God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth

Ladder of Divine Ascent (St. John Climacus), 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 dealing 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 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.  Samaria was a region to the north of Jerusalem, between Judea and Galilee.  

 

 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.  According to my study Bible, the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob dwelt in this area (Genesis 33:19).  It notes that wells were significant because of their rarity and value in desert life.  Because of this, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This particular well, we're told, is maintained as a shrine even today, and pilgrims can drink from it.  The text tells us that Jesus is wearied from His journey, which shows us His complete humanity.  Not surprisingly the sun is hot and high overhead, for it is the sixth hour, which is noon.   In Church tradition, this woman is known 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 dealing with Samaritans. The Samaritans were a mixed race, and traditional enemies of the Jews, my study Bible tells us.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel, and they were also awaiting the Messiah, they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC. 

 

 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."   In the ordinary sense, the term living water applies to fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than a pond or cistern.  Jesus uses this term to indicate the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, my study Bible says, but it is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The Samaritan woman misunderstands Christ, and she asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  In the Scriptures, my study Bible explains, Jacob is a type of Christ, for it is Jacob who received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Christ fulfills.  Moreover, as Jacob gave this well for earthly, so Christ now gives 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."   Because Jesus knew that she was living with a man without being married, and as He also knew of her string of husbands, this woman perceives that He is a prophet.  As the Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses, my study Bible explains, the only prophet they expected was the Messiah foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).   Christ's insight into people's hearts is recorded many times in the Gospels, and this 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 comments that, if Jesus was truly the expected Prophet, then He is the One who could settle the historical argument about where worship was to take place.   However, He refuses to answer this earthly question, and instead elevates the discussion 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, my study Bible says, and in truth -- that is in Christ Himself (John 14:6) and according to Christ's revelation.   That God is Spirit means that God cannot be confined to a particular location.  Jesus teaches that salvation is of the Jews:  My study Bible calls this an affirmation by Christ that true revelation comes from Judaism.  St. Athanasius the Great has written, "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."  Even more importantly, here Jesus testifies that the Messiah, who was prophesied among the Jews, has now risen from among the Jews.  My study Bible comments that while the gift of salvation in Christ is to all nations, it has come to us 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."  I who speak to you am He is literally translated "I AM (εγω ειμι/ego eimi), who speak to you."  I AM is the divine Name of God.  Its use here indicates a theophany, or revelation of God Himself, my study Bible says.  The use of this Name by a mere human being was considered blasphemy and punishable by death (see John 8:58; Mark 14:62). But, as Jesus Himself is divine, His use of this Name is a revelation of His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit; truly, He is God Incarnate.

 

 Jesus reveals Himself to this woman at this place of mixed populations that the Jews don't acknowledge as their own, and apparently, neither does anyone else.  In fact for the Samaritans, their constant struggle is with the Jews over the location of the temple, and the correct understanding of their faith.  Jesus sets down a kind of precedent though, that works in a type of way that fulfills a type from the Old Testament.  Solomon's wisdom in deciding the oft-repeated case of the two women fighting over an infant, each claiming it as their own, is a kind of foreshadowing of Christ the Judge.  In the end, it was the woman who showed her compassion for the baby was the true mother, and Solomon's decision is lauded in the Scriptures as the "wisdom of God" (see 1 Kings 3:16-28).  In some sense, the Jews and Samaritans struggle over the place of the temple, but Jesus is the One who is Himself the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:30), whose character is marked by compassion.  And so, He offers the wisdom of God to this woman, in this crossroads of Jacob's well, for He is also the Ladder of which Jacob dreamed at this spot.  He tells her, "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."  It's utterly remarkable to contemplate that Jesus' revelations to this woman take place in this seemingly isolated spot outside the town where only the two of them speak alone.  Why this woman?  Perhaps to truly deliver the message that God is not about a place, but about where one is capable of worship in spirit and truth, wherever and in whomever that teaching can be received and lived. Finally, Jesus even reveals Himself.  She has faith enough to say with confidence of the Messiah, that "when He comes, He will tell us all things."   Jesus reveals, ""I who speak to you am He."  Why here?  Why this woman?  He reveals He is the Ladder of Jacob (Israel) that links heaven and earth.   Perhaps because she seems to be the least likely person who would be given this revelation, it is given to her to teach us about the transcendent reality of faith and the heart that can be illumined, which, incidentally is the meaning of her name, St. Photini.  In tomorrow's reading, we'll see her response, and find out more about her and the mission that lies ahead in her life.  

