Scripture: John 4:13-14
Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Comment
There is a thirst in every human heart.
Each of us is like that lonely Samaritan woman.
We are thirsting for something.
Something that will satisfy all our longings.
But often we search in the wrong places.
We draw water from many wells:
The water of praise to quench our thirst for self esteem;
The water of success to quench our thirst for importance;
The water of pleasure to quench our thirst for joy.
But we still get thirsty.
Only God can give us what we are looking for.
He alone can cause a spring to well up inside us.
In our journey to the promised land of eternal life.
From New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies by Flor McCarthy
Showing posts with label '3 Woman at the Well. Show all posts
Showing posts with label '3 Woman at the Well. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Scripture John 4:5-9
Jacobs Well
[5] So he came to a city of Samar'ia, called Sy'char, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
[6] Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
Evangelise
[7] There came a woman of Samar'ia to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." [8] For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
[9] The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samar'ia?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Comment
Jacob’s Well
The first form of water is the spring (the well), water that bursts forth fresh from the earth. The spring is origin, beginning, in its as yet unclouded and unspent purity. The spring figures as a creative element, as well as being a symbol of fruitfulness.
Immediately after the conversation with Nicodemus, we meet Jesus at Jacob’s Well. The Lord promises the Samaritan woman water that becomes in the one who drinks it a source springing up to eternal life, so that whoever drinks it will never be thirsty again. In this scene, the symbolism of the well is associated with the history of Israel. Earlier, at the calling of Nathanael, Jesus had revealed himself as the new and greater Jacob. In the vision, Jacob had seen the angels of God ascending and descending above the stone he was using as a pillow. Jesus prophesies to Nathanael that his disciples will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending above him. Here, at Jacob’s Well, we encounter Jacob as the great patriarch who by means of this well had provided water, the basic element of life. But there is a greater human thirst – it extends beyond the water from the well, because it seeks a life that reaches out beyond the biological sphere.
Source: from Chapter 8 of Pope Benedict's "Jesus of Nazareth"
Evangelise
The meeting of Jesus and the Samaritan woman is one of the great stories of the gospels. It is the meeting of a noted man and a nameless woman with a past. It is the meeting of two individuals who represent two worlds, two peoples, two traditions, two sets of needs, two sets of hopes, and in a special way two sets of prejudices. It is a meeting across the divide of history.
Long standing and deep rooted conflict is resolved at the level of personal contact. Notice that interaction and reconciliation take place in the ordinariness of everyday life.
The well in those days was the focal point for the community – it was the only source of water. Today it could be outside the school at 9am or 4pm, it could be the pub on a Saturday night, it could be the gym.
Jesus and the Samaritan woman did not say “we will wait for the right time and right place”; they tackled each other there and then. We may have a tendency to avoid friends and neighbours when we fall out with them, or when we do bump into them we barely speak. The challenge for us is to follow the example of the woman in today’s Gospel, and to engage in conversation those we do not see ‘eye to eye’ with, to respectfully question and most importantly to listen to the other.
Source: http://www.meathdiocese.ie/pastoral/lent2008/Third_Sunday.html
Jacobs Well
[5] So he came to a city of Samar'ia, called Sy'char, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
[6] Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
Evangelise
[7] There came a woman of Samar'ia to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." [8] For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
[9] The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samar'ia?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Comment
Jacob’s Well
The first form of water is the spring (the well), water that bursts forth fresh from the earth. The spring is origin, beginning, in its as yet unclouded and unspent purity. The spring figures as a creative element, as well as being a symbol of fruitfulness.
Immediately after the conversation with Nicodemus, we meet Jesus at Jacob’s Well. The Lord promises the Samaritan woman water that becomes in the one who drinks it a source springing up to eternal life, so that whoever drinks it will never be thirsty again. In this scene, the symbolism of the well is associated with the history of Israel. Earlier, at the calling of Nathanael, Jesus had revealed himself as the new and greater Jacob. In the vision, Jacob had seen the angels of God ascending and descending above the stone he was using as a pillow. Jesus prophesies to Nathanael that his disciples will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending above him. Here, at Jacob’s Well, we encounter Jacob as the great patriarch who by means of this well had provided water, the basic element of life. But there is a greater human thirst – it extends beyond the water from the well, because it seeks a life that reaches out beyond the biological sphere.
Source: from Chapter 8 of Pope Benedict's "Jesus of Nazareth"
Evangelise
The meeting of Jesus and the Samaritan woman is one of the great stories of the gospels. It is the meeting of a noted man and a nameless woman with a past. It is the meeting of two individuals who represent two worlds, two peoples, two traditions, two sets of needs, two sets of hopes, and in a special way two sets of prejudices. It is a meeting across the divide of history.
Long standing and deep rooted conflict is resolved at the level of personal contact. Notice that interaction and reconciliation take place in the ordinariness of everyday life.
