Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Christ is Risen!

In today’s Gospel excerpt we read how Christ conversed first with the Samaritan woman about living water (the Grace of the Holy Spirit), and later with His apostles about spiritual food and the harvest (preaching the Word of God). We also read about the great desire with which the Samaritans accepted Christ’s teaching. This thirst to learn about Christ seems to me to be especially wonderful when we consider the Gospel excerpts from last Sunday and next Sunday, when we read about how the Jews, seeing the most extraordinary miracles performed by Christ, hated Him and searched to kill Him. The Samaritans, who were schismatics and heretics, easily accept Christ, while the Jews, God’s chosen people, reject Him. For this reason the Samaritans are a foreshadowing of the pagan gentiles who came to believe in the Saviour Jesus Christ.

Today we can take notice of how Christ converses with mankind. He does this very softly and calmly, as we can see from His conversation with the Samaritan woman. He begins the conversation in the most simple manner. "Give me some water to drink," He says, using this question as an excuse to begin preaching about that which is most exalted, i. e. living water. The woman doesn’t understand what’s transpiring, but the Lord Jesus Christ gradually opens her spiritual eyes and she begins to understand that it is not He who needs a drink of water, but she who is in need of His words.

Each of us is waiting to hear a word from Christ. One is in need of comfort, another in need of direction, a third – in need of something else. But it happens that sometimes we don’t hear anything. It seems that the Lord doesn’t see us and our sorrows and, what is worse, has no response for us. Sometimes we want to cry out: "Lord, show Yourself to us, show us Your glory!" But in response we hear silence.

In fact, Jesus Christ sees all of us, hears and knows everything, but more often than not answers us softly and calmly. In such a manner He endeavours to begin a conversation with us, like He did many years ago with the Samaritan woman. It is worth noting that this didn’t happen in church, nor during prayer, nor with a righteous man, but at a well, during the most mundane but necessary of tasks, with a profoundly sinful woman.

Let’s attempt to focus our thoughts on God, not only during prayer, but throughout the whole day and to open our hearts to Him, that is, not to let them be overrun by worldly cares. If we act in such a way, we can hope to hear that soft, calm, delicate word of God that will comfort us and direct us onto the true path in a like manner to what happened many years ago in Sychar at Jacob’s well.

priest Alexis