When I was an altar server as a boy, I didn't
like this reading because it was so long. We
had to stand there so long with the candles.
But now, it's my favorite reading, at least of
this season. When Jesus says to this woman, if
you knew, who it was that is speaking to you.
You would ask him for water, and he would give
you water for which you would never thirst again,
springing up into everlasting life. So our question
this morning is, are we conscious of that in
our life? Do we live according to that in our
life? Is this a desire, a thirst that we have
for God? Or is our thirst quenched by many sundry
things in our life? The fresco of St. Nihilus
of Sora at the back of our church says something
like, knowing how brief this life is, avoid the
tumult of the world. Now this doesn't mean avoid
charity. This doesn't mean avoid hospitality.
This doesn't mean avoid taking care of your neighbor
and watching out for someone. This means don't
let that world be in your heart because there
will be no room for that water to spring up from
Christ. I've preached on this gospel 15 times
maybe in the 20 -something years, 22 years I've
been a priest. So I'm not going to speak about
the Samaritans. Father Stephan, a Mahalik last
night, in his introduction at Vespers to this
Gospel, reminded us, you can see this online
on their YouTube channel at St. Nicholas, he
reminded us of what our former Bishop Tito used
to say, don't tell people about all the historical
events, they don't need to know. They can look
that up, they don't need to know at the service.
They need to know it, but they can look that
up themselves. You know about the Samaritans.
You know that this woman divorced five times
or had five husbands, was not divorced maybe
five times. We can't think of Phyllis Diller
or Jar Jar Borg. No woman could divorce a man
in that culture, so we don't know why she had
five husbands. We do know her life was in serious
disarray. And she had terrible wounds. And she
had terrible sorrows. And we know that Christ
came a long way around to Samaria. He didn't
have to go through that. And he came to see her.
So there's three things I want to tell you about
this today. This wonderful gospel. This conversation
that we are privileged to listen to. It's an
incredible thing that we can hear so much. of
the words of Christ speaking to one person, it
becomes not just a conversation with this woman.
We know her as Fotini Svetlana, who had become
a martyr. No, it becomes a conversation of Christ
with the soul. Our soul. The first thing we ought
to know is that Christ will do anything to come
to us. Die on the cross. Leave the glory of the
kingdom, the glory of the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, unspeakable glory of paradise. The creator
of all things, the word of God, became man for
us. And he searches each one out, no matter where
this person is, the Samaritan woman, the persecutor
Paul, The woman taken in adultery. The thief
on the cross. You and me. He came to seek us
out. There's no depth that he won't go to. Whether
we hide in Hades, he is there. Because he descended
into Hades when he died. And he filled that place,
that realm of death, with his light. We ascend
to the heavens, he is there. No matter where
we go, he is there for us. The second thing,
he's going to illumine us. But we have to have
the desire to continue the conversation like
this woman in the gospel. The Lord revealed to
her something about her life that was terribly
painful. And she could have said, I've got things
to do. I have to leave now. She said, oh, you're
a prophet, and she had some religious questions.
She thought, he's a prophet, I can ask some religious
questions. She knew something about the scripture.
She knew something about God. She had some kind
of inkling, the story of salvation. Jacob and
Abraham and the whole story. Even though she
was a Samaritan and a heretic. And she kept the
conversation going. She stayed to listen to Jesus.
As one preacher said, she was like a string on
a violin. And the bow touched that string. And
it sang. And it sang to Christ. And he gave back
to her. He spoke to her about illumination. Worship.
The Father, worship of the Father in spirit and
truth. That should be a capital S of spirit and
a capital T. Because we come to the Father only
one way. Through Jesus Christ, the Word of God.
And he says he is the way and the truth. And
we come to Jesus only because the Spirit has
enlightened us to see Christ. And to know Christ.
And so we worship God and our whole life becomes...
centered around the worship of the Father in
the Holy Spirit and in truth, which you, brothers
and sisters, were given when you were immersed
in the baptismal font. And that's why this reading
is here now, to prepare us for Pentecost and
to remind us of Pascha and the baptisms that
would have occurred. You were baptized, you were
immersed in the Holy Spirit. That water was sanctified
water. When we say spiritual, we don't mean a
feeling. We mean the Holy Spirit of God. And
the Word of God was given to you, and you worshiped
the Father. I said there's three things, but
I'm going to leave off the third thing. The Lord
is always with us, but we don't always go to
God. We don't always continue the conversation.
This is why there's a real danger that remains
for us. And this is why I asked you at the beginning,
what's your relationship to this phrase? Whosoever
drinks of the water that I shall give him shall
never thirst. The water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up
into everlasting. life. She didn't understand
that, but we do because we've been given the
Spirit. Don't let fear, don't let the tumult
of this world enter your heart to push out what
Christ can give you, life and life eternal. We
can be at the well of life in the church and
remain dead. We can be drawn close to the source
of living water, that is, the holy altar, that
is, prayer, that is, prostrations, that is, love
of God and neighbor, and still remain thirsty,
we can be near grace, that is, those who bear
the Spirit within them, who live according to
the Spirit, who walk according to the Spirit,
and we remain graceless. Dear brothers and sisters
in Christ, there is no special time or special
circumstance for worshiping God or for a life
in God, but always and in all things an authentic
life in God consists in our having concern for
salvation, illuminated by the light of truth,
so that what we bring to Christ in prayer is
the desire to have him uncover our thirst for
him, if we don't know it. Just as he did for
this woman. Saturate yourselves, dear friends.
Saturate, immerse yourself in the water of life
through prayer. Approach Christ. He is the source.
All week, all week we're going to sing hymns
in her honor, Fotini's honor. This woman. at
the well, who became maybe his first evangelist
and went to this village, this town, Sychar,
and told them, saying, he told me all things
because the Lord said more words that are in
this gospel, revealed to her her heart and revealed
to her eternal life, that he had come for her,
that he had come a long way, that he was weary,
but he loved her and he illumined her. And the
town said, We know for sure now because Jesus
stayed with them because we believe in him. We're
going to be singing hymns in her honor, this
great and eccentric woman, beautiful woman. We
know that she will become in time a martyr with
her sons. She will give her life's blood in testimony
of the resurrection for the Messiah who gave
his blood. Christ is risen. Christ is risen.
Christ is risen. Christ is risen. Christ is risen.