The well in those days was the focal point for the community – it was the only source of water. Today it could be outside the school at 9am or 4pm, it could be the pub on a Saturday night, it could be the gym.
Jesus and the Samaritan woman did not say “we will wait for the right time and right place”; they tackled each other there and then. We may have a tendency to avoid friends and neighbours when we fall out with them, or when we do bump into them we barely speak. The challenge for us is to follow the example of the woman in today’s Gospel, and to engage in conversation those we do not see ‘eye to eye’ with, to respectfully question and most importantly to listen to the other.
Source: http://www.meathdiocese.ie/pastoral/lent2008/Third_Sunday.html
John 4:13-14 - The Woman at the Well
Scripture: John 4:13-14
Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Meditation:
Do you allow any barriers to distance yourself from the Lord and his will for your life? Jesus overcame the barriers of prejudice, sin, and misunderstanding with the truth of God’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus passed through Samaria he did the unthinkable. He conversed with a Samaritan, thus risking ritual impurity and scorn from his fellow Jews. He also did something no strict Rabbi would dare to do in public without loss to his reputation. He greeted a woman and spoke openly with her. Not only was she a woman, but a notorious adulteress. No decent Jew would even think of being seen with such a woman, let alone exchanging a word with her!
Why did Jesus meet alone with this Samaritan woman? Women normally gathered at the town well in the early hours of the morning while it was still cool. This would be a customary time for social contact and exchange of news. The fact that this notorious woman chose the midday hour to go out in public when the heat is greatest, shows her estrangement from her own community.
Jesus broke through the barriers of nationality and orthodox Jewish custom. He showed the universality of the gospel.
No one is barred from the love of God and the good news of salvation. There is only one thing that can keep us from God and his redeeming love — our stubborn pride and wilful rebellion.
What is the point of Jesus’ exchange with the woman about water? Water in the arid land was scarce. Jacob’s well was located in a strategic fork of the road between Samaria and Galilee. One can live without food for several days, but not without water. Water is a source of life and growth for all living things. When rain came to the desert, the water transformed the wasteland into a fertile field.
The kind of water which Jesus spoke about was living, running water. Fresh water from a cool running stream was always preferred to the still water one might find in a pond or well. Living water was also a symbol for the Jew of thirst of the soul for God.
The water which Jesus spoke of symbolized the Holy Spirit and his work of recreating us in God’s image and sustaining in us the new life which comes from God. The life which the Holy Spirit produces in us makes us a new creation in Jesus Christ. Do you thirst for God and for the life of the Holy Spirit within you?
Hippolytus, a second century Christian writer, explains the significance of the Holy Spirit’s work in us: “This is the water of the Spirit: It refreshes paradise, enriches the earth, gives life to living things. It is the water of Christ’s baptism; it is our life. If you go with faith to this renewing fountain, you renounce Satan your enemy and confess Christ your God. You cease to be a slave and become an adopted son; you come forth radiant as the sun and brilliant with justice; you come forth a son of God and fellow-heir with Christ.” (From a sermon, On the Epiphany)
Prayer
“Lord, my soul thirsts for you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may always find joy in your presence and take delight in doing your will.”
Source: http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/john4v1.htm
Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Meditation:
Do you allow any barriers to distance yourself from the Lord and his will for your life? Jesus overcame the barriers of prejudice, sin, and misunderstanding with the truth of God’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus passed through Samaria he did the unthinkable. He conversed with a Samaritan, thus risking ritual impurity and scorn from his fellow Jews. He also did something no strict Rabbi would dare to do in public without loss to his reputation. He greeted a woman and spoke openly with her. Not only was she a woman, but a notorious adulteress. No decent Jew would even think of being seen with such a woman, let alone exchanging a word with her!
Why did Jesus meet alone with this Samaritan woman? Women normally gathered at the town well in the early hours of the morning while it was still cool. This would be a customary time for social contact and exchange of news. The fact that this notorious woman chose the midday hour to go out in public when the heat is greatest, shows her estrangement from her own community.
Jesus broke through the barriers of nationality and orthodox Jewish custom. He showed the universality of the gospel.
No one is barred from the love of God and the good news of salvation. There is only one thing that can keep us from God and his redeeming love — our stubborn pride and wilful rebellion.
What is the point of Jesus’ exchange with the woman about water? Water in the arid land was scarce. Jacob’s well was located in a strategic fork of the road between Samaria and Galilee. One can live without food for several days, but not without water. Water is a source of life and growth for all living things. When rain came to the desert, the water transformed the wasteland into a fertile field.
The kind of water which Jesus spoke about was living, running water. Fresh water from a cool running stream was always preferred to the still water one might find in a pond or well. Living water was also a symbol for the Jew of thirst of the soul for God.
The water which Jesus spoke of symbolized the Holy Spirit and his work of recreating us in God’s image and sustaining in us the new life which comes from God. The life which the Holy Spirit produces in us makes us a new creation in Jesus Christ. Do you thirst for God and for the life of the Holy Spirit within you?
