Friday 10 January 2024
"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” (vs 23-24)
Background
On my bookcase is an olivewood carving of Photine, the woman at the well near Sychar. It comes from Bethlehem and was created by a local craftsperson. It is beautiful to look at and to hold. Tradition says that Photine, ‘enlightened one’, is the name with which the Samaritan woman was baptised.
The account of Jesus meeting a Samaritan woman at the well near Sychar is recorded only by John. It was an incident that must have seemed shocking to the disciples returning from town (v. 27). Jesus is engaging with a woman, a Gentile (non-Jew), a Samaritan and a person with an apparently complicated life – which at the time were all very good reasons for not speaking with her!
At the time, most Jewish travellers from Jerusalem to Galilee would have taken a longer route, crossing the Jordan River twice in order to avoid going through Samaria. Jews regarded Samaritans as heretics; they were the descendants of those left in the land at the time of the Exile; their faith practices had deviated from the practices of the Jews in exile, who had held on to their rites and rituals as part of their Jewish identity.
Sychar was near Mount Gerazim, the seat of worship for the Samaritans, and is often associated with modern Nablus (or Shechem). This well is not mentioned in the Old Testament, but, as Jacob had land here (Genesis 33:18-20), he would have needed a well.
This is the longest recorded conversation of Jesus with another person. And the theme is worship – where, how, with whom? Photine, in coming to terms with the differences in worship, becomes aware of who is before her – the Messiah.
To Ponder:
- Jesus and Photine break the boundaries of gender, race, social class and religious affiliation – what about you and me?
- Are there those with whom you find it challenging to worship? Why is this?
Prayer
Open my mind and my heart, Lord, that I may see in those whose traditions differ from mine a glimpse of your glory. Amen.
Bible notes author: Gillian Kingston
Gillian Kingston is a local preacher on the North Tipperary Circuit of the Methodist Church in Ireland and an ex-Vice President of the World Methodist Council. She was the first lay Leader of the Conference of the Methodist Church in Ireland. Married to Tom, a retired Methodist minister, and with four adult children, she is also the besotted grandmother of seven beautiful granddaughters and one handsome grandson.