This is the third in our Lenten reflection series, written by clergy in the Holy Land. 

Lent 2025 – Week Three:  “Come, see a man who told me everything I have ever done. Could this be the Messiah?” John 4:29

Written by Bishop Shomali: Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem and Palestine.

The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well is one of the most human and beautiful chapters of the fourth gospel, for the delicacy and depth of the dialogue between Jesus and this woman. Until this moment she was a stranger and soon a believer. These pages which reveal more deeply the personality of Jesus and the mission of the Church, leave a strong impression on all who have read it. Let us follow the path through which she comes to faith. In fact, the evangelist does not randomly put in the text the names by which the Lord is called. Jesus at the beginning of the story is an ordinary traveler, a stranger, then a Jew, and therefore an enemy of the Samaritans.

In the middle of the dialogue, the Samaritan woman understands that Jesus is a prophet, because he has revealed to her the mystery of her most intimate, private life, even the number of her husbands. At that moment she reacted: “Lord, I see that you are a prophet” (4:19). But the journey of discovering Jesus’ identity does not end here: at the end, when the dialogue has reached the important question of the adoration of God, the woman comes to believe that he is the Messiah.

Something is still missing, however: at the end of the passage, in 4:41-42, it will be the Samaritans themselves who give the final title to Jesus, that of Saviour. In fact, to the woman who said to them: “Come, see a man who told me everything I have ever done. Could this be the Messiah?”, the Samaritans who already believed in Jesus answered her: “It is no longer because of your word that we believe, but because we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.” (John 4, 42)

It is strange that this woman in need of water left the well without drinking and without her jar. She no longer needed it because she found the source of living water. She discovered the Truth that quenches thirst, heals and gives true happiness. This Truth is the person of Jesus and his teaching. The woman needed not only natural water, but also the knowledge of the person whom God sent into the world to announce the Truth, and to quench our thirst for eternal happiness.

We know from the Gospel of John that water symbolizes the Holy Spirit, the source of the 7 gifts that are essential to our Christian life. Among these gifts, are wisdom, strength, and piety that gives us the taste of prayer "in spirit and truth".

During this Lent, we Christians need to deepen our knowledge of this Saviour and to enter into communion with him. This discovery is gradual. Our happiness in this world and in the next depends on this discovery.

However, it is not enough to know the Saviour and keep it for ourselves. We need to announce Him to others with words and deeds. To help us, we have the brilliant example of the Samaritan woman. As soon as she discovered that Jesus was the Messiah, she could not keep it to herself but ran to her citizens to announce the great discovery which was a life changing experience for her and for the others.

Lord, allow me to know you better and to make you known around me.

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