Hippolytus, a second century Christian writer, explains the significance of the Holy Spirit’s work in us: “This is the water of the Spirit: It refreshes paradise, enriches the earth, gives life to living things. It is the water of Christ’s baptism; it is our life. If you go with faith to this renewing fountain, you renounce Satan your enemy and confess Christ your God. You cease to be a slave and become an adopted son; you come forth radiant as the sun and brilliant with justice; you come forth a son of God and fellow-heir with Christ.” (From a sermon, On the Epiphany)
Prayer
“Lord, my soul thirsts for you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may always find joy in your presence and take delight in doing your will.”
Source: http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/john4v1.htm
John 4: 25, 27, 35, 39, 41 - The Woman at the Well
Scripture John 4: 25, 27, 35, 39, 41
25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things."
27 Just then his disciples came. They marvelled that he was talking with a woman,
35 … I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest.
39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did."
41 And many more believed because of his word.
COMMENT: JESUS CHRIST OFFERS US THE WATER OF LIFE
The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord. He is at the heart of every Christian action, and every Christian message. So the Church constantly returns to meet her Lord. The Gospels tell of many meetings with Jesus, from the shepherds in Bethlehem to the two thieves crucified with him, from the wise elders who listened to him in the Temple to the disciples walking miserably towards Emmaus. But one episode that speaks really clearly about what he offers us is the story of his encounter with the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well in the fourth chapter of John's Gospel; it has even been described as “a paradigm for our engagement with truth”.(86)
The experience of meeting the stranger who offers us the water of life is a key to the way Christians can and should engage in dialogue with anyone who does not know Jesus.
One of the attractive elements of John's account of this meeting is that it takes the woman a while even to glimpse what Jesus means by the water 'of life', or 'living' water (verse 11). Even so, she is fascinated – not only by the stranger himself, but also by his message – and this makes her listen. After her initial shock at realising what Jesus knew about her (“You are right in saying 'I have no husband': for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly”, verses 17- 18), she was quite open to his word: “I see you are a prophet, Sir” (verse 19). The dialogue about the adoration of God begins: “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews” (verse 22). Jesus touched her heart and so prepared her to listen to what He had to say about Himself as the Messiah: “I who am speaking to you – I am he” (verse 26), prepared her to open her heart to the true adoration in Spirit and the self-revelation of Jesus as God's Anointed.
The woman “put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people” all about the man (verse 28). The remarkable effect on the woman of her encounter with the stranger made them so curious that they, too, “started walking towards him” (verse 30). They soon accepted the truth of his identity: “Now we no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the saviour of the world” (verse 42). They move from hearing about Jesus to knowing him personally, then understanding the universal significance of his identity. This all happens because their minds, their hearts and more are engaged.
The fact that the story takes place by a well is significant. Jesus offers the woman “a spring... welling up to eternal life” (verse 14). The gracious way in which Jesus deals with the woman is a model for pastoral effectiveness, helping others to be truthful without suffering in the challenging process of self-recognition (“he told me every thing I have done“, verse 39). This approach could yield a rich harvest in terms of people who may have been attracted to New Age philosophies (water-carrier -Aquarius) but who are genuinely still seeking the truth. They should be invited to listen to Jesus, who offers us not simply something that will quench our thirst today, but the hidden spiritual depths of “living water”. It is important to acknowledge the sincerity of people searching for the truth; there is no question of deceit or of self-deception. It is also important to be patient, as any good educator knows. A person embraced by the truth is suddenly energised by a completely new sense of freedom, especially from past failures and fears, and “the one who strives for self-knowledge, like the woman at the well, will affect others with a desire to know the truth that can free them too”.(87)
An invitation to meet Jesus Christ, the bearer of the water of life, will carry more weight if it is made by someone who has clearly been profoundly affected by his or her own encounter with Jesus, because it is made not by someone who has simply heard about him, but by someone who can be sure “that he really is the saviour of the world” (verse 42).
It is a matter of letting people react in their own way, at their own pace, and letting God do the rest.
Source: Jesus Christ- The Bearer Of The Water Of Life - A Christian reflection on the “New Age”
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things."
27 Just then his disciples came. They marvelled that he was talking with a woman,
35 … I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest.
39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did."
41 And many more believed because of his word.
COMMENT: JESUS CHRIST OFFERS US THE WATER OF LIFE
The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord. He is at the heart of every Christian action, and every Christian message. So the Church constantly returns to meet her Lord. The Gospels tell of many meetings with Jesus, from the shepherds in Bethlehem to the two thieves crucified with him, from the wise elders who listened to him in the Temple to the disciples walking miserably towards Emmaus. But one episode that speaks really clearly about what he offers us is the story of his encounter with the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well in the fourth chapter of John's Gospel; it has even been described as “a paradigm for our engagement with truth”.(86)
The experience of meeting the stranger who offers us the water of life is a key to the way Christians can and should engage in dialogue with anyone who does not know Jesus.
