Consider this definition for thirst. “to crave vehemently and urgently.” The thirst that is important for today is the thirst of the one who comes to the deep well without a bucket. For the important part of this account is the thirst of Jesus for the faith of the woman. Readings for Today.
What type of Water?
Thirst. “a desire or need to drink.” Today’s gospel occurs at Jacob’s well. It is revered by both Samaritans and by Christians. In fact, today there is a Byzantine church that is over the top of the well. It has been used for centuries. And as we learn in today’s gospel it is deep. But dependable.
In this day and age, it can be the case that we rarely think about how easy it is for us to access water. But in so many areas of the world, there are still hundreds of millions of people who do not have easy access to water. Consider these statistics.
“Roughly 700 million people lacking basic drinking water in 2022.” “In 2022, more than 15 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa relied on unimproved or surface water sources.” “On average, women and children in developing countries walk about 3.7 miles daily to collect clean water for their families.”
And so when we read about the use of wells, it can be the case that for many of us this is not a common experience. When I was a little kid, I found the well and the pump that brought water to the surface at my grandmother’s house a novel curiosity. But for many today, a well is still an essential necessity.
Consider this in hearing about the gospel. The woman sits at a well, Jacob’s well, which was deep. In 1935 it was measured to be 135 feet deep. Given the importance of water for living, it is not difficult to imagine that the woman we encounter today went to this well every day. We cannot go long without water. In fact we can go much longer without food than we can without water.
The woman comes to the well each day because she is thirsty. She would not be the only one. In the dry climate of the middle east water was a valued commodity. Today, though, the focus is not on a woman who is thirsty for water.
Consider this definition for thirst. “to crave vehemently and urgently.” The thirst that is important for today is the thirst of the one who comes to the deep well without a bucket. For the important part of this account is the thirst of Jesus for the faith of the woman.
The beginning of her faith development is curiosity. Jesus asks her for a drink. She is a woman. She is a Samaritan. This simple request of Jesus is most unusual. Saint John Chrysostym observes, “He shows that she is worthy to hear and not to be overlooked, and then He reveals Himself.” Just who is this man?
The man she meets, Jesus, deepens the mystery. If the woman knew who he is, she would ask him for water. But the man has no bucket. The well is deep. Just how is he going to provide the water?
Remember, she is still thinking of being thirsty for actual water. Even if she drinks this water, she will still be thirsty again. Jesus is vehemently thirsting for something much more important. Much more permanent. Jesus thirsts for her faith.
Jesus demonstrates he really knows the woman. Not just superficially. In his thirst for her faith, Jesus demonstrates he does know she is ready. Jesus can see the heart of the woman in a way that even the woman cannot see of herself. But she does see that Jesus is not like any other person she has met.
For she sees Jesus is a prophet, and eventually she sees his is much more than a prophet. He is the Messiah. And her faith is awakened. And she knows it. She knows it so deeply that she can now become a prophet herself, telling her whole village that she has found the Messiah. Her testimony leads others to Jesus.
Today’s gospel is not just a story for us to read. It is our story too. We can find ourselves thirsting for perishable things. Thirsting for those things, that even after we drink, still leave us thirsty. But Jesus thirsts for our faith, just as he thirsted for the woman’s faith.
It can be the case that we think we are not worthy. We may not have been married five times, and living with number six, but each one of us can, I think, identify those sins in our lives that cause us to think that Jesus could not possible love us. Jesus could not really thirst for our faith, because Jesus knows that we are often not very faithful at all.
Jesus knows, though, the waters of baptism are those waters that can totally satisfy our deepest thirsts. Our thirst to love and to be loved. Thirsts that can only be met by Jesus himself.
Will you allow Jesus to quench your thirst? Will you drink of the water that we never leave you thirsty again? Will you recognize that Jesus knows you totally and entirely and yet still seeks your heart?
But more, will you allow the water of Jesus to so quench your thirst that you must tell others about this water? Will you seek to bring others into the Church, those who thirst so deep they can see no way to quench it. Will you bring them hope? The hope that can only be given by Jesus, the hope that there is so much more than the life we see today?
So many in our world are suffering. Prices are high. People are lonely. Violence is far too abundant. People worry there will be no food to eat, no place to eat. People worry about being able to see a doctor, or to pay for medicine, or what new tragedy might befall them tomorrow.
But we have hope. We have the water of Jesus which quenches all thirst. Our thirst, and the thirst of so many in the world. So tell others about the man who told you everything you have ever done.
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