'Everything I have ever done' - February 26
Today’s Readings: Psalm 119:33–40; Genesis 24:12-20; 2 Tim. 1:1-14; John 4:4–26
Today’s Reflection
O Almighty God, whose most blessed Son revealed to the Samaritan woman that He is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the World; grant us to drink of the well that springs up to everlasting life that we may worship you in spirit and in truth through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today is the feast day of Photini, the name later given to the Samaritan who meets Jesus at the well, as we read in John 4. Her name Photini (or Photine or Photina) means “the luminous one.” When Jesus tells the woman that he knows of her five marriages, and that the man with whom she was living at the time wasn’t in fact her husband, the woman immediately recognizes Jesus as a prophet. It is strikingly clear to her that Jesus has special knowledge—as she declares later, “he told me everything I have ever done!”
However, the important take-away we learn about Jesus in this part of the story is not so much that he knows things. What is most important to notice here is what Jesus does with that knowledge. Jesus knows all about this woman’s life—including a number of things that she would rather him not know, being that her initial response to Jesus asking her to go get her husband is, “I have no husband.” Jesus reveals that he already knows all about it—and that he is asking her for water and having a deep conversation with her in spite of all that—or, I would argue, maybe even because of all that.
While we often focus on what we learn about Jesus’ attributes through this story, it makes sense that on her feast day we should focus on what we learn about her. As mentioned, we learn that this woman has some complicated history—we might even say she has some personal baggage. However, we also learn that this woman has religious knowledge; she is keenly aware of the differences between the Jews and the Samaritans, “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain [Gerazim], but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” And then, in response to Jesus’ discussion of “true worshipers” who “will worship the Father in spirit and truth,” the woman shares another thing that she knows: “I know that Messiah is coming… When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” It is then that Jesus reveals that he, “the one who is speaking to you,” is the Messiah. At that point, their conversation comes to an end, interrupted by the arrival of Jesus’ disciples, who though “astonished” that Jesus was speaking with this Samaritan woman, chose to keep their judgy-ness to themselves for a change.
And so, what did the woman do next? “She left her water jar and went back to the city.” And when she returned to the city, she shared the Good News of Jesus: “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” While she still has some doubts, her sense of wonderment that Jesus “told her everything she has ever done” triumphs over those questions. She shares her testimony, even though by sharing it she is reminding the community of things she would rather not remind them of—about herself and all her personal history. What we learn about this woman is that she chose to share the news of the Messiah, the Christ, despite these very real, very personal repercussions.
As Jesus told the disciples, after the woman had gone on her way to share her testimony: “The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.... I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Other have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” I take this to mean, situated just after the woman goes off to share the Good News and lead people back to listen to Jesus, that Jesus is saying that this woman is out sowing the seed of the Good News, and these disciples of his are simply entering in the work of evangelism that the woman has already begun. As John emphasized, “Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.”
What do we learn about ourselves when we hear the story of Jesus and the woman at the well? First, we learn that Jesus already knows all about us—and, as with the woman at the well, he still wants to talk with us and be with us anyway. I don’t know about you, but I find it extremely comforting that God knows everything I have ever done, everything I am doing, everything I will ever do. There’s nothing I have thought about, nothing that I have done (or left undone), that God doesn’t already know. There’s no need for artifice. God already knows all about it. And yet Jesus still loves me—and he still loves you. Nothing we have done, or ever will do, can ever scare Jesus away from us. He’s still there with us at the well, or anywhere else our journey may take us.
Second, we learn about moments of recognition—that moment when Jesus showed he knew who the Samaritan woman really is (five husbands and all), and that moment when the woman realized who he is (a prophet, and not only that, but the Messiah). Just as Jesus and the woman at the well had that moment of mutual recognition, so, too, do we have our own moments when we recognize who Jesus is to us, and when we realize (again and again) how fully we are known and loved by God. These moments of recognition or realization will hopefully inspire us to go out, leave behind our own jars of water, and go back to the people in our lives to share our own testimonies of meeting Jesus at the well—wherever that place of encounter with God may be for each of us.
Becky+
Questions for Reflection
Recall a time when someone figured out something about you without your ever saying a word. How did it feel that someone paid attention to the details not only of what was said, but of what had been left unsaid? Did you feel exposed and vulnerable—or seen and understood? How did you respond to this person’s recognition of you or something about your experience?
Daily Challenge
According to Know Your Mothers, “Photini engages in the longest recorded conversation with Jesus. One where she is not a passive listener but an engaged questioner and theological thinker. … Jesus revealed himself to Photini and proved how well he knew her, and how he saw her as a truth seeker. Jesus gained Photini’s trust and her life was radically changed.” Click here to read more about Photini and what we can learn from her story.