Samaritan woman - John 4 1-26
I live near Jacob's well.
The people of my town are very proud of the fact that we draw water from the very same place where Jacob was directed by God to find his wife. From this marriage the twelve tribes of Israel are descended and it all started in our home town of Sychar at our very own well. There is a sense of history about the place and lots of stories are passed on from generation to generation about what happened here years ago. The day I met Jesus added another story to that list.
I had had a difficult life. I was thirty five years old and had been married several times. The first time was when I was just a young girl. My parents married me off to a much older man who basically just wanted a domestic slave and treated me horribly. I ran away from him several times but he always found me and brought me back. Eventually he got sick of me and found another woman to marry. He divorced me and threw me out onto the streets. I had nowhere to go and only the clothes on my back so I had no choice but to go back to my parent's house. They didn't want me there saying I had brought shame on the family, so as soon as I could I left to try to find work in the city. I ended up as a housemaid to a Roman family and became involved with a stablehand. I got pregnant. When my mistress found out she threw me out, saying that a pregnant servant would not be able to do the work required. I was again on the streets. I lost the baby. I once again came home to Sychar and moved into an empty house on the edge of town. I took in washing and kept myself to myself, gradually making a business which kept me alive but being shunned by most people in the neighbourhood. When I was twenty three I met Samuel, the local blacksmith. He was hardworking and kind and he loved me in his own way. We married and I had two children. We were happy enough but then when my boy was about five and my girl only two Samuel was seriously injured when a horse kicked him in the head. He lived for several months but was not able to speak and had to be fed with a spoon - it was a very difficult time for us as the forge couldnt work and we had no money. Neighbours tried to help as I cared for him, but after Samuel died I was on my own again.
Samuel had an unmarried brother, Josiah, and under the law he was required to care for me. He took me into his house and into his bed, but he had no affection for me and treated me as a housekeeper, barely tolerating my children. For eight years we lived uncomfortably together until I came home one day and found him in bed with the local seamstress. It was clear that he no longer wanted me around and I had no desire to stay when I was so clearly not wanted there, so once again I moved - in fact I went back to the house on the edge of town I had lived in previously. My children were older and my son was working for a local farmer who offered to take him in. My daughter helped me with laundry and we scraped a poor living that way. Life was hard, life was very lonely, we were poor.
I had taken to going to the well later in the morning, after the women had been and gone. It was easier to do that than to suffer the stares and glares and gossip which I'd tolerated for years. It was hot at that time of day, but it didnt take much time to get water as there was nobody else there. I would usually fill two large water jars which would last us the day. Sometimes my daughter would come with me to help. Sometimes if she was busy with laundry Id make two trips. One day when I came back with water I found a man talking to my daughter. He was clearly interested in her and asked if she could come and work for him. I knew what he was after and refused. He was not happy. I told him that she was still a child ( although she was technically old enough to be married) and that I needed her to help me with the work. I think he had been drinking because he was angry and argumentative and kept on insisting that she should go with him and that he would treat her well. In the end I sent my daughter into the house and I shouted in the man's face that my daughter was not going anywhere and that he should leave. At that point he raped me.
Two days later I was back at the well. I was exhausted, bruised, frightened and felt like giving up. Life just seemed to be one long battle and there was no prospect of it ever being any different. I feared for my daughter - I had been so determined that she was going to have a better life than I had had, and yet I was not able to protect her and she had no prospects other than becoming someones wife and hoping that her husband might not be a complete monster. I sat on the edge of the well and cried.
I didnt notice the man who was sitting on the other side of the well at first. Im not sure how long he sat there before he said to me ' Excuse me, would there be any chance that you could let me have a cup of water please?'
His voice was gentle. He was so polite. I genuinely felt that he respected me. I looked up and saw a man of about my age sitting on the wall of the well looking hot and tired. He smiled at me and his eyes were so kind. I immediately wiped away my tears and hurried to let down the bucket to draw the water. It is a deep well and the water we get from it is cold and pure and refreshing. He helped me to pull the bucket up and I offered him the cup. He thanked me and took a long drink, then he dipped the cup back in the bucket and offered me water. This was unheard of. He was clearly a Jew and the Jews are famous for their hatred of us Samaritans. He was also a single man out in the middle of the day and he should most definitely not have been talking to a single woman who was unveiled and unaccompanied.
' I don't mean to be rude sir' I said ' but who are you? You cant be from round here or you would know that it is not seemly for you to be seen here with me'
He smiled again - such a lovely, warm, genuine smile and I felt myself relax. He said ' It's funny you should say that. It's true, Im not from here. And if I were to tell you who I am you would be asking me for a drink of water.'