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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, no 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.  Samaria is the region to the north of Jerusalem, which was between Judea and Galilee.  Jesus journeys here after His experiences at the first Passover given in St. John's Gospel.  But notably, He comes to this Gentile land after He knew that the Pharisees had heard Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob did live in this area (Genesis 33:19).  According to my study Bible, wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  Because of this, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This specific well is maintained as a shrine to this day, and pilgrims can drink from it.  It's noted also that Jesus is wearied from His journey, which shows us His complete humanity.  The sixth hour is noon; He is in a hot and arid climate, and it is likely summer.  In Church tradition, this woman is identified as St. Photini.  More will be learned about her in tomorrow's reading and commentary.  Regarding the Samaritans, my study Bible explains that they were a mixed race 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) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC.  

 

 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, no come here to draw."  My study Bible writes that living water in the ordinary sense means fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  It explains that Christ uses this term to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, but is so abundant that it overflows to others.  As is frequently observed of St. John's Gospel, here this woman misunderstands Christ, and she asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  My study Bible comments that in the Scriptures, Jacob is a type of Christ, for he received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Christ fulfills.  Moreover, just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life.  

 

Imagine being this woman, and encountering Christ!  It might be difficult to imagine a circumstance which would be seemingly more incongruous in terms of understanding and accepting Christ and what He brings to this woman and to the world.  Would we imagine that she could understand?  As we will see, it will be even hard for the disciples to understand why Jesus speaks with any woman in a situation potentially scandalous  -- even if she were a Jewish woman alone, the same would apply.  But this woman is a foreigner, a Samaritan, part of a group at active enmity with the Jews.  So what can she understand of Christ (we're tempted to ask)?  Why does He speak with her?  Let us note that it is indeed He who engages her first, not she who speaks to Him.  We know that in all things Christ acts in accordance with the Father's will, and does nothing to deviate from His public mission of salvation.  So why her?  This is something we need to ponder, for the answers tell us so much about the Lord.  First we observe that there is no barrier to His role as the Lord.  She need not be Jewish for Him to approach her, and even to begin to speak of the great mysteries He brings with Him in His mission for the salvation of the world.  As we have just read in chapter 3, Jesus Himself said to Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  God loves the world, He said, not just one people or another; and God's Son has been given to the world out of that love, for all the world, and for the life of the world (John 6:51).  So we learn from this encounter that there are no barriers for Christ -- no barriers between human beings and our Lord; and moreover, that Christ's sacrifice, His giving of Himself to the world, also knows no boundaries that we, from a purely earthly perspective, might ascribe to Him.  So her supposed "preparation" for Him in terms of her education and understanding, her religious or cultural background, her gender, her status in the society, the customs practiced, and a host of other factors all mean nothing in terms of forming real barriers to Christ and to what He comes into the world to offer to all of us.  When we think we have an impossible task, something quite difficult to convey or express or to be understood, let us think about this circumstance.  For Christ to open up the powerful reality of the Holy Spirit, and even His own Incarnation, to this woman, someone of whom we might say she's the last person in the world we'd expect Him to speak to so directly.  St. John Chrysostom comments on another passage in St. John's Gospel, in chapter 7, when the temple officers failed to arrest Jesus, having been captivated by a single sermon.  He writes that when the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches. Truth is like that."  In truth, we are made to be united to our Lord, the bride to Christ our Bridegroom, and so, as St. Chrysostom says, "Truth is like that."  He is the One who is the truth (John 14:6); when we encounter Him, we encounter truth.  This is another powerful mystery, how truth works within us, the recognition of Christ, the grace of faith.  Perhaps only our Lord, who began this conversation with the woman at the well, can truly understand it.  We will see further as we continue reading about Christ's encounter with the Samaritan woman in tomorrow's reading and commentary.  

