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?

The Ladder of Divine Ascent, 12th century.  St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

 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." 

- John 4:1-15

Yesterday we read that 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.   Jesus is traveling northward toward Galilee, to get away from the scrutinizing eyes of the Pharisees who zealously guard their religious authority.  Samaria is the region north of Jerusalem, between Judea and Galilee.  My study bible points out that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, but we do know that Jacob lived in the area (Genesis 33:19).  Wells were significant, my study bible says, both because of their rarity and also their value in desert life.  Therefore, wells were to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This well is maintained as a shrine to this day, and pilgrims can drink from it.  That Jesus is wearied from His journey shows us His full humanity.  This is desert country, and the period is at least late spring or perhaps early summer, after the Passover and Christ's time spent afterward in Judea; the sixth hour is noon. 

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.   In the tradition of the Church, this woman is known as St. Photini (more about her in the next readings).  My study bible explains that the Samaritans were a mixed race of both Jews and Gentiles, and traditional enemies of the Jews.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel and were also awaiting the Messiah, they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch or Torah) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC.  (In tomorrow's reading, we will see her reference this dispute over the location of the temple.)  We may find Jesus' command strange, "Give Me a drink."  But in the customs of the time, what is unusual about it is simply that He, a Jewish man alone with this Samaritan woman, would speak to her at all.  His request for water is meant deliberately to draw her out.

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 of the term means fresh, flowing water.  That is, water from a stream or spring rather than a pond or a cistern.  Jesus uses this term to indicate the grace of the Holy Spirit which leads to eternal life (7:37-39).  My study bible says that this gift not only remains in a person, but it is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The woman misunderstands Him, and she asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  But this is a spiritual reflection that teaches us something about Christ, that Jacob, in His light, is a "type" of Christ, as Jacob received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which is fulfilled in Christ -- in His Incarnation, He is the living ladder between heaven and earth.  Moreover, as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, my study bible says, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life.  We notice that through His words, Christ has drawn in this woman to great curiosity about the water He speaks about.  In the following readings, He will continue to explain His message.

Jacob's ladder was the vision given to Jacob in a dream, of a ladder between heaven and earth, upon which angels ascended and descended (see Genesis 28:10-22).  It is the story of the promised land, the holy place where God dwells.  In today's story, God has come to this well, not only blessing the place and the people who are looked down upon and cast away by the Jews, but more importantly, illuminating and enlightening the people, and casting away false belief.  The name of this woman, St. Photini, means "illumined" or "enlightened one."  We will read more about her tomorrow.  But what is important is that, through this visitation of Christ, Jacob's vision of the ladder is fulfilled, as well as his words that, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" (Genesis 28:16-17).  The Lord is indeed in this place, and where He is there is the gate of heaven, which He will open to the people through this woman listening to Him at the well, as He teaches about the "living water" which He will give.  In that sense, Jesus is both the well and the ladder -- for it is He who has the gift of the living water to give to others.  The notion of the ladder as an image of spiritual journey toward God was an important one to the early Fathers of the Church, and later was developed into an understanding of monastic asceticism, particularly in the book of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus.  Jesus Himself refers to Jacob's ladder earlier in John's Gospel, when He tells Nathanael, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (John 1:51).  So everything in this story in today's reading can be approached with this understanding in mind, that Jesus comes as fulfillment of the promises and visions of the Old Testament, that He is the ladder dreamed of by Jacob, and that God is present here at this well, and promising an abundance of living water as gift for those who ask.  In tomorrow's reading, we will find that, like the "ladder" of monastic ascent in asceticism, there are truths required of us in receiving this water and this blessing, a kind of humility in which we are willing to go forward, to find instruction, an honesty about ourselves and where we need to go.  All of this remains for us to see, and even to experience for ourselves in our own journey with Christ.  For today, let us picture this scene in the hot desert climate, at noon, of the weary traveler (Jesus) who promises a gift of water that will become in those who receive it "a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  God remains with us and this water remains a gift for us.  He still reaches out to offer it to those who will receive the gift, and make the journey to the life He offers.