One of the attractive elements of John's account of this meeting is that it takes the woman a while even to glimpse what Jesus means by the water 'of life', or 'living' water (verse 11). Even so, she is fascinated – not only by the stranger himself, but also by his message – and this makes her listen. After her initial shock at realising what Jesus knew about her (“You are right in saying 'I have no husband': for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly”, verses 17- 18), she was quite open to his word: “I see you are a prophet, Sir” (verse 19). The dialogue about the adoration of God begins: “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews” (verse 22). Jesus touched her heart and so prepared her to listen to what He had to say about Himself as the Messiah: “I who am speaking to you – I am he” (verse 26), prepared her to open her heart to the true adoration in Spirit and the self-revelation of Jesus as God's Anointed.
The woman “put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people” all about the man (verse 28). The remarkable effect on the woman of her encounter with the stranger made them so curious that they, too, “started walking towards him” (verse 30). They soon accepted the truth of his identity: “Now we no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the saviour of the world” (verse 42). They move from hearing about Jesus to knowing him personally, then understanding the universal significance of his identity. This all happens because their minds, their hearts and more are engaged.
The fact that the story takes place by a well is significant. Jesus offers the woman “a spring... welling up to eternal life” (verse 14). The gracious way in which Jesus deals with the woman is a model for pastoral effectiveness, helping others to be truthful without suffering in the challenging process of self-recognition (“he told me every thing I have done“, verse 39). This approach could yield a rich harvest in terms of people who may have been attracted to New Age philosophies (water-carrier -Aquarius) but who are genuinely still seeking the truth. They should be invited to listen to Jesus, who offers us not simply something that will quench our thirst today, but the hidden spiritual depths of “living water”. It is important to acknowledge the sincerity of people searching for the truth; there is no question of deceit or of self-deception. It is also important to be patient, as any good educator knows. A person embraced by the truth is suddenly energised by a completely new sense of freedom, especially from past failures and fears, and “the one who strives for self-knowledge, like the woman at the well, will affect others with a desire to know the truth that can free them too”.(87)
An invitation to meet Jesus Christ, the bearer of the water of life, will carry more weight if it is made by someone who has clearly been profoundly affected by his or her own encounter with Jesus, because it is made not by someone who has simply heard about him, but by someone who can be sure “that he really is the saviour of the world” (verse 42).
It is a matter of letting people react in their own way, at their own pace, and letting God do the rest.
Source: Jesus Christ- The Bearer Of The Water Of Life - A Christian reflection on the “New Age”
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
John 4:16-18 - The Woman at the Well
Scripture: John 4:16-18
He (Jesus) told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
Comment
AIM: To encourage the hearers to deeper conversion to Jesus Christ.
She has tried her luck with five men. Now she is living with a sixth. Numbers in the Bible are often symbolic. Six is a number of imperfection, lack, or deficiency. Living with her sixth partner, the woman is in a situation of lack and deficiency. In none of these six relationships has she found what she is looking for.
In the thought world of the Bible seven, on the other hand, denotes completeness, consummation, perfection.
There are seven days in the week, seven petitions in Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kgs 8:29-53), seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. The gospels record seven utterances of Jesus on the cross, and an appearance of the risen Lord to seven disciples after a night of fruitless fishing on the lake (John 21:2).
As the story unfolds, we discover that the seventh man in this woman’s life is Jesus. As she opens up to him she finally experiences the satisfaction of her deepest longing and desires — of her heart’s thirst.
Thirst is the story’s starting point. Tired from his journey, Jesus sits down by the well and asks the Samaritan woman who is drawing water: “Give me a drink.” Jesus is thirsty. What could be more natural than for him to ask the woman to give him some of the water she is drawing to quench her own thirst? In reality, Jesus’ request was anything but natural. The woman herself finds it astonishing. “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” she says. Jesus’ request violated two boundaries: first, the one which forbade him, as an observant Jew, to share a cup with a Samaritan; and second, the prohibition of any extended social interaction in a public place between a man and a woman not of his own family.
The ensuing conversation between Jesus and this woman, member of a people hated by the Jews, is the longest dialogue of any recorded in all four gospels. The gospel writer tells us that when Jesus’ disciples return from the village they are “amazed that he was talking with a woman.”
If Jesus had remained within the boundaries of his time, he would hardly have spoken to this woman at all — or at least only briefly and superficially. A superficial contact could have produced only a superficial result.
In his concern for this unfortunate woman — member of a despised minority and with a messed up life — Jesus breaks the boundaries of his time. Unlike many modern evangelists, however, Jesus does not condemn. He does not threaten. He does not intimidate. Instead he invites the woman to give him a drink.
