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

On Saturday we read that 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."

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.  The disciples were in the town seeking food, while Jesus had remained at Jacob's well, where He began speaking to the Samaritan woman.  The disciples are apparently so confounded not only that He should be speaking to a woman alone, but even a Samaritan woman, that they simply can say nothing to Him.  Christ's encounters with women defy the social restrictions of His time to teach us about His love for all of His children and our reciprocity in faith to Him (see John 7:53-8:11; 11:20-33; 20:11-18 -- also Luke 8:1-3).  This is the Gospel written by the disciple who would become entrusted son to Christ's mother after His death (19:26); one cannot help but feel that the view the Gospel gives us into Jesus' relationships with women reflects this experience and subsequent understanding.  Meanwhile, the Samaritan woman, who is to be called St. Photini ("the enlightened one" in Greek) later on in the Church, becomes a kind of evangelist herself, going to her own townspeople to tell them about Jesus.  My study bible notes that along with her two sons and five daughters, she went to Carthage to spread the gospel.  Later on she was martyred with her family under the emperor Nero, by being thrown into well.  In the Eastern Churches she is remembered on March 20.

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."  Here is another example of how misunderstanding is used in John's Gospel to illumine and create understanding; common expressions open the way to spiritual understanding as Christ uses them.  Jesus fulfills His role as Messiah by doing the will of the Father.  Therefore, this is His food.  My study bible adds that this passage teaches us that we are to perform the will of God in our own lives without being distracted by earthly cares (6:27; see also Matthew 4:4; 6:25-33). 

"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!"  According to St. John Chrysostom, cited by my study bible, Christ's command to behold and look is given as the townpeople are approaching, and they are ready and eager to believe in Him and His message.  Jesus compares these foreigners (Samaritans, enemies of the Jews) to fields which are ready for harvest.  My study bible adds that this command is also to all believers, to look to those around us and to share the gospel with anyone who wants to hear it, regardless of race or ethnicity.

"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."  Again, St. Chrysostom's commentary is cited here.  He teaches that those who sow and those who reap are the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles, respectively.  The prophets sowed in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.  But they did not see His coming and therefore did not reap.  The apostles did not do the preparation, but they will draw thousands to Christ within their own lifetimes and through their own labors and entering into the labors of others.   By the same token, we today are not alone in our faith, but enter into an entire communion of saints and their labors, reaping where they have sown in our faith.

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 notes that as these foreigners are among the very first to recognize Christ as the Savior of the world, it shows us that the gospel is for all people in every nation.

These Samaritans do what each of us must do in our faith.  They hear about Christ, and then they come and hear Him for themselves; this is how they know that Christ is the Savior of the world.  In the first chapter of John's Gospel, when Jesus' very first disciples were taught by John the Baptist, "Behold the Lamb of God," Jesus' response to them is to "come and see" for themselves (John 1:35-42).  On the following day, when Philip and Nathanael are called, Nathanael says to Philip, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  And Philip tells Nathanael, "Come and see" (John 1:43-51).  So it is with each of us.  We may hear about Christ and read about Him.  We may find all kinds of sources to teach us about Him.  But each encounter must finally be brought home to ourselves and our experience of our faith, and even our own personal experience of Christ.  We enter into a communion and more; we participate in the life of Christ through the practices of the Church, in particular, through the Eucharist.    In chapter 6, Jesus teaches, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him" (see 6:53-58).  In chapter 15, He teaches, "Abide in Me, and I in you" (15:4).   Certainly in the Eucharist we find a complete fulfillment of His words and teachings.  What Christ asks us to do is enter into the deepest communion with Him, on all levels.  It is the work of the Holy Spirit that makes this possible.  We are each called to "come and see" for ourselves, and in the language of the Scriptures, to "abide with Him."   Our work of faith requires a kind of close communion that brings us into union with Him.  This is not merely an intellectual understanding of the faith He offers and the teachings He gives.  It isn't even a kind of obedience to a set of rules or commands.  It is rather a closeness so close there can be no closer.  We are to live this relationship of communion and to experience it for ourselves.  In our prayer we are not called to "speak with ourselves" as did the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14).  We are instead called to enter into a dialogue with God.  What we find is an integration of body, soul, and spirit, which will call us both to sacrifice and to commands within the body of the Church and in a communion which also includes our own hearts.  Each one of us must live this journey for ourselves, must bear our own crosses for ourselves.  Without such encounter, faith is not full, for love is all about communion and depth of encounter.   Indeed, when Jesus speaks in today's reading of entering into others' labors, and reaping what we do not sow, He is clearly illustrating what it means to be a part of such a communion.  In Revelation 3:20, we are told, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."  This is the fulfillment of the words, "Come and see," and it is a knock and a call for each one of us.