prophet and man of honor — would assuredly not engage or associate with her because of her sinful stature. This type of interaction would have been overtly scandalous and unheard of. Yet this Jesus sat completely present to the “sinner,” unfazed by her past but deeply interested in her future.
And not only does Jesus break convention and draw near to her in public, not only does He talk to her, but He asks for a drink from her!?! Why on God’s earth would He do such a scandalous thing?
Simple: the living water thirsted for her salvation.
The only other time we hear Jesus mention His thirst is while agonizing on the cross. His agony was internal on this day as God’s deepest desire was to free this woman from her personal sins. In a way, this episode, beside the well, foreshadows the Cross. The thirst Jesus acknowledges here foreshadows the thirst He will reveal later. The mercy He offers in a cup for one beside a well prefigures the mercy offered in the cup for the many in the Upper Room, in Gethsemane’s garden, and upon Calvary’s stony hill.
Jesus said to her, “Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” (John 4:13-15)
We all thirst. We are born with it. It’s a scientific and physiological fact that humans can go longer without food than they can without water. What does this physical need have to do with one’s prayer life, though? Why so much talk about water and life in a biblical chapter or spiritual book about God? Put simply, this discussion between the woman and Jesus is still hashed out every day with modern believers and those who want to believe but struggle (or outright refuse) to do so. The need for spiritual water is a matter of life and death whether people understand it or not.
It is not until you encounter the living water from heaven that you truly begin to realize just how parched your life on earth has become.
Do you know what prayer does? Do you realize what worshiping God does? Do you fully understand what adoration and the sacraments do? Among other things, these encounters with God, these forms of prayer reveal the dehydration of our souls.
It is not until you encounter the living water from heaven that you truly begin to realize just how parched your life on earth has become. Christ, though, is far more than a canteen for emergencies in the arid deserts of our self-involved existence. Our Lord is more than an oasis in which to seek respite in times of survival. God is far more, and He is inviting us to far more. He has revealed this to us through a midday conversation at the local watering hole. God invited this woman — and us — to dive into the ocean of His mercy and finally experience what freedom tastes like.
The taste of freedom
Encountering God is a dangerous venture. It’s as though we know we need Him but aren’t quite sure we’re ready for Him or all that listening to Him will entail. We want God around. Sure. Why not? He’s like that lucky rabbit’s foot. We might not invoke Him enough before we really need Him, but when the going gets tough, we invoke God plenty. We have Him there for safe measure. He’s my “divine life insurance,” and that’s a great deal! I mean, most of us live with the perfect plan for how and when we’ll “let God in.” It’s as though we are saying, “God, when you call me home, please make it so I’m on a deathbed surrounded by priests throwing holy water and oil on me, hearing my confession, and making sure I get to your home address quickly and without any stops.” Sadly, it doesn’t always work that way.
Jesus could have taken the long route. Our Lord could have opted to go the long way around, sure. He didn’t then, and He still doesn’t. Remember, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever” (Heb 13:8). Jesus didn’t oppose the sinner, then, and He sure as heaven isn’t going to oppose you now.
Christ didn’t leave us to figure out truth, repentance, and forgiveness on our own. Jesus had a divine appointment, and He went straight to the place He wasn’t supposed to go, to the person He wasn’t supposed to talk with. He wasn’t revealing His thirst; He was inviting her to reveal hers! As He talks to her, though, He reveals even more:
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.” (John 4:16-19)
So, the Lord takes this nice scene and, as with the tables in the Temple area, completely upends it. In a shocking moment ripe for reality television, Jesus reveals that not only has this woman had five husbands but that number six isn’t even wed to her! This is where the dramatic music would be cued to alert the viewers of the scandal. Can you imagine how you’d feel — all of your sins hanging out in broad daylight, revealed by this seemingly random Nazarene carpenter/mystery man? All of a sudden, the Samaritan woman was face to face with the God of the universe and the reality of her own shame.
Some read this passage and think: “That’s not right. How could God do such a thing to her? Isn’t it bad enough that the Samaritan townspeople gossip about her, and then this random Jewish carpenter is going to come to call her out?” To be clear, though, that is how much God loves her. God revealed her sin precisely because of His unfathomable love. If He didn’t say, “I know about your past,” she would say, “Fooled him! He’s no prophet.” The fact is that He drew right next to her, looked her right in the eyes, and basically said, “I know about your shame, and I still love you.” Jesus didn’t want her to be chained to her sinful past any longer. God loved her so much that He crashed into her existence in an unsuspecting moment, not just to forgive her but to save her. He wants her to come face to face with her former self, not to rub her nose in it but in hopes that she will invite him into it!
What would your response be if you were the one holding the bucket? Would you deny the sin? Would you walk away? Would you possibly retaliate, firing back at the mystery man? Or would you own your past as you sat in a shame-filled present?
I have a confession to make
Do you know what happens when our sin is brought into the light? We either look for a place to hide it or seek a place to dump it. Therapy often wades through the former, while the Sacrament of Reconciliation beckons us to the latter. The woman beside the well looked Christ in the eyes as she was made new. We have the exact same opportunity thanks to Christ’s priesthood here on earth.
Shoulders slumped from fatigue; eyes bloodshot; stoles a beautiful, albeit disgusting, blend of countless young souls’ tears: This is a not-too-uncommon sight in youth ministry — that is, priests sitting in persona Christi capitas offering mercy and absolution to an endless line of adolescent sinners ardently desiring sainthood. The scene repeats itself at every parish retreat, summer camp, and youth rally. The numbers are staggering, with priests hearing on some weekends hundreds of confessions. These courageous (and tired) souls are consistently poured out like libations in a manner that would make St. Paul proud (see Phil 2:17), often remaining on less-than-comfortable chairs for hours on end so that every last penitent has the opportunity to hear the beautiful and incomparable words of freedom … “I absolve you.”
After a cursory glance around the room during these events, many are quick to blame the priest shortage (an irresponsible euphemism for what is really a “response shortage” — God is calling, men just aren’t listening or hearing, but let’s not digress). A more exacting evaluation would reveal a group of teens who have either not been offered the opportunity more frequently or,