This didnt make much sense to me. I said ' But I dont need you to give me a drink - Ive got this well here where I can get water whenever I want it. This is Jacob's well you know - the well where Jacob met his bride and became the father of Israel'
The man said ' Yes, I'm on the way to meet my bride too. Would you like to be able to drink and never be thirsty again ? I can give you living water '
The man was speaking in riddles. ' What do you mean ' never be thirsty again' ? What is this 'living water' you're talking about ? . This water is good, clean, lovely water but I have to come and draw it every day and as far as I know it isn't 'alive'. You dont even have a bucket so how are you going to get this water you are talking about? I don't understand'
He smiled again and then came round to my side of the well and took my hand. I gasped at the impropriety of it. He said to me ' The water in this well is indeed good and clean and pure, but once you have drunk of it then it is gone and you will need to drink again in a few hours time. The water Im talking about is a spiritual spring which bubbles up and overflows in your spirit, bringing life to all the dry and dessicated places in your soul, restoring and refreshing your heart and flowing out of you to everyone around ' As he spoke it was as though he was painting images in my minds eye. I could see my dry dusty spirit, battered by years of abuse, my broken heart, my damaged soul and I could see them being washed by pure bubbling spring water and I began to shake. I couldnt stop my body reacting as he spoke to me and I was suddenly really glad he was holding my hand.
' Oh sir, I really really want that water' I said ' If you could give me some of that water then Id never need to come here in the heat of the day to get this water. Please can you give me your spirit water?'
He asked me to go and get my husband and come back.
My heart sank. Of course, he would need to speak to the ' head of my household', he would need to do a transaction with a man not a mere woman. All notions of spiritual water evaporated ( excuse the pun) as I realised that I was not qualified to receive whatever it was that he had. ' I dont have a husband' I whispered.
He was still holding my hand. He let go of it and sat down on the wall. ' That's true.' he said ' you have had five men, and none of them have loved you or been a husband to you. None have honoured you or cared for you or seen you as the woman you are, You have never had the chance to be the wife you could be.'
I was stunned. How did he know those things? He wasnt just stating facts he was reading my soul.
' You are clearly a prophet' I stammered, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid and trying to remember anything at all that I might know about religion and simultaneously desperate to move the conversation away from my own highly embarrassing relationship failings ' Umm, you Jews say that we should worship in Jerusalem don't you? But my religion teaches that we should worship on this mountain behind us. Who is right?' I couldn't believe I had actually asked him such a stupid question. I wanted to jump in the well to get away from this increasingly uncomfortable conversation.
' Ah, you see there's the thing' he replied ' its really not about where you worship, its about who you worship. We all worship the same God and what He is interested in is our hearts. He wants our love and our wholehearted devotion. It doesnt matter if you given Him that devotion here or in Jerusalem or anywhere else. There is a time coming when people will worship God through that spirit I was talking about which will bubble up and over from the very depths of peoples inner man. Worship that is true and real and spirit ignited is what God desires and what He is going to cause to happen very soon. God is a spirit and in order to worship Him our own spirits need to be alive and brimming over'
This was all getting a bit deep for me . I said ' I know that there is a Messiah who is going to come and reveal all these things to us'
He said ' I am the Messiah'
I just stared at him.
I probably stared open mouthed for a few seconds but it seemed like hours. And then the silence was broken by the sound of voices and a group of men appeared coming towards us down the road. They seemed to be with the man who had just told me he was the Messiah. They looked at me and smiled, continuing their conversations as though there was nothing too remarkable about this Jew talking to a Samaritan woman in broad daylight . I realised that it was bad enough to be on my own with one man, but with a whole crowd of them......... I hurried off into town my mind racing at what Id just heard.
I must have looked very odd because I abandoned all sense of propriety and ran home to find my daughter and tell her what had just happened. Then I went to find my son to tell him too. His employer was there when I was telling the story and he went to get his wife and asked me to tell it again to her. Before long the whole town was buzzing with the news that I had met the Messiah at the well. I remembered that Id left my water pots behind so I headed back to the well with my son and daughter and some of the other townsfolk following. He was still there with his group of followers. As a crowd gathered he began to speak to them about the kingdom of God, teaching in a way we had never heard before. The whole town was enthralled with his wisdom and his insight. The elders asked him if he would stay and teach us more and he agreed to stay for a couple of days. Those days are still talked about in our town. In the future we might well be better known for The Messiah visiting us than for Jacob meeting Rebecca at the well !!!
As for me, I suddenly became a bit of a ' personality' and was asked to tell my story over and over again. I told people how Jesus had known everything about me and had promised to give me ' living water'. From that day my life changed radically. I was no longer an outcast. I was no longer despairing and hopeless. Although life continued to be a physical and practical challenge I knew that Jesus had seen my past, recognised my pain and still considered me worthy of his words, his touch, his smile and his compassion. And that transformed everything.
