Samaritan Woman Fr Nicholas Carr

Christ is risen. Imagine, if you will, you are

walking across the Sahara Desert. Your feet sink

into the hot sand. It makes progress difficult.

There are no trees to give you shade, so the

sun beats down on you incessantly. And you have

a great thirst. This is a land with no water.

Spiritually speaking, there are many people in

the world today who live in a spiritual desert

with no water, no spiritual water. And they are

thirsty, and many to the point of despair. And

others, they're just seeing mirages, things that

aren't there. distractions to help them cope.

And others survive by drinking polluted waters

that cannot support life for long. Now imagine

that you are trudging through these hot sands

and before you there is an oasis. And it is not

a mirage. And there are palm trees to give you

shade and food and fresh, clean water to drink.

And what joy and relief this would bring you.

And this is what happened to Fotini at the well

in today's Gospel reading from St. John. The

woman at the well, known as Svetlana or as Fotini,

met our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

at that well. And he was a spiritual oasis that

she needed. And Jesus asked her, give me a drink.

And the gospel reads, then the woman of Samaria

said to him, how is it that you being a Jew ask

a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? for Jews

have no dealings with Samaritans. And Jesus answered

and said to her, If you knew the gift of God,

who it is who says to you, Give me a drink, you

would have asked him, and he would have given

you living water. And Jesus makes sure she understands

that he is speaking of spiritual water, not just

physical water, by saying, Whoever drinks of

this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks

of the water that I shall give him will never

thirst, but the water that I shall give him will

become in him a fountain of water springing up

into everlasting life. The Orthodox Study Bible

says of these verses, the living water given

by Jesus is the gift of the Holy Spirit, which

believers receive. And the Holy Spirit becomes

a fountain of water, which flows with eternal

life. And later in the dialogue between Jesus

and the woman, Fotini, Jesus said to her, But

the hour is coming, and now is, when the true

worshipers will worship the Father in spirit

and truth. for the Father is seeking such to

worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship

him must worship in spirit and in truth. The

woman said to him, I know the Messiah is coming,

who is called Christ. When he comes, he will

tell us all things. And Jesus said to her, I

who speak to you am he. And from that day, her

life changed, for she knew and believed that

Jesus was more than just a great teacher or a

prophet. He was the very Messiah himself, God

with us. And she became an evangelist, helping

others to find that living water to drink. And

she left the desert and the lifeless sand and

drank. from Christ's holy cup. And so you and

I have now come to this place, this church, which

is an oasis for us. And the world is filled with

desert. Why would we leave this place? This is

life where we are now. And as St. Macarius of

Optima has said, God is in the Lord of all places,

and now, since the incarnation, the whole earth

shines with glory. There is no place whence the

incense of prayer cannot rightly rise. The manna

of the word of God rains down on every city and

every wilderness, and the incorruptible feast

can be partaken of in the humblest church of

the poorest village. The living waters of grace

can be drunk by all who courageously and unflinchingly

seek him who says, if any man thirst, let him

come unto me and drink. Let us beware of those

who would pull us away from the oasis back into

the desert. Slick words that would somehow entice

us away from drinking the living water. Let us

resist that and hold fast to our faith. Let us

leave the desert behind and the oasis of the

church here. Let us be here. Let us be filled

with living water. Let the Lord direct your life.

Thirst no more, for Christ is risen.