 

 

 

 

Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw

 

 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 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, after Jesus' night teachings to Nicodemus, a Pharisee (see here and here), 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.   We note the growing awareness of the jealous scrutiny of the Pharisees.  Therefore Jesus leaves Judea (the region in which Jerusalem lies) for the more outlying territory of Galilee.  Samaria is the region to the north of Jerusalem, between Judea and Galilee, and so Jesus needed to go through Samaria, a Gentile territory.

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.  My study Bible comments that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob is known to have dwelt in this area (Genesis 33:18-19).  It notes that wells were very significant in this region, because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  So, wells came to be symbolic of life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This particular well continues to be maintained as a shrine, and pilgrims can drink from it.  My study Bible emphasizes also that Jesus is wearied from His journey, which expresses His complete humanity.  It is the sixth hour (or noon), which means Jesus is in the noonday heat.  This woman is identified in church tradition as St. Photini, a name meaning "Illumined" or "Enlightened,"  We will delve more into her history in tomorrow's reading and commentary.  

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. My study Bible explains that the Samaritans were a mixed race and traditional enemies of the Jews.  They worshiped the God of Israel, and were also awaiting the Messiah, but the Samaritans accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch or Torah) as their Scriptures.  They had also built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, a disputed location, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC.

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 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."  In the ordinary sense, my study Bible explains, living water means fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  Jesus uses this term in order to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).   My study Bible emphasizes that this gift not only remains in a person, but is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The woman misunderstands Christ and she asked, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  In the Scriptures, Jacob is a type of Christ, as he received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Jesus fulfills.  Additionally, just as Jacob gave the well for earthly life, so Christ now gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life. 

 What is water in a desert?  So is the gift of the Holy Spirit within a world that seems sorely lacking of this fountain of life itself.  In the Creed, the Holy Spirit is referred to as "the Giver of life."  So this well, given by the Patriarch Jacob, becomes symbolic of the gift of God's work in the world, beginning with the Jews.  It is in this sense that Jesus will teach this Samaritan woman that "salvation is of the Jews" in tomorrow's reading (John 4:22).  Just as Jacob's dream of the Ladder reaching heaven and earth, with angels ascending and descending is fulfilled in Christ (Genesis 28:12),  so also we are to understand this conversation based on Jesus' image of living water hints to us that the coming of the Holy Spirit as given by Christ is a fulfillment of the "type" of Jacob's well in the desert.  Living water is that which vivifies us when we drink it; it's not only good for human life, it is essential.  It reminds us of Ezekiel's vision, given by "the Spirit of the Lord," of the very dry bones in the valley, and his question, "Can these bones live?"  The Lord God speaks to Ezekiel, saying, "I will put My Spirit in you," even as breath came to the dry bones so that they lived (Ezekiel 37:1-14).  Let us recall that the word for Spirit and breath are the same, in Hebrew and Greek.  So, we come to this everlasting fountain or well of "living water" meant to vivify the driest of dry bones, the longest of long shots, the most forlorn, difficult, unlikely situation through it can be saved to live again.  It is the hope of the hopeless even when all seems lost by worldly standards.  Like this Samaritan woman, we must be prepared to listen and learn from Christ, to be drawn into the sayings of Jesus that illuminate things that take us beyond the certainties and affirmations of the world, giving dimension and expression to the potential of the spiritual life, and teaching salvation.  In tomorrow's reading, Jesus will magnify these concepts, for her and for us, and we will find yet more substance to the poetry of Scripture and of the Gospels in the words of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 being in Jerusalem for the Passover, and teaching to Nicodemus by night,  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.   Here John gives us a hint of the tensions that are already understood by Christ in terms of the religious leadership and their scrutiny.  As His ministry has already made and baptized more disciples than John the Baptist, Jesus leaves for Galilee, traveling north.  But first He must go through Samaria, a Gentile region north of Jerusalem, and between Judea and Galilee.