Then he challenges her: “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” When she says she has no husband, Jesus affirms her: “You are right in saying I have no husband.” Finally he tries to enlighten her doubts. When she mentions the Messiah, Jesus responds: “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
What is it about Jesus that makes such a tremendous impact on this woman?
Simply this: for the first time in her life she meets in Jesus a man who understands her; the first man who knows her through and through, yet does not reject, condemn, or use her.
In her excitement she forgets her water jar, and her thirst — as Jesus evidently forgets his own thirst — and runs back to the village to tell all her friends: “Come see a man who told me everything I have done.” She is so overjoyed finally to have found a man who satisfies her deepest longings that she wants to bring others to him.
The convert has become a messenger and missionary to others.
Like the Samaritan woman with her six partners, we may try to hide the messy situations in our lives. Jesus knows about them already. He does not excuse; but neither does he condemn — any more than he condemned the Samaritan woman.
Toward the end of this long dialogue Jesus tells his disciples, returned now from the village: “Look up, and see the fields ripe for the harvest.” The woman, and the friends and neighbors she has brought from the village, are part of the harvest Jesus is talking about: simple folk, little people we might say, looked down on and despised by Jesus’ people — though never by him.
Unlike so many leaders of Jesus’ own people, they do not ask for “a sign”: some dramatic proof which will compel their belief. They accept Jesus in the simple trusting faith of humble people everywhere.
“Look up, and see the fields ripe for the harvest,” Jesus says. Was that just long ago and far away? Don’t you believe it! Whenever, wherever, we find that thrills, success, power, or possessions cannot satisfy our deepest longings, we are thirsting (though we may not know it) for the living water that Jesus alone can give. Today, as in Jesus’ time, the fields are still “ripe for harvest.” That is absolutely certain. We have Jesus’ word for it.
One thing alone remains uncertain. Do we truly want to be part of that harvest? The answer to that question lies in our hands. Jesus Christ is waiting for our answer — right now.
Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future!
Source:Fr. John Jay Hughes
http://blog.nowyouknowmedia.com/catholic-homilies/the-woman-at-the-well/
He (Jesus) told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
Comment
AIM: To encourage the hearers to deeper conversion to Jesus Christ.
She has tried her luck with five men. Now she is living with a sixth. Numbers in the Bible are often symbolic. Six is a number of imperfection, lack, or deficiency. Living with her sixth partner, the woman is in a situation of lack and deficiency. In none of these six relationships has she found what she is looking for.
In the thought world of the Bible seven, on the other hand, denotes completeness, consummation, perfection.
There are seven days in the week, seven petitions in Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kgs 8:29-53), seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer. The gospels record seven utterances of Jesus on the cross, and an appearance of the risen Lord to seven disciples after a night of fruitless fishing on the lake (John 21:2).
As the story unfolds, we discover that the seventh man in this woman’s life is Jesus. As she opens up to him she finally experiences the satisfaction of her deepest longing and desires — of her heart’s thirst.
Thirst is the story’s starting point. Tired from his journey, Jesus sits down by the well and asks the Samaritan woman who is drawing water: “Give me a drink.” Jesus is thirsty. What could be more natural than for him to ask the woman to give him some of the water she is drawing to quench her own thirst? In reality, Jesus’ request was anything but natural. The woman herself finds it astonishing. “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” she says. Jesus’ request violated two boundaries: first, the one which forbade him, as an observant Jew, to share a cup with a Samaritan; and second, the prohibition of any extended social interaction in a public place between a man and a woman not of his own family.
The ensuing conversation between Jesus and this woman, member of a people hated by the Jews, is the longest dialogue of any recorded in all four gospels. The gospel writer tells us that when Jesus’ disciples return from the village they are “amazed that he was talking with a woman.”
If Jesus had remained within the boundaries of his time, he would hardly have spoken to this woman at all — or at least only briefly and superficially. A superficial contact could have produced only a superficial result.
In his concern for this unfortunate woman — member of a despised minority and with a messed up life — Jesus breaks the boundaries of his time. Unlike many modern evangelists, however, Jesus does not condemn. He does not threaten. He does not intimidate. Instead he invites the woman to give him a drink.
Then he challenges her: “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” When she says she has no husband, Jesus affirms her: “You are right in saying I have no husband.” Finally he tries to enlighten her doubts. When she mentions the Messiah, Jesus responds: “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
What is it about Jesus that makes such a tremendous impact on this woman?
Simply this: for the first time in her life she meets in Jesus a man who understands her; the first man who knows her through and through, yet does not reject, condemn, or use her.
In her excitement she forgets her water jar, and her thirst — as Jesus evidently forgets his own thirst — and runs back to the village to tell all her friends: “Come see a man who told me everything I have done.” She is so overjoyed finally to have found a man who satisfies her deepest longings that she wants to bring others to him.
The convert has become a messenger and missionary to others.
