For whom is this life?
The Samaritan woman… the Nobleman
John Chapter 4
"If you knew the gift of God… Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life… I am he, the Messiah" (Jn.4:10,13,26).
Chapter 4 of St. John shows us to who is meant this life of joy and the enthusiasm of a wedding feast on earth, with the forth treasure of the Gospel, the conversation of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, and with the second miracle, the healing of the Nobleman's son.
These events happened about 8 months after the Cana wedding, but the Gospel wants to continue its line showing us who is supposed to have this glorious life: Anyone!… it is for everybody!… for you and me!… here the Gospel portraits two completely different people, the degraded Samaritan women with the people of her village, and the Nobleman with his household, both receiving the gift of God, receiving Jesus Christ in their hearts!.
This chapter 4 starts with the baptizing of John and Jesus, emphasizing the fact that Baptism is the usual way to become the Born Again person of the chapter 3.
The Samaritan woman:
The story of what happened at the well is known universally. She was a "woman", the lowest class at that time, from "Samaria", hated by the Jews, and on top of it "a very degraded" woman, a prostitute… and to her Jesus offers the "gift of God", which is Jesus himself in her heart! (4:10).
It is in a nutshell the story of the ministry of Jesus: He did not have a grand plan of action, using the newspapers, media, propaganda, or meetings with huge crowds… mostly, his plan of action was "one on one", with humble personal encounters... his grand plan is you!… you and I are the grand plan of Jesus!… personal encounters with the Samaritan woman, or the Nobleman, or the leper, or the blind Bartimaeus, or the fisherman Peter, or the tax collector Matthew, or with Zacchaeus, or the widow of Nain, or the mother of Tyre healing her epileptic daughter, or with Nicodemus, or the thieves at the Cross… and in just these little personal encounters he makes so deep points of life and theology and philosophy that million of library book shelves all over the world are full of comments to his apparently simple remarks.
You and I, are the grand plan of Jesus right now!… He is the "gift of God" who wants to live in our hearts, to fill us with his love, peace, and joy, now, on earth, and for all eternity!… in fact, he who is happy in this life, with God in his heart, being always generous and full of enthusiasm, trusting in the Lord, on top of it, he will go to eternal Heaven… but he who trust only in the nothingness of himself, always with worries and fears and greedy, on top of it, he will go to eternal Hell, it is where he belongs!.
We just have to do like the Samaritan woman, accept his gift, right now!… believe in Jesus Christ just the way we are right now!… He will do the rest!… Lord Jesus: I believe in you, that you are the Messiah, God the Son. And by believing I receive you in my heart. Thank you, Jesus Christ, I adore you, I praise your name, give me strength to help many to live the glorious adventure of being a Christian on earth, and to go to Heaven, in your most holy name of Jesus. Amen.
To the Samaritan Jesus offered the living water: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (4:13)… it is similar to the offer he made to us on the last day of the feast of Tabernacles, in Jn.7:37: "Whoever believes in me, as scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from within him"… rivers of praise and joy and love and peace!, flowing from our hearts... on earth, right now!, giving thanks with joy to God for everything and in every circumstance on life, and they will certainly spring up to eternal life.
The conversation of Jesus with the Samaritan is well known, with 4 themes: The water (4:7-15), the husband of the Samaritan (4:16-18), the place of worship (4:19-24), and the Messiah (4:25-26)… to this degraded Samaritan woman Jesus himself revealed he was the long expected Messiah of the Jews, "I am he" (4:26)… Yes Jesus, you are the promised Messiah, I adore and praise your name, and I give you thanks for being always with me, within me!. Thank you my Lord and my God.
… And the Samaritan woman believed in Jesus, and by simply believing, she accepted Him in her heart, and as a forced consequence, she become one of the first evangelizers of Christ, and very efficient: She went to the town proclaiming, "He told me everything I have done" (4:39), and many believed in him to be the Messiah, the long expected Savior of the Jews… do you?. About the place of worship: It is no longer only the Temple of the Jews or the mountain Gerizim of the Samaritans, but anyplace!, because every believer is a temple of God, alleluia!, and we should worship God in us every minute of our lives, "offering him our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship" (Rom.12:1), and this is the way to worship the Father in spirit and truth (4:23), offering Him the Jesus Christ who is in our hearts, in a clean body, a truly tabernacle of Jesus Christ… and this is the way anyone can live this live on earth as a wedding feast, full of joy and enthusiasm, to spring up to eternal Heaven.
Samaria was populated by a mixed people, remnant of the northern tribes who had been taken captive when Israel fell in 722 B.C.. They used the Pentateuch and worshiped the Lord. Racially and religiously mongrel, they were abhorred by the Jews. They still offer the old sacrifices, similar to those offered in the Temple at the time of Jesus.
I have been there, in the well of Sychar, in the heart of the plain of Shechem under the shadow of Mt. Ebal. The well was built by Jacob, cared now by the Orthodox, and it is one of the few places in Israel where you can touch the same stones that Jesus touched. And there is where Abraham built his altar first of the three he built.
The three altars built by Abraham have an important meaning for Christianity (Gen.12-13):
1- Abraham was after the "promised land" God offered him. And after 1200 miles and several years of walking from Ur in Arabia, he came to Sychar, at Shechem, and God told him, "her it is". So, there Abraham built an altar. "Shechem" means "Spirit", and the Spirit is the very first in the life of a Christian. Without the Spirit, there is no Christian! Gen.12:6-7).
2- But God talk to Abraham again: "You have to keep on moving", and after months, he reached Bethel, near the actual Bethlehem, and God told him again, "here it is", so Abraham built another altar there. "Bethel", means "Church", and this is very important, because if you are not in the Church of Christ may be you are having a wrong Spirit (Gen.12:8).
3- And again God talk to Abraham: "You have to keep on moving". And after many years of wondering, even through Egypt, Abraham end up in Hebron. And there God told him again, "here it is". So in Hebron he built his third altar, and lived there till his death. "Hebron" means "Community", and it is the third important face of a Christian, moved by the Holy Spirit, in the Church, and in Community!. It is a pity, some churches or parishes today are not communities of love, and they are missing some essence of Christianity (Gen.13:18).
I adore you God my Father: Let me be a good Christian moved by the Spirit, in the only Church of Christ, and living in love in my community. Thank you, Lord, in the name of Jesus. Amen
The Nobleman:
This is another person who is offered this life of the joy and enthusiasm of a wedding feast. As usual, on a private encounter with Jesus. He was a royal official, an officer in the royal service, and had a problem: His son was sick at the point of death, and like Nicodemus, he went to Jesus to solve his problem. And Jesus solved it, his son was healed!. The Nobleman believed in Jesus, and by believing, he received Him in his heart, along with his whole household, including the children. Again, another evangelizer, now to his family, the first place of evangelization of any Christian, praise the Lord!.
Thank you Jesus for the family you have given me, the very best I could ever had, prepared with love by you for me. I adore you and I praise your holy name. Fill me with the love and light of the Holy Spirit, so I can bring this love and light to my closest ones for the glory of the Father.