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob did dwell in this area (Genesis 33:19).  It notes that wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  So, wells became symbolic of life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This particular well continues to be maintained as a shrine, and pilgrims can drink from it.  My study Bible also asks us to note that Jesus is wearied from His journey, which shows His complete humanity and the fullness of His Incarnation.  The sixth hour is noon.  In the tradition of the Orthodox Church, this woman is identified as St. Photini (more about her in the next reading).    

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.  The Samaritans were a mixed race people, and they were traditional enemies of the Jews.  My study Bible explains that although they worshiped the God of Israel, and they were also awaiting the Messiah, in their practice they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch or Torah) as their Scriptures.  The Samaritans had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which was destroyed by the Jews in 128 BC, a dispute to which this woman refers further on in today's reading.

 

 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."   Living water, my study Bible says, in the ordinary sense means fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  Jesus uses this term, "living water," to indicate the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  My study Bible tells us that this gift not only remains in a person, but is also so abundant that it overflows to others.  The woman misunderstands Jesus, and asks Him, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  In the Scriptures, Jacob is a type of Christ, for it was Jacob who received the vision of the divine ladder connecting heaven and earth (Genesis 28:12), which is fulfilled in Christ.  Additionally, just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal 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."  In John's Gospel, we have already read passages which describe Jesus as the "Heart-knower" (see, for example, John 2:25).  Therefore, He perceived that she was living with a man without being married; He also knows of her string of husbands.  So, she perceives that He is a prophet.  My study Bible explains that as the Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses (having held only the first five books of the Old Testament as their Scriptures), the only prophet they expected was the Messiah whom Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).  My study Bible comments that Christ's insight into people's hearts, reported so 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."   The Samaritan woman brings up the religious conflict between the Samaritans and the Jews, expecting that, if Jesus were the expected Prophet (see previous paragraph), He could settle the historical argument about where worship was to take place.  My study Bible comments that Jesus refuses to answer such an earthly question and elevates the discussion instead to the manner in which people ought to worship.  More importantly, He turns attention to the One who we worship:  God.  The Father is worshiped in spirit -- that is, in the Holy Spirit -- and in truth -- that is in Christ Himself (John 14:6) and according to Christ's revelation.  God is Spirit:  Jesus is teaching that God cannot be confined to a particular location.  My study Bible says that 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:  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, Jesus testifies here that the Messiah, prophesied among the Jews, has risen from among the Jews.  While the gift of salvation in Christ is to all nations, it has come therefore from within Judaism.  The hour is a reference to Christ's death and Resurrection, and to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which my study Bible says 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 tells us that I who speak to you am He is literally translated "I AM [in Greek, εγω ειμι/ego eimi], who speak to you."  "I AM" is the divine Name of God.  Its use indicates a theophany, or manifestation of God.  The use of this Name, my study Bible explains, 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 Himself divine, His use of the Name reveals His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  He is God Incarnate.