Like the Samaritan woman with her six partners, we may try to hide the messy situations in our lives. Jesus knows about them already. He does not excuse; but neither does he condemn — any more than he condemned the Samaritan woman.
Toward the end of this long dialogue Jesus tells his disciples, returned now from the village: “Look up, and see the fields ripe for the harvest.” The woman, and the friends and neighbors she has brought from the village, are part of the harvest Jesus is talking about: simple folk, little people we might say, looked down on and despised by Jesus’ people — though never by him.
Unlike so many leaders of Jesus’ own people, they do not ask for “a sign”: some dramatic proof which will compel their belief. They accept Jesus in the simple trusting faith of humble people everywhere.
“Look up, and see the fields ripe for the harvest,” Jesus says. Was that just long ago and far away? Don’t you believe it! Whenever, wherever, we find that thrills, success, power, or possessions cannot satisfy our deepest longings, we are thirsting (though we may not know it) for the living water that Jesus alone can give. Today, as in Jesus’ time, the fields are still “ripe for harvest.” That is absolutely certain. We have Jesus’ word for it.
One thing alone remains uncertain. Do we truly want to be part of that harvest? The answer to that question lies in our hands. Jesus Christ is waiting for our answer — right now.
Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future!
Source:Fr. John Jay Hughes
http://blog.nowyouknowmedia.com/catholic-homilies/the-woman-at-the-well/
John 4: 4-7, 10, 16-18 –Woman at the Well
Scripture John 4: 4-7, 10, 16-18 –Woman at the Well
He (Jesus) had to pass through Samar'ia. So he came to a city of Samar'ia, called Sy'char, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samar'ia to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly."
Comment
Every detail matters.
Jesus is passing through Samaria. That itself is strange. Samaritans were a half breed and weren’t respected. A pious Jew avoided Samaria and would go around it but Jesus passes right through it. Why? He likes sinners. That’s where Jesus goes. Through the land of sin and He comes to a well and there He sits down.
Now, if you were a Biblically minded person of the first century reading this book and you read the word ‘well’ – you know what you’d be thinking? Marriage!
Wells were always associated with in the Old Testament with marriage. Isaac was looking for a wife so his father Abraham send his servant and he sits down by a well and he spies the woman to become Isaac’s wife. Moses sits down by a well and there are the daughters of Jethro, one of who will become his wife. And most famously here, Jacob sits down by a well and he spies Rachel who becomes his wife. Wells were associated with marriage.
Jesus, in his own person, is the marriage of heaven and earth. In His own person , He is the coming together of divinity and humanity and He has come among us as a bridegroom looking for a bride. We are His bride – the Church. Jesus wants to marry us.
This is how the story commences.
Furthermore, John tells us it was about noon. Hmm, just a coincidental comment? Nothing in John is incidental, especially when it comes to times of the day. Noon! Jesus says I am the light of the world. When Judas leaves the cenacle after betraying the Lord, it says he went out and it was night. Nicodemus came at night so he wouldn’t be seen by men. Night symbolizes lack of vision – they don’t get it. Light – that is the illumination of revelation. This story commences at high noon. There is a lot of light going on – a lot of illumination and brilliance.
Then we read a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Here comes the bride. The bridegroom is there waiting by the well. The Samaritan woman stands for us – she stands for the church. The one who Jesus wants to marry. What does He say to her? He says ‘Give me a drink’
Oh, there is a revolution in that little line. Throughout the Old Testament the theme of our thirst for God is common “Like a deer that yearns for running streams so my soul is yearning for you O Lord’ Psalm 42. We are thirsting for God of course, but here is a great reversal. God in one sense is also thirsting for us, because God in Christ is thirsty for our faith, thirsty for our response, thirsty to be married to us.
Boy, does she respond negatively to this question. How come? Well, because this woman is a triple outsider.
Firstly, she is a woman. In Jesus time, for a man to speak to a woman was unheard of so she is taken aback by that. Secondly, she is a Samaritan – for a Jew a Samaritan was no good, a half breed. Thirdly and more subtly –she is a woman coming alone to a well at high noon. Women didn’t do that. Women came together at better times of the day. If you are in the desert country, the better times of the is either early morning or evening when the sun wasn’t so hot and you’d be with your friends to make the work easier and more pleasant. There is a single woman coming at noon. How come? She is an outcast. She is seen as a shady questionable figure and you’ll find out later why. She is a triple outsider, meaning just the kind of person Jesus loves. Whenever we feel like triple or quadruple outsiders, ok, Jesus loves us. He wants to marry us. We are the ones He is after. There is some good news here.
So He says ‘Give me a drink’, when she responds Jesus follows up with: "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."
