John 4:5-15, 10-26, 39-42 - The Samaritan Woman By the Well (3rd Sunday of Lent, March 23, 2014)

Map from www.searchingthescriptures.net

The gospel passage took place in Samaria, through which Jesus and disciples passed on their way back from  Jerusalem to Galilee.  (See map).  

Samaritans and Jews both believed in Yahweh but the latter regard the former as not following mainstream Judaism since Samaritans only believed in the first five books (the Pentateuch) of the Hebrew bible (which is what we consider as the Old Testament).  Note that this is similar to the difference between Catholics and Protestants, with the Protestant bible having seven less books than the Catholic version.

Samaritans were also looked upon as being ritually unclean, particularly women (who menstruated, because blood is regarded by Jews as unclean).  This uncleanness is believed to be transferred through the drinking vessels used.

There are two key verses in understanding the gospel:

1) The first is verse 4:10: "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."

The typical association of the "gift of God" is with the laws of Moses.  But for the evangelist John, the "gift of God" is Jesus himself.  (Recall John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son...")

"Living water" is often associated with baptismal water in contemporary homilies.  Not so for John.  The literal meaning of "living water" is "running water" in contrast to water from a well.  In Old Testament context, "living water" is associated with the flood of wisdom from God.  For John, the living water symbolizes the life-giving doctrine brought by Jesus and the message of love that he proclaims in his own personal life.

2) The second is verses 4:19-21: The woman said to him, "Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem".  Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem."

Due to the difference in their beliefs, the main temple of the Samaritans is in Mt. Gerizim, while the Jews' was in Jerusalem, located at Mt. Zion.  (Both highlighted in the map).

Jesus' reply that when everyone recognizes and worships God as Father of all humanity, then this debate is no longer relevant.  Jesus came to proclaim -- to Jews and Samaritans alike, as well as to all nations -- that God is Father, and one can know the Father through Jesus.

Source:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), 64-70.



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John 4:5-15, 19-26, 39-42

Jesus came to a town of Samaria, called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” – For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans. –

Jesus answered and said to 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.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this ‘living water’? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?”  Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst. The water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”   The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.

I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people 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 the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ. When he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one speaking with you.”

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in Jesus. When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.

Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”