 Jesus choose this Samaritan woman, of all people, to whom to reveal Himself.  We have to wonder why this is so, or how this came to be.  This image of Christ at the well, alone with this woman, is one we have to ponder, as it's such a seemingly quiet and intimate scene.  Imagine the day, high noon in a hot and arid climate, likely to be in the time of spring going on summer.  Jesus, the Man, sits at the well and is thirsty after traveling on foot all day.  The disciples have left Him alone to go buy food.   We can imagine it is quiet, even dusty, and if one has lived in such a climate, there may be a very slight dry wind.  Jesus, surprisingly, turns and asks the woman to get Him a drink.  This is surprising because, as she indicates by her own question, Jews and Samaritans did not interact with one another.  Moreover, a Jewish man could call scandal upon himself simply for speaking alone with a woman.  So we must presume Jesus' question to the woman is an initiative taken by Him for a reason.  Perhaps we should recall that Jesus has just come from confrontation with the religious authorities in Jerusalem, and also that they have become aware that He has made more disciples than John the Baptist.  As He is on His way to Galilee, it is to place more distance between Himself and Jerusalem, the center of the religious authority, and return to the place He began His ministry, and His home region.  Perhaps as He stops at this well, there is a beginning to the future ministry, in which the salvation which is "of the Jews" will go out to all the nations, drawing in those who "will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." At any rate, it is this phrase, "living water," with which He draws her in to the realization of who He is, and His own confession and revelation about Himself, "I who speak to you am He."  Perhaps this is a test, to see how this "foreign" woman will respond, this traditional enemy of the Jews.  Perhaps she, as a woman with a rather spotty history in terms of her personal life, becomes a powerful testimony for the new covenant, for this power of living water, and worship in spirit and truth.  At any rate, we can see just how many doors open up in this encounter, and on so many levels and layers of meaning.  What it seems to tell us is all about a theophany or manifestation of God, and what that will do in a "Face-to-face" or Person-to-person encounter.  For all boundaries are dropped here, be they social, or gender-related, or issues of class or ethnicity, or religious affiliation.  In this encounter there is recognition and understanding, for she grasps the import of Who this is, and grasps with language she knows to identify Him ("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?"  "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet").  She neither runs away nor leaves the well, but stays to ask, to "come and see," as Jesus said when the first disciples approached Him.  Jesus uses this phrase, "living water," to indicate something marvelous, and speaks to her about everlasting life that comes from this "water," the Spirit -- a living reality, always present, the word "living" indicating God's energies at work in the world.  In the following reading, we will delve more deeply into the identity of this woman known as St. Photini, and the outcome of this encounter.  The disciples will return, so stunned that Christ speaks to this woman that they will be unable to speak, and simply marvel.  But these are all clues about the momentous thing that is happening, the powerful energy of this ministry and its truth, and what an encounter with Christ is really like, and for all who experience it, including the disciples.  For He is the God who cannot be contained, who breaks open every door and all boundaries, but is Himself the Door.  It is He who draws everyone in, even in the smallest and least likely of encounters, or the tiniest beginnings.

 

 

 

Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

 

 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  And He said to him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well."

 

- Luke 17:11-19 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.  Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."  And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."  So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.  And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?  But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?  Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?  I think not.  So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.'"

 

 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  Leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of the time of Christ.  My study Bible explains that it brought both great physical suffering in addition to total banishment and isolation from society. It is also a symbol of our sin.  That these lepers stood afar off from Christ tells us about their isolation.

 

And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  Priests were in charge of issuing certificates for lepers to be allowed to rejoin the society.  In Luke 5:12-16, we read of another occasion upon which a leper was healed and sent to show himself to the priest in accordance with the Mosaic Law regarding leprosy.  Once again, this will have the effect of showing to the priests the power of Christ to heal (compare to the story of Miriam's leprosy and Moses' intercession in Numbers 12:10-15).  

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  And He said to him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well."  Of Christ's question, "Where are the nine?" my study Bible comments that Christ came to heal all of fallen humanity, yet only a small portion receive Him in faith and thanksgiving to give glory to God.  Hence, "many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).  The lesson for faithful Christians, it says, is that worship is the number one priority. 