There is the whole Gospel in that line. If you knew the gift of God – that is the best description of Jesus in the Bible. Who is God? God is the one who gives. Does God need this world? No. God is God. God is perfect needing nothing outside of Himself. Therefore the very fact that the world exists is a sign that it is a gift. It was given to us in love. What is the greatest gift God has given us? His own Son. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. If you knew the gift of God – that is who Jesus is. What would you have done? You would have asked Him for living water and He would have given you living water bubbling up to eternal life.
Saint Augustine wrote the well that she goes to symbolizes concupiscence desire – that is a fancy way of saying errant desire – skewed desire. All of us are made for God. Augustine wrote “You made us for your self O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee”. We are wired for God. We are made for God. We have an infinite desire. What goes wrong for us? We hook that infinite desire into something less than God – money, power, pleasure and glory. Any worldly thing and we seek it. And we get a little buzz the way you would from any drug but then it wears off. That is not meant to satisfy me. It can’t satisfy me. What am I going to do? I’m going to get more of it. I need more money, sex, power. You pick your poison.
You go to the well. You drink from it and you get thirsty again. And we find ourselves caught in this rhythm of errant addictive desire. Why has Christ come? To break us from this.
I know you came to this well every day and you are unsatisfied. I have come that you might have water bubbling up in you that you might have eternal life.
Jesus says, ‘Go call your husband and come back’ She says I have no husband and He says “You are right in saying, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband.
Aah, this Rabbi is clever. Why is this important spiritually? We have to crack the symbolism a little bit. I know it is a little bit sexist but I know it can speak to us. In Jesus time, your husband is one who governed your life – the leader and governor of your life. What is Jesus saying? Tell me who it is that is running your life? Call your husband. I don’t have a husband. Yeah you have had five and the one you are with now is not your husband. You have been looking around in a lot of bad places for the governor of your life.
Jesus is proposing marriage here at the well. I want to be the Lord of your life. That is what He is saying to her. You have been around with lots of different husbands, you’ve tried to find joy by following all kinds of different inspirations. I want to be the governor of your life. And in this sense, brothers and sisters, this applies to all of us. I want to be your husband. I want to be the Lord of your life. That is what He is telling the woman and telling us.
This is how it ends.
The woman left her water jar and went away into the city, and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?"
First of all – that water jar that she lugged every day at high noon to that well. Drinking from it and getting thirsty again and having to go back to it. Money, power, esteem, glory – whatever it is – whatever our addiction is. What we think will fill up our lives when we go back to that well every day and then we drink and we are unsatisfied and we gotta go back. Now that she has accepted a marriage proposal from Jesus Christ, now that she has water bubbling up in her to eternal life, she is finally able to set that jar down.
Aah, conversion. That is what conversion means.
What is the water jar in your life? That is a good spiritual question.
What is the jar we have been lugging around all our lives?
Jesus allows us to set it down. The woman becomes the first evangelist in the Gospel of John. She goes into the town “Listen, listen everybody”.
When you see something beautiful, you don’t keep it to yourself do you? You want everyone to know about it. So when she meets Jesus Christ, she has found Him now as the marriage partner of her life. Of course, she wants to tells the world about Him. Evangelism begins with conversion. When we fall in love with Jesus Christ, we learn to adore Him, then we want all the world to know about him.
Source: Conversion – Following The Call of Christ
Father Robert Barron www.wordonfire.org
He (Jesus) had to pass through Samar'ia. So he came to a city of Samar'ia, called Sy'char, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samar'ia to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."
Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."
Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly."
Comment
Every detail matters.
Jesus is passing through Samaria. That itself is strange. Samaritans were a half breed and weren’t respected. A pious Jew avoided Samaria and would go around it but Jesus passes right through it. Why? He likes sinners. That’s where Jesus goes. Through the land of sin and He comes to a well and there He sits down.
Now, if you were a Biblically minded person of the first century reading this book and you read the word ‘well’ – you know what you’d be thinking? Marriage!
Wells were always associated with in the Old Testament with marriage. Isaac was looking for a wife so his father Abraham send his servant and he sits down by a well and he spies the woman to become Isaac’s wife. Moses sits down by a well and there are the daughters of Jethro, one of who will become his wife. And most famously here, Jacob sits down by a well and he spies Rachel who becomes his wife. Wells were associated with marriage.
Jesus, in his own person, is the marriage of heaven and earth. In His own person , He is the coming together of divinity and humanity and He has come among us as a bridegroom looking for a bride. We are His bride – the Church. Jesus wants to marry us.
This is how the story commences.
Furthermore, John tells us it was about noon. Hmm, just a coincidental comment? Nothing in John is incidental, especially when it comes to times of the day. Noon! Jesus says I am the light of the world. When Judas leaves the cenacle after betraying the Lord, it says he went out and it was night. Nicodemus came at night so he wouldn’t be seen by men. Night symbolizes lack of vision – they don’t get it. Light – that is the illumination of revelation. This story commences at high noon. There is a lot of light going on – a lot of illumination and brilliance.
