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Once again we journey with
Jesus through the Land of Samaria to Jacob's well. St. John tells us
that Jesus was hungry and exhausted, so he stopped at the well to rest,
while the disciples went into town to buy food. St. John always
gives us the full picture. He emphasizes the divinity of Christ, but he
never hides the Lord's humanity.
There comes on the scene at this time a Samaritan woman. It seems odd
that she should come to this out of the way well to draw water at the
heat of the day. It would suggest that she was an outcast, coming when
she could expect no one else to be present. Out of the blue Jesus breaks
custom and asks the woman for a drink. First of all, Jews had as little
to do with Samaritans as possible. Secondly, a rabbi never spoke to
women in public, especially women who were social outcasts. The woman,
herself, is shocked! But in his characteristic way Jesus breaks through
the social barriers with his straight forward request.
Thus begins one of the most interesting encounters in the gospel. In the
next few verses Jesus engages the woman in an experience of personal
conversion. He touches her so deeply that she asks him where she ought
to offer worship to God. In this wonderful dialog Jesus encourages the
woman to set aside her past hurts, her anger, and her superstitions in
order to worship God in Spirit and in truth.
When the disciples returned, they were shocked to see Jesus speaking
with the woman but no one dared to ask him why. They had already learned
that the Lord's ways were not their ways. Meanwhile the woman left
her bucket behind in order to go into the town and tell the people about
the prophet who had come into their midst. She had truly become a
disciple of the Lord.
When the disciples left the Lord he was hungry and tired. When they
returned he was obviously animated about the conversation with the
woman. The disciples offered him some of the food they purchased in the
Samaritan town, but Jesus talked instead about bread of which they did
not know. He has been nourished by doing the will of God who sent him.
Jesus tried to share that joy with the disciples and with us, when he
talked about the fields shining for the harvest. All of us are
encouraged to eat the bread of God's will, by bringing God's love and
forgiveness to one another.
The woman at the well was not a likely candidate for discipleship. But
Jesus saw in her heart the possibility for real conversion. We may not
think that we are “good disciple material" but Jesus can transform us
just as he did the Samaritan woman. He can help us to eliminate
superstition and ignorance in our faith, so that we worship God in
Spirit and in truth. He invites us to discover the power of God’s
kingdom in our lives and to share that good news with others.
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