'We have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the Saviour' (Jn 4:42)

In our Gospel today we have the amazing personal encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, who (spoiler alert!) goes on to be a missionary herself. In this incident we see the depth of God's unconditional love for each of us. The missionary outreach of Jesus has taken him into enemy territory: Jews and Samaritans do not mix! Jesus comes to show that God's love is not sectarian or political: Conservative, Democrat, SNP, Republican or Labour are all caught up in the encompassing love of God. It is worrying to see bishops align themselves with a particular political ideology on the right or the left. As a Church we are called to show that unique love of God seen in our reading from John today.

Not only is Jesus with a person considered to be an enemy, but he is also alone with a woman, breaking the convention of the day. He is left alone because the disciples have left him to search for food. At the well of Sychar the Samaritan woman comes to draw water—convention told her that she must go straight back home so she could not be alone with a male. However, as we see, she is a feisty lady: she needs water for her household and this man was not going to stop her. She seems to be a tough lady and she really did not care what anybody thought. When Jesus says to her quite simply "Would you give me a drink?" she really gets angry and says, "How could you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan, to give you a drink? Don't you understand we're not even supposed to talk to each other?"

Jesus helps her to understand that he is offering her a real gift: living water! Of course, she misunderstands and thinks that she will have some sort of well at home, thus being able to cross off the daily task of going to fetch water. This offer of Jesus is too good to be true—it was going to be a labour-saving 'device' that meant that she would not have to make that arduous daily journey. However, Jesus is offering her more than just the gift of time: he is offering life of God.

As we see in the first reading, for a desert people, water is the most valuable and important commodity—without it they would die. In our spiritual life, without a connection to God and others, we will perish too. Jesus challenges the sectarian spirituality of his day that narrowed God down to a Temple in Jerusalem or a Mountain in Samaria: God cannot be confined to the political or social straitjackets that we think are appropriate. We cannot make God in our own image and likeness. Jesus wants to help this woman see beyond narrow religious confines of her faith and see a living God who loves everyone. The image of a living spring or fountain helps us to appreciate the generosity of God that, literally, gushes forth into our lives. Jesus uses the brokenness of Jewish-Samaritan relationships to show how a new and living unity can be created. Our reading today is a challenge to all of us who are estranged or who rush to judge the 'other'. Our brokenness can actually help us to honestly confront our problems and difficulties, as Henri Nouwen observes:

When we travel with the eyes and ears of the God who sent us, we will see wonderful sights, hear wonderful sounds, meet wonderful people...and will be happy to return home.

God creates humanity in total love—sadly, it is humanity who can ruin that relationship. I am reminded of the great unifier, Mahatma Gandhi and his wise words:

Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the rest of our civilisation.

It is a matter of having God deep in our hearts—that love that will embrace and support others during this coming week. Like the Samaritan Woman, we are all searching for meaning. We are searching to make some sort of sense of the brokenness of our lives. If we can use this Lent to open ourselves to that overwhelming spring of God's love, then, like the lady, we can share the love of God with family, friends, and even those we find it hard to love. Today is that call to be like the woman of Sychar, and Mary of Magdala who did not cling on selfishly to the good news: they opened their hearts and shared it with others. Jesus, once a stranger to be feared and distrusted, is now welcomed into the town. His message of hope, unity and respect is embraced by all. They share the living message that he offers, taking Jesus into their hearts. This coming week will offer us numerous opportunities to share the good news. We must have the faith of that woman at the well and allow ourselves to the water of life. We might not meet at the local well today, but we can meet at the local market, cafe, or pub. We can encounter others in our homes or theirs—all of us can make that difference this week. Pope Francis reminds us:

Like the Samaritan woman, whoever personally encounters the living Jesus feels the need to talk about Him to others so that everyone might arrive at the point of professing that Jesus 'is truly the Saviour of the world'.

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB

Photo by Call Me Fred on Unsplash