The Samaritan Woman
On the fourth Sunday of the Great Fast, the Church reads John 4:1-42. This passage narrates the interaction between our Lord Jesus Christ and a Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s well. The woman came to fill her jar from the well when the Lord asked her for a drink. This was the start of a conversation that led her to discover His identity as the Messiah and change her life forever.
When our Church Fathers organized the readings for the Holy Lent days, they divided the Lent’s seven weeks into two phases. The overall theme for the first four weeks revolves around the features of the struggle that we must endure in preparation for our arrival at the Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Those weeks are themed as follows: Week one is “Preparation for the Procession” Matthew 6:19-33, Week two is “Struggle” Matthew 4:1-11, and Week three is “Repentance” Luke 15:11-32. (Click here for past 3 weeks Contemplations). The fourth week’s theme is “Guide to the Procession of Struggle: The Holy Gospel”. This passage of the Samaritan Woman is intended to be the capstone reading for the first four weeks of the lent, where the Lord Jesus came to sow the seed of the “Living Faith” in the soil of Samaria through the woman at the well.
As the Lord sat at the well, a woman from Samaria came to draw water when the Lord asked her “Give me a drink” (Matt 4:7). Starting this conversation, the Lord ignores centuries of old hostilities between Jews and Samaritans. The woman is astonished and confused and says to Him “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria? (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans)” (Matt 4:9). However, as the conversation continues, this confusion turns into hope as Jesus preaches to her salvation through repentance.
The Lord did not stop by the well accidentally, but rather purposely seeking the Samaritan woman to turn her life from physical needs to spiritual needs, from the flesh to the spirit, from what man can do to that which only God can do. The Lord said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again” (Matt 4:13-14). The woman, intrigued yet perplexed, inquires further, and ask for some of this water “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” (Matt 4:15)
Sensing her longing, Jesus unveils her hidden truths. He reveals her fractured life, and her quest for fulfillment in relationships that left her dry. In a moment of profound revelation, she recognizes Jesus as the Messiah. Overflowing with newfound understanding, she leaves her jar, rushing to share this revelation with her community. As St. Augustine explains, “Having received the Lord Jesus Christ into her heart, what else could she do but abandon her waterpot and run to preach the Gospel? She banished lust and hurried to proclaim the truth. May those who wish to preach the Gospel learn to abandon their waterpot at the well.”
By accepting Christ as her Savior and drinking from the spring of the “Living Water”, the Samaritan Woman repented, turned away from immorality, and directed others to the path of salvation. Likewise, we ask the Lord to immerse us in His living water, and bring us into the life of repentance and “Living Faith”. Lord, we beseech You to guard us in our journey to the well of Your living Word as we share this knowledge with others, so that they too may experience the joy of salvation and the fulfillment found in You.
Amen.
Sources:
- Bible, English Standard Version
- Commentaries on the Gospel of St. John by Fr. Tadros Malaty
- Catena Bible
- St. Takla.Org