Gospel of John Chapter 4

THE WOMAN AT THE WELL; LIVING WATER

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 4, we travel from one setting to another where we watch as Jesus leaves an impression on the many different people he meets. In each place there is a lesson to be learned, but relating to all of the situations is one imperative message, "surrender to self and place your trust in Jesus."

Most likely on foot, Jesus leaves Judea and the angry Pharisees for a journey  to Galilee. His route takes Him through Samaria. On His way He passes through the historical fields that once belonged to Joseph, son of Jacob. (I wander if there was a road sign, "You Are Now Entering the Historical Fields of Joseph Son of Jacob Established 2000BC"!) On the property, Jesus stops by a well and meets a Samaritan woman. Being Jewish, it was not customary for Jesus to speak to a Samaritan let alone a woman. But as Jesus is known to do, He throws proper etiquette to the wind and in John 4:7 commands the woman, "Give me a drink." Not, "Hi, my name is Jesus. It is so nice to meet you. Would you mind if I bother you for a drink from your well." No, He just says, "Give me a drink." She's surprised by His boldness, not in the question itself, but of the mere act of His speaking to her, a woman. As a conversation ensues, the woman discovers that the water she has to offer Jesus is in no way as refreshing as the living water He has invited her to drink. Not to mention, she is stunned to learn that Jesus knows her past in such detail, especially the fact that she is living with a man who is not her husband. The nature of their dialogue becomes even more personal as it leads to the topic of faith. When Jesus advises the woman that the hour is coming to worship the Father in the spirit and truth, she says to Him in verse 25, "I know the Messiah is coming." What an impact it must have made on the woman when Jesus looked deep into her soul and answered, "I who speak to you am He."

Jesus left Jacob's fields and the woman and moved on through Samaria. Meanwhile the woman's news about Jesus spread throughout the area quickly, and soon many gathered  to listen to Him. They invited Jesus into their homes and understood with their own eyes and ears what the woman had told them. In John 4:42, they said to the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."

Jesus only stayed for two days in Samaria, insisting in John 4:44, "...that a prophet has no honor in his own country."  This line perplexes me but also draws me in. In my own reading of it, I instantly made a connection with my own life. God has blessed me, as with many, with talents, gifts, that at the age of 54, I still struggle to find a place that honors them, allows God to use them for the greater benefit of all. It makes me think that like Jesus, I too may need to leave my present place, surrender all and allow Him to lead me to my Galilee, wherever that may be?

When Jesus does finally reach the Galilee of His day, His first stop is Cana (the place where He once turned water into wine!). There, the news of His arrival generates rapidly throughout the region. To the north in Capernaum, a wealthy man whose son is near death hears of the supernatural deeds of Jesus. He goes to Cana and begs Jesus to return home with him to heal his dying boy. Jesus was not budging, but instead told the man to have faith, "Go, your son will live," John 4:50.

Before the man reached his doorstep, his servants met him with the miraculous news, "Yesterday, at the 'seventh hour', the fever left him. Your son will live!" John 4:52. The man must have wept openly in relief and gratitude, praising the name Jesus when he remembered that, indeed, the seventh hour was the exact hour when Jesus has said to him, "Your son will live."

How many seventh hours have I had in my lifetime? Looking back, I have had more than my share. Was it a coincidence when my husband's grandmother who wished for so long that I would have a child should die and within a week of her death I became pregnant? Was it a coincidence that Our Lady's voice came to me once while I was teaching catechism and firmly said, "You will teach them to read," and years later I became a reading specialist? Was it a coincidence when many years ago I was awakened by a voice urging me to pray and in the morning I discovered that at that very hour when I heard the voice a friend of mine was in a car accident? Was it a coincidence that on the eve of my husband's heart attack my son had just finished a week of CPR training at school and recognized his father's symptoms? Was it a coincidence that this beloved son in that same year on a 9th grade field trip visited St. Vincent College, a campus with a religious monastery, and knew instantly that he would find his future on its grounds?  Was it a coincidence that I should visit cities the likes of Rome, Sienna, and Fatima, holy lands where I would have never traveled if my daughter had not been married to a military officer. There are no coincidences. I can go on and on with my litany of seventh hours, in my private journals are my personal records of them. The point is, our seventh hours are gifts, truly they happen daily if we only recognize them. Some are earth shaking and some are gentle winds, but all seventh hours are meant to sever the loose threads that still connect us with this earthly world.

"Surrender to self and place your trust in Jesus." This message ignited a fire in the souls of many during the times of Jesus. From a simple woman at a well, to a group of Samaritans who were hated by the Jews, to a wealthy official who probably had no business fraternizing with a man who was suspect by religious leaders, Jesus made an impression wherever he traveled. In this life that we travel, we can make impressions, too. We can ignite fires and reach souls just by surrendering self, leaving our bodies and allowing Jesus to take our place, by letting Him work through us without interfering in His purpose.