There are a couple of things to note that come to mind with this story.  First of all, if we look at the earlier case in Luke's chapter 5, Jesus tells the healed leper to "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  Jesus asks, "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  To "give glory to God" was, in fact, a form of an oath statement indicating true testimony (see John 9:24).  So, we know that intercession and an offering for cleansing were always a part of the understanding of the healing and treatment of leprosy, particularly after healing.  When the nine show no gratitude to Christ, it is in a kind of parallel with a failure to make an offering to God as commanded by Moses.  There is no acknowledgement on the part of the nine as to where their healing came from, that God has indeed healed them.  They additionally fail to acknowledge the divinity in Christ through whom they were healed.  We have to ask why they were blind to this fact -- and also why they show no gratitude to Christ at all.  So not only have they failed to recognize the divinity in Christ, but they have failed in terms of the law of Moses to give the glory to God in the spiritual fullness of the story.  It tells us something about our own blindness to that which sustains us and heals us, our own lack of gratitude when we consider our blessings and how we are sustained by God.  For if there is pride involved here on all of their parts -- except for this Samaritan who was healed, a foreigner -- then it speaks to us about how pride blinds us to the reality of spiritual truth in our own lives.  These nine perhaps entrust their healing only to their religious heritage and not to the reality of God working and present in Jesus.  It teaches us that pride may blind us to the presence of the Spirit of God when the Spirit is at work in our lives, and also about the importance of wakefulness, spiritual alertness.  What just happened?  How did they become healed?  Only the Samaritan, the foreigner, seems to truly understand what has happened in his life and how he was healed; why did the rest of them fail?  This gives us a picture of a fine line between pride in even a beautiful and good heritage and the humility that remains always a deep requirement for spiritual truth and understanding.  It teaches us that humility remains a key for truly being able to see reality, and in order to truly see God's presence in our lives, to grasp the living communion that is present to us.  Let us consider, also, the implications in this story for ourselves and our own lives even on a smaller scale.  Do we look around and recognize those to whom we should be grateful?  Do we acknowledge their efforts on our behalf?  So often it seems simply to be human nature to attribute all good things that happen in our lives to our own good qualities or something about ourselves, but we overlook so much that comes, in fact, from others.  A lack of gratitude seems to be a sort of psychological plague in a society beset by anxiety and depression.  These go hand in hand, and the practice of gratitude is often recommended as part of a healing practice for these ailments.  Let us consider that those who act out of faith and love of Christ -- even as they extend any generosity, kindness, or charity to another -- are also those worthy of a blessing by God (see Mark 9:41, Matthew 10:41-43).  Let us be alert to our spiritual reality and to our benefactors that come in many forms and may be acting in the name of God.  Ultimately, every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17).  Let us remember the power and meaning of gratitude, and what its absence can mean for us.

 

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 (thought Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea an 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 teaching Nicodemus by night, 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 (thought Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea an departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  Samaria was the region to the north of Jerusalem; it was between the regions of Judea and Galilee.  Since the Pharisees now know that Jesus' ministry is growing, and that He has made and baptized more disciples than John the Baptist (who was himself a very popular figure), it seems likely He leaves the region of Judea and travels north to be further away from their scrutiny and influence.

 

 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.  My study Bible says that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob did live in this area (Genesis 33:19).  Wells, it explains, were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  Therefore, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This particular well is maintained as a shrine even now, and pilgrims can drink from it.  Jesus is wearied from His journey, showing His complete humanity.  The sixth hour is noon.  In the tradition of the Orthodox church this woman is identified 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. The Samaritans were a mixed race, and they were traditional enemies of the Jews.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel and they also awaited the Messiah, my study Bible says they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Torah or Pentateuch) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which was destroyed by the Jews in 128 BC.

