Catholic Identity

Reading: John 4:5-16,19-26,39-42

A spring of water welling up to eternal life

Jesus came to the Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman 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, ‘What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?’ – Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied: ‘If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you: Give me a drink, you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.’‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered, ‘and the well is deep: how could you get this living water? Are you a greater man than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?’Jesus replied: ‘Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again:the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.’‘Sir,’ said the woman ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water. I see you are a prophet, sir. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said: ‘Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know: for salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour will come– in fact, it is here already –when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.’

The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah – that is, Christ – is coming; and when he comes he will tell us everything.’ ‘I who am speaking to you,’ said Jesus ‘I am he.’Many Samaritans of that town had believed in him on the strength of the woman’s testimony when she said, ‘He told me all I have ever done’, so, when the Samaritans came up to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed for two days, and when he spoke to them many more came to believe; and they said to the woman, ‘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.’

Reflection

The story begins with Jesus in all his humanity, tired and thirsty, asking for water. What follows is a series of barriers being broken. Firstly, he speaks to a woman he is not related to, a Samaritan woman. She is a woman with a poor reputation, shunned by the other villagers who need to draw water at the hottest part of the day. He then asks to drink from her cup, as He has none of His own. This brief conversation contradicts many of the social conventions of the time. 

Jews and Samaritans had been rival communities since the Assyrian invasion, eight centuries earlier. They didn’t eat or drink together, engage in business or worship together. Most Jews would avoid Samaria altogether when travelling between Galilee and Jerusalem, travelling the long way around across the Jordan River. 

For the author, this is a story of outreach. A reminder that the 'Living Water' Jesus had to offer was not confined to the Jewish People, but part of a universal gift of salvation. Worship of the one God is not confined by gender, ethnicity, faith community, location, or social status but offered 'in spirit and truth'.

Jesus reveals himself to this woman as the Messiah, God’s anointed one. He knows of her pain and isolation as a result of her sinful lifestyle. Still, he chooses her to be a catalyst for change and a mouthpiece of God as she calls others to meet him: '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'.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, give us courage to speak with those others avoid, to share, to listen, and to welcome the judged and forgotten. Pour your ‘Living Water’ into our hearts, that we may worship in spirit and truth and lead others to you. Amen.

Action for the week

Reach out to one person you haven’t contacted in a while, or someone who seems 'on the margins'. This could be in person or via messaging. Keep it brief and simple, and reply with care if they respond. Welcome someone outside your usual circle - invite them into your group, save them a seat, or include them in an activity. 

Dr Antony Sindone is an educator with nearly 40 years’ experience in Catholic schools, specialising in servant leadership and Ignatian education.