4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.
9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”
16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”
27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.
31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”
32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”
33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.
34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”
39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Dear God, I listened to a really good homily this morning from Father Mike Schmitz on this passage. If there was an overall message to the homily, it was to see the person over seeing the group. Jesus didn’t see a Samaritan. He saw a woman. When the other Samaritans came, he didn’t see Samaritans, but individuals instead.
It reminded me of Hagar in Genesis 16:13 when she is pregnant with Ishmael, runs away, and you showed up to encourage her. From then on she called you the God who saw her. She was hopeless, but she knew you saw her and you gave her hope. The same is true for this woman at the well.
So there is a group of people right now who are frustrating me. And what frustrates me isn’t their hearts for doing what they think is right. I think, if asked why they are doing what they do they would give you a good reason. It’s the what they are doing that concerns me. Their tactics seem more destructive than constructive. It doesn’t feel like they are solving problems, but instead just creating more issues for good people. And what’s my response to them? Well, I tend to treat them as a group and resist them as a group instead of engaging them as individuals. But I’ve been feeling led by you to maybe engage with one of them as an individual and build a constructive relationship that can be about your mercy and love. Maybe we can find common ground and pursue making a difference in ways we can agree upon. It reminds me of the time you led me to reach out to someone else a few months ago. I was upset with you about the prompting, but I did it anyway and now I can see that it was a good thing.
Father, help me to overcome my pride, my sinfulness, and my judgmental attitude. Help me to see beyond the surface. Help me to know how to reach out to those whom I frustrate as well. I’m sure the group that frustrates me is frustrated by me and those who are likeminded with me. It’s all division. It’s all Satan’s plan. Father, let me be part of you thwarting Satan’s plan in whatever way you want to use me. And protect me in this. I know I’m setting myself up for attacks when I do this. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, please be with me. Do it for the glory of your kingdom.
I pray all of this in your Holy Name,
Amen
Emails to God 