Then we read a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Here comes the bride. The bridegroom is there waiting by the well. The Samaritan woman stands for us – she stands for the church. The one who Jesus wants to marry. What does He say to her? He says ‘Give me a drink’
Oh, there is a revolution in that little line. Throughout the Old Testament the theme of our thirst for God is common “Like a deer that yearns for running streams so my soul is yearning for you O Lord’ Psalm 42. We are thirsting for God of course, but here is a great reversal. God in one sense is also thirsting for us, because God in Christ is thirsty for our faith, thirsty for our response, thirsty to be married to us.
Boy, does she respond negatively to this question. How come? Well, because this woman is a triple outsider.
Firstly, she is a woman. In Jesus time, for a man to speak to a woman was unheard of so she is taken aback by that. Secondly, she is a Samaritan – for a Jew a Samaritan was no good, a half breed. Thirdly and more subtly –she is a woman coming alone to a well at high noon. Women didn’t do that. Women came together at better times of the day. If you are in the desert country, the better times of the is either early morning or evening when the sun wasn’t so hot and you’d be with your friends to make the work easier and more pleasant. There is a single woman coming at noon. How come? She is an outcast. She is seen as a shady questionable figure and you’ll find out later why. She is a triple outsider, meaning just the kind of person Jesus loves. Whenever we feel like triple or quadruple outsiders, ok, Jesus loves us. He wants to marry us. We are the ones He is after. There is some good news here.
So He says ‘Give me a drink’, when she responds Jesus follows up with: "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."
There is the whole Gospel in that line. If you knew the gift of God – that is the best description of Jesus in the Bible. Who is God? God is the one who gives. Does God need this world? No. God is God. God is perfect needing nothing outside of Himself. Therefore the very fact that the world exists is a sign that it is a gift. It was given to us in love. What is the greatest gift God has given us? His own Son. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. If you knew the gift of God – that is who Jesus is. What would you have done? You would have asked Him for living water and He would have given you living water bubbling up to eternal life.
Saint Augustine wrote the well that she goes to symbolizes concupiscence desire – that is a fancy way of saying errant desire – skewed desire. All of us are made for God. Augustine wrote “You made us for your self O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee”. We are wired for God. We are made for God. We have an infinite desire. What goes wrong for us? We hook that infinite desire into something less than God – money, power, pleasure and glory. Any worldly thing and we seek it. And we get a little buzz the way you would from any drug but then it wears off. That is not meant to satisfy me. It can’t satisfy me. What am I going to do? I’m going to get more of it. I need more money, sex, power. You pick your poison.
You go to the well. You drink from it and you get thirsty again. And we find ourselves caught in this rhythm of errant addictive desire. Why has Christ come? To break us from this.
I know you came to this well every day and you are unsatisfied. I have come that you might have water bubbling up in you that you might have eternal life.
Jesus says, ‘Go call your husband and come back’ She says I have no husband and He says “You are right in saying, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband.
Aah, this Rabbi is clever. Why is this important spiritually? We have to crack the symbolism a little bit. I know it is a little bit sexist but I know it can speak to us. In Jesus time, your husband is one who governed your life – the leader and governor of your life. What is Jesus saying? Tell me who it is that is running your life? Call your husband. I don’t have a husband. Yeah you have had five and the one you are with now is not your husband. You have been looking around in a lot of bad places for the governor of your life.
Jesus is proposing marriage here at the well. I want to be the Lord of your life. That is what He is saying to her. You have been around with lots of different husbands, you’ve tried to find joy by following all kinds of different inspirations. I want to be the governor of your life. And in this sense, brothers and sisters, this applies to all of us. I want to be your husband. I want to be the Lord of your life. That is what He is telling the woman and telling us.
This is how it ends.
The woman left her water jar and went away into the city, and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?"
First of all – that water jar that she lugged every day at high noon to that well. Drinking from it and getting thirsty again and having to go back to it. Money, power, esteem, glory – whatever it is – whatever our addiction is. What we think will fill up our lives when we go back to that well every day and then we drink and we are unsatisfied and we gotta go back. Now that she has accepted a marriage proposal from Jesus Christ, now that she has water bubbling up in her to eternal life, she is finally able to set that jar down.
Aah, conversion. That is what conversion means.
What is the water jar in your life? That is a good spiritual question.
What is the jar we have been lugging around all our lives?
Jesus allows us to set it down. The woman becomes the first evangelist in the Gospel of John. She goes into the town “Listen, listen everybody”.
When you see something beautiful, you don’t keep it to yourself do you? You want everyone to know about it. So when she meets Jesus Christ, she has found Him now as the marriage partner of her life. Of course, she wants to tells the world about Him. Evangelism begins with conversion. When we fall in love with Jesus Christ, we learn to adore Him, then we want all the world to know about him.
Source: Conversion – Following The Call of Christ
Father Robert Barron www.wordonfire.org
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