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."  Living water in the ordinary sense means fresh, flowing water; that is, from a stream of spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  My study Bible says that Christ uses this term to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, but it is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The woman misunderstands Jesus and asks Him, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  In the Scriptures, my study Bible explains, Jacob is a type of Christ, as he received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Christ fulfills.  Moreover, just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal 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."   As Jesus perceived that she was living with a man without being married, and He knew of her many husbands, this woman believes that Jesus is a prophet.  My study Bible explains that the Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses, so the only prophet they expected was the Messiah whom Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).   It says that Christ's insight into people's hearts, which is 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 comments that if Jesus was indeed the expected Prophet (foretold by Moses, as explained above), He could settle the historical argument about where worship was meant to take place.  Jesus refuses to answer this earthly question, and instead elevates the discussion to the manner in which people ought to worship.  Even more centrally, He turns the attention to the One whom we worship:  God.  The Father is worshiped in spirit -- in the Holy Spirit -- and in truth; that is, in Christ Himself (John 14:6) and in accordance with Christ's revelation.  That God is Spirit means that God cannot be confined to a particular location.  My study Bible says that those who receive the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ can worship God the Father with purity of heart.  Jesus says that salvation is of the Jews, thus affirming 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, it 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 refers the death and Resurrection of Christ, and 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."  I who speak to you am He is literally translated "I AM [Greek Ἐγώ εἰμι/Ego eimi], who speak to you."  "I AM" is the divine Name of God.  My study Bible says that its use indicates a theophany, which means a revelation of God.  The use of this Name by a human being was considered 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.  

 

So how does Christ come to this woman, of all women, to reveal Himself?  In tomorrow's reading, we will come into more detail about this woman's eventual life (as St. Photini).  But for now let us consider what is happening in our reading for today.  Jesus seems to come to this place of Jacob's well, when she is there, entirely by happenstance. One must wonder what it means that it is the sixth hour.  Clearly, it means that at noon when the sun is high in the sky, and after a long day of traveling, Jesus is thirsty.  But this woman, who is there to draw water, would normally be one He, being a Jew, wouldn't even speak to.  Moreover, we will see (again, in tomorrow's reading) the startled response of the disciples when they come upon this scene, for it is potentially scandalous not only that Christ speaks to a Samaritan woman, but also that He speaks to her alone.  Just think, He the Teacher!  But this tremendous revelation also reminds us of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and that she is the one whose supplication initiated the miracle of the water turning to wine at the wedding in Cana.  Here, Jesus asks a woman for water, and it is another occasion to transform her understanding and ours to the image of "living water" as Christ uses it, for the image of the Holy Spirit.  So we see in this conversation an important reaching out in Christ's ministry not only to women but also to outsiders.  These significant factors add concrete meaning to Christ's words that "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."   For if we are each the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19), with the Holy Spirit indwelling, then to worship in spirit and truth means that this capacity extends equally to women and to outsiders, although "salvation is of the Jews."  This is the new covenant spoken through Christ, to one who will become a part of that new covenant, for whom "new wineskins" are necessary (Mark 2:22).  So is this meeting by chance, or is it yet one more landmark moment of revelation, for the opening up of the gospel to the world, and a new revelation of God that builds on what was already known?  We cannot know the mind of God, but we understand that, as Jesus told Nicodemus, explaining the mysterious work of the Spirit:  "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8).  Jesus extends our understanding by revealing God to us through His encounter with this woman, and opens our eyes to the potentials of worship in spirit and in truth, "for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."

 

 

 

 

 

But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life

 

 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 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."

 

- John 4:1-15

 

Yesterday we read that, after the cleansing of the temple, and Jesus' teaching by night of Nicodemus (see readings for Monday and Tuesday), Jesus and His disciples came to 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.  Jesus travels north, further away from Jerusalem and the scrutiny of the religious leaders, after the cleansing of the temple, but particularly (as the text indicates) as the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John.  John was an extraordinary and popular figure in his time, one the people looked to as a holy man.  Now the focus of the religious leaders will shift to Jesus as His ministry grows.  To reach His home region of Galilee, Jesus must travel through the Gentile region of Samaria, which is north of Jerusalem and between Judea and Galilee.  

