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"

 

 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 4:16-26 

 

Yesterday 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 ti that You, being a Jew, as 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, 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."  My study Bible comments here that since Jesus perceived she was living with a man without being married, and as He knew of her string of husbands, the woman perceives He is a prophet.  As the Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses, the only prophet they expected was the Messiah whom Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).  Christ's insight into people's hearts, reported many times in the Gospels, underscores His divine nature.  

"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."  My study Bible points out that if Jesus was indeed the expected Prophet (see the previous verses, above), then He could settle the historical argument about where worship was to take place.  Jesus refuses to answer such an earthly question and elevates the discussion instead to the manner in which people ought to worship.  Moreover, He turns the attention to the One we worship:  God Himself.  The Father is worshiped in spirit -- that is, in the Holy Spirit -- and in truth -- in Christ Himself (John 14:6) and according to God's revelation.  God is Spirit:   My study Bible comments on this statement that God cannot be confined to a particular location.  Those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart.  Salvation is of the Jews:  Here Christ affirms that true revelation comes from Judaism.  My study Bible quotes St. Athanasius:  "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."  More importantly, my study Bible says, Jesus is testifying that the Messiah, who was prophesied among the Jews,has risen from among the Jews.  While the gift of salvation in Christ is to all nations, it has come from within Judaism.  The hour is a reference to the death and Resurrection of Christ and to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which inaugurates the worship of the new covenant.  

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."   My study Bible says that I who speak to you am He is literally translated "I AM [Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi], who speak to you."   I AM is the divine Name of God (Exodus 3:14).  The use of this name indicates what is called a theophany, meaning a revelation of God.  The use of this name by a mere human being was considered to be blasphemy, and punishable by death (see John 8:58, Mark 14:62).  But, as Jesus is divine, His use of this Name reveals His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit; He is God Incarnate.

In the story of the Samaritan woman, we have an evolving opening up of truths and spiritual realities that Christ reveals to her through their conversation.  Through misunderstandings, through language that is symbolic, and through her own questions regarding the way she has already understood a framework for her religion, Christ reveals the greater realities of God that He has come into the world to teach.  Her mind opens to Him as she begins to grasp and desires what He offers her, even if she cannot fully comprehend.  In this story of the Samaritan woman, we have the Gospel teaching us what it is to open to the things that, as yet, we don't know.  It is also an example of what we can understand as repentance, or "change of mind" as the Greek word literally means (Greek μετανοια/metanoia).  This is because, within her framework of understanding, Christ brings a new influence and outlook, and new information that opens up perspective, and she is willing to change her mind, to open up, to be illumined by the light He offers.  When Christ switches the effective debate over where one must worship to how one must worship, she listens.   To move from an understanding that God is limited to one place, one temple, and a particular location over to an understanding that God is spirit and must be worshiped in spirit and truth, is a transformation that entirely changes one's orientation toward God and the life of worship in which we participate.  This is a tremendous change; and yet, she is listening.  Perhaps it is her openness to His teachings that enables Jesus to reveal to her -- of all people -- His identity as the Christ.  Let us observe how she responds to Him.  She asks about the strife and disagreement between the Jews and her own people; He tells her the answer is an entirely different focus.  She does not seek to re-engage in the dispute, but says to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming," affirming something truthful that she knows instead.  This opens the door to His revelation to her that He is the Christ.  Her own example serves us in any kind of testimony; she sticks to what she knows and engages to seek answers to what she doesn't.  She knows the dispute over the location of the temple, but listens when He tells her an entirely different answer than expected which demands a shift in focus.  She sticks to the truth she knows, but engages to learn about what she doesn't know.  This teaches us about how to engage in dialogue and to have a conscious awareness that when it comes to God, there is more that we don't know than that we know.  As Jesus says, God is spirit, and therefore God is also mystery.  What Jesus reveals to her is a mystery unheard of for her time and place, and yet, she listens and engages in dialogue.  In a time when we can look around ourselves and find seemingly endless examples of how not to engage in what can't even be called "dialogue" with those who have a different point of view, she remains an example for us of how to learn from interaction with others -- especially strangers who might have something to offer that we don't expect and don't yet know.   It is like the first great encounter we read about in Genesis, that of Abraham who "entertained angels unaware" (Hebrews 13:2; see Genesis 18).  The Patriarch Abraham began the entire story of the people of God because he listened to strangers who revealed spiritual truth; here this Samaritan woman listens in the desert at high noon to the One who reveals a new covenant for the people of God.  In tomorrow's reading, we will see how she is willing to hear and follow, leading others to Christ.  But for now let us consider two people alone, speaking at a rare well, sacred to religious history, on a hot desert day, and the great revelation that comes from what seems like a chance meeting of this Jewish stranger who breaks all custom to ask a Samaritan woman for a drink of water.