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

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though 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 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

Yesterday we read that after the Passover in Jerusalem,  Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  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.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though 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.  Samaria is to the north of Jerusalem; it is a territory located between Judea and Galilee (map).   Jesus leaves Judea because the growing popularity of His ministry has gained the attention of the Pharisees.  The sixth hour is noon; this is after Passover, possibly late spring or even summer.  We can imagine the heat in this region.  In my mind, I imagine a quiet time.  Jacob's well is deserted, save for Christ alone with this woman who came to draw water.  My study bible tells us that, although the Old Testament doesn't mention Jacob's Well, Jacob lived in this area (Genesis 33:19).  It notes that wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  Therefore, wells began to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4, Isaiah 55:1).  This well still is kept as a shrine, where pilgrims may drink of it.  That Jesus is wearied from His journey shows His complete humanity.  This Samaritan woman is identified in the Orthodox tradition as St. Photini.

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.  My study bible explains that the Samaritans were a mixed race and also traditional enemies of the Jews.  They worshiped the God of Israel, and also were awaiting the Messiah.  They accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (Pentateuch, or written Torah) as their Scriptures.

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."  My study bible explains that living water in the ordinary sense means, fresh and flowing water, from a  stream or spring rather than pond or cistern.  Christ uses the term to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit which leads to eternal life (7:37-39).  It is a gift that does  not simply remain within a person, but rather overflows to others in its abundance.  This woman misunderstand Jesus, and asks if He is greater than our father Jacob.  Jacob, my study bible explains, is a "type" of Christ, having received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12).  Earlier, in John's Gospel, Jesus referred to Himself as one whom upon whom Nathanael would see angels ascending and descending, a reference to Himself as Jacob's Ladder (1:51), the vision which He fulfills.  Moreover, as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, Christ now gives us the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life.

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."  As Jesus understood that this woman was living with a man without married, and also that he knew of her whole history of many husbands, she perceives that He is a prophet.  As they followed the Pentateuch, the Samaritans had not accepted any prophets after Moses.  So the only prophet they expected was the Messiah foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).  Once again, John's Gospel teaches us about Jesus' knowledge of people's hearts, underscoring the divine nature of Christ.

"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 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."     This woman refers to the temple the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim, which had been destroyed by the Jews in 128 BC.  If Jesus was the expected Prophet referred to by Moses, He could settle this historical argument between the Samaritan and the Jews regarding where temple worship was to take place.  But Jesus has come to bring a fullness of worship with a new understanding, and He does not answer this earthly question.  Rather He speaks of the way in which people ought to worship:  in spirit and truth.  My study bible comments that Jesus goes beyond this, to teach about God.  The Father is worshiped in spirit; that is, the Holy Spirit -- and in truth, in Christ Himself (14:6).   Jesus reveals that God is Spirit; as such, God cannot be confined or determined in one location.  My study bible suggests that those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart.  Jesus also tells her that salvation is of the Jews.  That is, the true revelation of God comes from Judaism.  St. Athanasius writes:  "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."  Moreover, my study bible adds, Jesus testifies that the Messiah, who was prophesied among the Jews, has risen from among the Jews.  It adds, "While the gift of salvation in Christ is to all nations, it has come from within Judaism.  When Jesus speaks of the hour that is coming and now is, He refers to His death and Resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."  This statement is literally translated from the Greek as "I AM [Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi] who speak to you."  I AM is the divine Name of God revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:14).  The use of this Name indicates it is what is called a "theophany," a revelation of God.  The use of the Name by a human being was considered to be blasphemy and therefore punishable by death (see 8:58, Mark 14:62).  As Jesus is divine, His use of this Name is a revelation of His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Christ is God Incarnate.

What can we say about the gift of Christ to this woman?  How is it possible that He reveals Himself first to this woman, this native of Samaria of the people hated by the Jews?  How can we possibly compare the gift of Christ to any gift we have received in our lives, when He reveals Himself not to the nominally "greatest" people of this world, but to this particular woman, alone at this well, who has had a string of husbands and lives with a man she's not married to?  How can we possibly compare this gift that He gives to anything we have received in our own lives?  In revealing Himself as God this woman, Christ has said to the world that He reveals Himself to each one of us, and gives, and offers, each of us this gift.  What must we do to be unworthy of the gift?  He does not ask us for worthiness.  He asks us to receive and take the journey of faith toward His fullness, and that is commitment -- and sacrifice -- enough.  Let us make note that in today's reading Jesus also reveals Himself as the cup, the chalice of reconciliation of all things.  He is the answer to all questions.  What the woman perceives (and rightly so under the historical circumstances) as a historical fight or disagreement between the Samaritans and the Jews is in fact resolved in Christ.  There is no dispute here.  God is worshiped in spirit and in truth -- and the Father is seeking those who are capable of this worship to be called to the worship that Christ offers, and to the fullness of the reality of the Trinity.  Jesus is the Son who comes searching for those who can receive this gift, and who are capable of receiving and worshiping in this way, through this understanding -- through the power of the Trinity at work in our world and in our lives.  Everything becomes transfigured in this worship, in this message, in this gift that is on offer to us in the encounter at the well.  How appropriate that John tells us it is high noon, the time when the sun is highest in the sky, and burns most brightly upon us, making visible all things in its light.  But the Gospel also reminds us that Christ will be in the midst of His own cup at noon, on the Cross, when darkness came over the whole land until His death.  There are times in our lives when the sun seems darkened, when the light of our faith doesn't seem to shine so brightly as on other occasions.  But this remains a part of the offering, the cup which He offers to each of us, as we follow Him and remain faithful even at those times.   At this deserted well under the hot sun, just He and this woman converse, and the entire Gospel of illumination is given to her.  And so she is named in the Church, St. Photini, meaning "Enlightened" or "Luminous."   We worship the Light in Spirit and in truth, and He comes to us as He comes to her.  Let us hold on to that light, in the way He teaches!