 

 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.  My study Bible comments that the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob did dwell in the area (Genesis 33:19).  It notes that wells were significant because of their rarity and their value in desert life.  Therefore, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This particular well is maintained as a shrine to this day, and pilgrims can drink from it.  Jesus is wearied from His journey, which shows to us His complete humanity.  The sixth hour is noontime.  In church tradition, this woman is identified as St. Photini, above whom we will comment in tomorrow's reading.  

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.   My study Bible notes that the Samaritans were a mixed race 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 Torah or Pentateuch) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC.

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 given 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."   Living water in the ordinary sense, my study Bible says, means fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than from a pond or cistern.  Christ uses this term to mean the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, but it is so abundant that it overflows to others.  This woman misunderstands Christ and asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  In the Scriptures, my study Bible explains, Jacob is a type of Christ, for Jacob received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Christ fulfills as He Himself is the "ladder" between heaven and earth.  (See especially John 1:51, in which Jesus refers to Himself using the images in the vision of the ladder, as the Son of Man upon whom Nathanael would see the angels of God ascending and descending.)  Just as Jacob gave this well for earthly life, my study Bible adds, now Christ gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life. 

How does Scripture work?  It's important that we note several things about today's reading in order to gain some insight on the nature of Scripture itself.  First of all, there is a timeless quality to the writings of Scripture.  This is so in the sense that all events reported, from whatever period of time in which the people and stories we read about existed, tie in to one another.  Most notable in today's reading are the images of Jacob's ladder and Jacob's well.  Although Jacob lived in the far distant past from the time this event took place in the lives of Christ, the disciples, and this Samaritan woman, nonetheless the images and understanding of Jacob's well and ladder are important to the story.  They are living "types" that are enhanced, fulfilled, given newer layers of deeper meaning than was previously understood.  In this sense, events from both Genesis and from John's Gospel tie in to one another and are both "living."  This is not a history story per se, but one filled with the meanings we find in Scripture, and inspired so that they live also for us and for our lives.  The living water of this highly significant well already has spiritual meaning for the people, but for this woman, the notion of living water to drink from a well that Christ gives, through which it is becomes a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.  This does not negate the meaning from the past, nor even layer it in the sense of history, but rather enhances and in particular fulfills the meaning revealed through the life of Jacob, with a more perfect and full understanding of Christ.  This is the way Scripture works, as has always been recognized in the Church, as it is the very reason why both Old and New Testaments are included in the Book of the Church, the Bible.  It is why the Church selected the Scriptures as inspired and why none are left out in our understanding of our faith; it is all essential, the one fulfilled in the other.  In this sense, we understand Christ's words that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms (see Matthew 5:17, Luke 24:44).  All of the meanings therein remain living and important for us, and essential, but are exceptionally made fuller in Christ, given new light, and more dimension.  In this sense, whatever was good or true or beautiful of the ancient world was also fulfilled in Christ, our early Church Fathers finding fulfillment for the philosophy and education in which they were steeped as it was used, made more full, and transformed into theology of Christ and the meanings found in His life and the Church, the Body of Christ.  Everything becomes transfigured and fulfilled in the light of Christ.  In this sense, His saving mission goes far beyond an understanding limited to only our particular human lives and what it means to be saved; we must remember He came for the life of the world (John 6:33, 6:51), and take that in its absolutely fullest sense.  Water from a desert well, always understood to be essential and lifesaving, becomes transfigured into the waters of Baptism, and the water that is the spring unto eternal life by the grace of the Holy Spirit.   "Living water" takes on meaning not previously understood, and this is the unfolding of the story of Christ's encounter with this Samaritan woman, to whom much more will be revealed, even as she misunderstands Christ's word, and eventually comes to great fulfillment of her own, as we will see.  Let us consider the unfolding of meaning which never stops, which in the words of John the Baptist from yesterday's reading, is grace given without measure ("For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure").