early tradition, after the Resurrection of Christ she was baptized and given the Christian name Photini," which in Greek means "the enlightened one." With her two sons and five daughters, tradition tells us, she went to Carthage to spread the gospel. They were arrested, taken to Rome under Nero, imprisoned and later martyred. The story about her tells us she who met Christ beside 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." The misunderstanding of Jesus' words, as so often happens in the Gospels, becomes a tool for teaching. Here, Jesus' words tell us so much, about His ministry and life. But they also tell us something specific -- they indicate that to speak with this woman was a part of His work, something very deliberate. Whatever customs or traditional structures (such as speaking to a woman, and even a Samaritan woman) have been violated, they have been in service to the Father and the ministry He's been given -- "to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." My study bible says, "His food is to bring people to believe in Him and be saved." And the message is very clear -- salvation is from the Jews, but it is going to other peoples as well. In yesterday's reading, Jesus told the woman, "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews." He is enlightening those who do not know, and who will worship in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

"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." Tradition tells us that the Samaritan townspeople brought back with the woman are dressed in white as they approach Jesus. These people are the fields "white for harvest." White or light-colored grain, turned from green, indicate a field is ready for harvest. My study bible writes, "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." Clearly, just as John the Baptist has prepared the way for Christ in this Gospel of John, so Jesus also refers to all those who populate the spiritual history of Israel, the entire salvation story, who have prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah, including the Patriarchs, prophets, and others we do not know. We get a glimpse, also, of the nature of the ongoing work of this 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." Here is the beginning Church. The gospel is truly for all people. Jesus stays with them for two days; in the context of John's Gospel so far, this is quite a record. He has been moving rapidly from place to place as He shapes His ministry, chooses disciples, goes to the Passover feast at Jerusalem. Two days assure us this is indeed His work, well worth taking time out for -- He has much to do here, the fields are more than ripe, the harvest is abundant. They accept Jesus' identity as Messiah, "the Christ, and the Savior of the world."

That Christ is "the Savior of the world" tells us something powerful and essential. The word in Greek is kosmos, which means more than the world, than planet earth. It means the whole of Creation, all that is. Jesus is the Savior who not only is "of the Jews" but for "the world." The good news is abundant in the fields white for harvest -- He is what the world has been prepared for in all of salvation history. And, in my opinion, we still await Him in our lives. I don't think there isn't a circumstance, in our adult lives, when the way has not been paved nor prepared for Christ, when His light cannot help us and guide us. Think of the grain in the fields: how many people are ready for His message? The number is incalculable even as the population of the world continues to grow. We must think and try to understand what it means to be ready for harvest. Traditionally, in this region of the Samaritans today, the phrase "a white heart" means someone who is pure in heart. It is Jesus who has told us, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." When we're ready to hear and accept, with an open heart, the field is ripe. Let us look to St. Photini: she was by no means perfect in a "worldly" sense, she was the "wrong person" for Jesus to be speaking with -- and yet, there she was, at Jacob' well, where she needed to be so Christ could do His work. She is the first person to whom He has directly revealed Himself in ministry. Nothing can stop this work from happening; there are no barriers that can really get in the way of the field white for harvest, the white heart that is ready to hear, that needs the light of Christ. What do you need? What can He offer you today? The "living water" of this well is always in abundance and waiting for you. Like the Samaritans, like Nathanael, you may come and see for yourself. In return, He will offer you a place in this ministry as well - the waters that spring to everlasting life.