The people of my town are very proud of the fact that we draw water from the very same place where Jacob was directed by God to find his wife. From this marriage the twelve tribes of Israel are descended and it all started in our home town of Sychar at our very own well. There is a sense of history about the place and lots of stories are passed on from generation to generation about what happened here years ago. The day I met Jesus added another story to that list.
I had had a difficult life. I was thirty five years old and had been married several times. The first time was when I was just a young girl. My parents married me off to a much older man who basically just wanted a domestic slave and treated me horribly. I ran away from him several times but he always found me and brought me back. Eventually he got sick of me and found another woman to marry. He divorced me and threw me out onto the streets. I had nowhere to go and only the clothes on my back so I had no choice but to go back to my parent's house. They didn't want me there saying I had brought shame on the family, so as soon as I could I left to try to find work in the city. I ended up as a housemaid to a Roman family and became involved with a stablehand. I got pregnant. When my mistress found out she threw me out, saying that a pregnant servant would not be able to do the work required. I was again on the streets. I lost the baby. I once again came home to Sychar and moved into an empty house on the edge of town. I took in washing and kept myself to myself, gradually making a business which kept me alive but being shunned by most people in the neighbourhood. When I was twenty three I met Samuel, the local blacksmith. He was hardworking and kind and he loved me in his own way. We married and I had two children. We were happy enough but then when my boy was about five and my girl only two Samuel was seriously injured when a horse kicked him in the head. He lived for several months but was not able to speak and had to be fed with a spoon - it was a very difficult time for us as the forge couldnt work and we had no money. Neighbours tried to help as I cared for him, but after Samuel died I was on my own again.
Samuel had an unmarried brother, Josiah, and under the law he was required to care for me. He took me into his house and into his bed, but he had no affection for me and treated me as a housekeeper, barely tolerating my children. For eight years we lived uncomfortably together until I came home one day and found him in bed with the local seamstress. It was clear that he no longer wanted me around and I had no desire to stay when I was so clearly not wanted there, so once again I moved - in fact I went back to the house on the edge of town I had lived in previously. My children were older and my son was working for a local farmer who offered to take him in. My daughter helped me with laundry and we scraped a poor living that way. Life was hard, life was very lonely, we were poor.
I had taken to going to the well later in the morning, after the women had been and gone. It was easier to do that than to suffer the stares and glares and gossip which I'd tolerated for years. It was hot at that time of day, but it didnt take much time to get water as there was nobody else there. I would usually fill two large water jars which would last us the day. Sometimes my daughter would come with me to help. Sometimes if she was busy with laundry Id make two trips. One day when I came back with water I found a man talking to my daughter. He was clearly interested in her and asked if she could come and work for him. I knew what he was after and refused. He was not happy. I told him that she was still a child ( although she was technically old enough to be married) and that I needed her to help me with the work. I think he had been drinking because he was angry and argumentative and kept on insisting that she should go with him and that he would treat her well. In the end I sent my daughter into the house and I shouted in the man's face that my daughter was not going anywhere and that he should leave. At that point he raped me.
Two days later I was back at the well. I was exhausted, bruised, frightened and felt like giving up. Life just seemed to be one long battle and there was no prospect of it ever being any different. I feared for my daughter - I had been so determined that she was going to have a better life than I had had, and yet I was not able to protect her and she had no prospects other than becoming someones wife and hoping that her husband might not be a complete monster. I sat on the edge of the well and cried.
I didnt notice the man who was sitting on the other side of the well at first. Im not sure how long he sat there before he said to me ' Excuse me, would there be any chance that you could let me have a cup of water please?'
His voice was gentle. He was so polite. I genuinely felt that he respected me. I looked up and saw a man of about my age sitting on the wall of the well looking hot and tired. He smiled at me and his eyes were so kind. I immediately wiped away my tears and hurried to let down the bucket to draw the water. It is a deep well and the water we get from it is cold and pure and refreshing. He helped me to pull the bucket up and I offered him the cup. He thanked me and took a long drink, then he dipped the cup back in the bucket and offered me water. This was unheard of. He was clearly a Jew and the Jews are famous for their hatred of us Samaritans. He was also a single man out in the middle of the day and he should most definitely not have been talking to a single woman who was unveiled and unaccompanied.
' I don't mean to be rude sir' I said ' but who are you? You cant be from round here or you would know that it is not seemly for you to be seen here with me'
He smiled again - such a lovely, warm, genuine smile and I felt myself relax. He said ' It's funny you should say that. It's true, Im not from here. And if I were to tell you who I am you would be asking me for a drink of water.'
This didnt make much sense to me. I said ' But I dont need you to give me a drink - Ive got this well here where I can get water whenever I want it. This is Jacob's well you know - the well where Jacob met his bride and became the father of Israel'
The man said ' Yes, I'm on the way to meet my bride too. Would you like to be able to drink and never be thirsty again ? I can give you living water '
The man was speaking in riddles. ' What do you mean ' never be thirsty again' ? What is this 'living water' you're talking about ? . This water is good, clean, lovely water but I have to come and draw it every day and as far as I know it isn't 'alive'. You dont even have a bucket so how are you going to get this water you are talking about? I don't understand'
He smiled again and then came round to my side of the well and took my hand. I gasped at the impropriety of it. He said to me ' The water in this well is indeed good and clean and pure, but once you have drunk of it then it is gone and you will need to drink again in a few hours time. The water Im talking about is a spiritual spring which bubbles up and overflows in your spirit, bringing life to all the dry and dessicated places in your soul, restoring and refreshing your heart and flowing out of you to everyone around ' As he spoke it was as though he was painting images in my minds eye. I could see my dry dusty spirit, battered by years of abuse, my broken heart, my damaged soul and I could see them being washed by pure bubbling spring water and I began to shake. I couldnt stop my body reacting as he spoke to me and I was suddenly really glad he was holding my hand.
' Oh sir, I really really want that water' I said ' If you could give me some of that water then Id never need to come here in the heat of the day to get this water. Please can you give me your spirit water?'
He asked me to go and get my husband and come back.
My heart sank. Of course, he would need to speak to the ' head of my household', he would need to do a transaction with a man not a mere woman. All notions of spiritual water evaporated ( excuse the pun) as I realised that I was not qualified to receive whatever it was that he had. ' I dont have a husband' I whispered.
He was still holding my hand. He let go of it and sat down on the wall. ' That's true.' he said ' you have had five men, and none of them have loved you or been a husband to you. None have honoured you or cared for you or seen you as the woman you are, You have never had the chance to be the wife you could be.'
I was stunned. How did he know those things? He wasnt just stating facts he was reading my soul.
' You are clearly a prophet' I stammered, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid and trying to remember anything at all that I might know about religion and simultaneously desperate to move the conversation away from my own highly embarrassing relationship failings ' Umm, you Jews say that we should worship in Jerusalem don't you? But my religion teaches that we should worship on this mountain behind us. Who is right?' I couldn't believe I had actually asked him such a stupid question. I wanted to jump in the well to get away from this increasingly uncomfortable conversation.
' Ah, you see there's the thing' he replied ' its really not about where you worship, its about who you worship. We all worship the same God and what He is interested in is our hearts. He wants our love and our wholehearted devotion. It doesnt matter if you given Him that devotion here or in Jerusalem or anywhere else. There is a time coming when people will worship God through that spirit I was talking about which will bubble up and over from the very depths of peoples inner man. Worship that is true and real and spirit ignited is what God desires and what He is going to cause to happen very soon. God is a spirit and in order to worship Him our own spirits need to be alive and brimming over'
This was all getting a bit deep for me . I said ' I know that there is a Messiah who is going to come and reveal all these things to us'
He said ' I am the Messiah'
I just stared at him.
I probably stared open mouthed for a few seconds but it seemed like hours. And then the silence was broken by the sound of voices and a group of men appeared coming towards us down the road. They seemed to be with the man who had just told me he was the Messiah. They looked at me and smiled, continuing their conversations as though there was nothing too remarkable about this Jew talking to a Samaritan woman in broad daylight . I realised that it was bad enough to be on my own with one man, but with a whole crowd of them......... I hurried off into town my mind racing at what Id just heard.
I must have looked very odd because I abandoned all sense of propriety and ran home to find my daughter and tell her what had just happened. Then I went to find my son to tell him too. His employer was there when I was telling the story and he went to get his wife and asked me to tell it again to her. Before long the whole town was buzzing with the news that I had met the Messiah at the well. I remembered that Id left my water pots behind so I headed back to the well with my son and daughter and some of the other townsfolk following. He was still there with his group of followers. As a crowd gathered he began to speak to them about the kingdom of God, teaching in a way we had never heard before. The whole town was enthralled with his wisdom and his insight. The elders asked him if he would stay and teach us more and he agreed to stay for a couple of days. Those days are still talked about in our town. In the future we might well be better known for The Messiah visiting us than for Jacob meeting Rebecca at the well !!!
As for me, I suddenly became a bit of a ' personality' and was asked to tell my story over and over again. I told people how Jesus had known everything about me and had promised to give me ' living water'. From that day my life changed radically. I was no longer an outcast. I was no longer despairing and hopeless. Although life continued to be a physical and practical challenge I knew that Jesus had seen my past, recognised my pain and still considered me worthy of his words, his touch, his smile and his compassion. And that transformed everything.
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