WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.639 Christ is risen. Imagine, if you will, you are 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:12.980 walking across the Sahara Desert. Your feet sink 00:00:12.980 --> 00:00:17.559 into the hot sand. It makes progress difficult. 00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:21.760 There are no trees to give you shade, so the 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:25.660 sun beats down on you incessantly. And you have 00:00:25.660 --> 00:00:30.489 a great thirst. This is a land with no water. 00:00:32.329 --> 00:00:36.549 Spiritually speaking, there are many people in 00:00:36.549 --> 00:00:40.869 the world today who live in a spiritual desert 00:00:40.869 --> 00:00:46.969 with no water, no spiritual water. And they are 00:00:46.969 --> 00:00:52.130 thirsty, and many to the point of despair. And 00:00:52.130 --> 00:00:56.789 others, they're just seeing mirages, things that 00:00:56.789 --> 00:01:01.100 aren't there. distractions to help them cope. 00:01:01.619 --> 00:01:05.700 And others survive by drinking polluted waters 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:11.219 that cannot support life for long. Now imagine 00:01:11.219 --> 00:01:15.859 that you are trudging through these hot sands 00:01:15.859 --> 00:01:21.700 and before you there is an oasis. And it is not 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:25.299 a mirage. And there are palm trees to give you 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:28.819 shade and food and fresh, clean water to drink. 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:32.760 And what joy and relief this would bring you. 00:01:32.980 --> 00:01:38.079 And this is what happened to Fotini at the well 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:42.700 in today's Gospel reading from St. John. The 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:47.719 woman at the well, known as Svetlana or as Fotini, 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:51.579 met our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:01:52.269 --> 00:01:58.689 at that well. And he was a spiritual oasis that 00:01:58.689 --> 00:02:03.709 she needed. And Jesus asked her, give me a drink. 00:02:04.170 --> 00:02:09.210 And the gospel reads, then the woman of Samaria 00:02:09.210 --> 00:02:13.650 said to him, how is it that you being a Jew ask 00:02:13.650 --> 00:02:17.409 a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? for Jews 00:02:17.409 --> 00:02:21.150 have no dealings with Samaritans. And Jesus answered 00:02:21.150 --> 00:02:24.990 and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, 00:02:25.270 --> 00:02:29.189 who it is who says to you, Give me a drink, you 00:02:29.189 --> 00:02:32.509 would have asked him, and he would have given 00:02:32.509 --> 00:02:38.169 you living water. And Jesus makes sure she understands 00:02:38.169 --> 00:02:42.349 that he is speaking of spiritual water, not just 00:02:42.349 --> 00:02:46.430 physical water, by saying, Whoever drinks of 00:02:46.430 --> 00:02:50.090 this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks 00:02:50.090 --> 00:02:53.650 of the water that I shall give him will never 00:02:53.650 --> 00:02:57.669 thirst, but the water that I shall give him will 00:02:57.669 --> 00:03:01.949 become in him a fountain of water springing up 00:03:01.949 --> 00:03:07.330 into everlasting life. The Orthodox Study Bible 00:03:07.330 --> 00:03:12.490 says of these verses, the living water given 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:17.370 by Jesus is the gift of the Holy Spirit, which 00:03:17.370 --> 00:03:21.069 believers receive. And the Holy Spirit becomes 00:03:21.069 --> 00:03:24.729 a fountain of water, which flows with eternal 00:03:24.729 --> 00:03:28.789 life. And later in the dialogue between Jesus 00:03:28.789 --> 00:03:34.770 and the woman, Fotini, Jesus said to her, But 00:03:34.770 --> 00:03:38.530 the hour is coming, and now is, when the true 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:41.810 worshipers will worship the Father in spirit 00:03:41.810 --> 00:03:45.770 and truth. for the Father is seeking such to 00:03:45.770 --> 00:03:50.530 worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship 00:03:50.530 --> 00:03:55.050 him must worship in spirit and in truth. The 00:03:55.050 --> 00:03:58.669 woman said to him, I know the Messiah is coming, 00:03:58.729 --> 00:04:02.129 who is called Christ. When he comes, he will 00:04:02.129 --> 00:04:07.069 tell us all things. And Jesus said to her, I 00:04:07.069 --> 00:04:12.629 who speak to you am he. And from that day, her 00:04:12.629 --> 00:04:16.389 life changed, for she knew and believed that 00:04:16.389 --> 00:04:20.509 Jesus was more than just a great teacher or a 00:04:20.509 --> 00:04:25.449 prophet. He was the very Messiah himself, God 00:04:25.449 --> 00:04:29.189 with us. And she became an evangelist, helping 00:04:29.189 --> 00:04:33.470 others to find that living water to drink. And 00:04:33.470 --> 00:04:37.990 she left the desert and the lifeless sand and 00:04:37.990 --> 00:04:42.819 drank. from Christ's holy cup. And so you and 00:04:42.819 --> 00:04:46.879 I have now come to this place, this church, which 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:52.399 is an oasis for us. And the world is filled with 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:57.720 desert. Why would we leave this place? This is 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:05.439 life where we are now. And as St. Macarius of 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:12.470 Optima has said, God is in the Lord of all places, 00:05:12.529 --> 00:05:17.930 and now, since the incarnation, the whole earth 00:05:17.930 --> 00:05:21.810 shines with glory. There is no place whence the 00:05:21.810 --> 00:05:26.230 incense of prayer cannot rightly rise. The manna 00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:29.149 of the word of God rains down on every city and 00:05:29.149 --> 00:05:32.310 every wilderness, and the incorruptible feast 00:05:32.310 --> 00:05:35.310 can be partaken of in the humblest church of 00:05:35.310 --> 00:05:39.300 the poorest village. The living waters of grace 00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:44.339 can be drunk by all who courageously and unflinchingly 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:49.100 seek him who says, if any man thirst, let him 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:54.500 come unto me and drink. Let us beware of those 00:05:54.500 --> 00:05:58.879 who would pull us away from the oasis back into 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:03.660 the desert. Slick words that would somehow entice 00:06:03.660 --> 00:06:07.329 us away from drinking the living water. Let us 00:06:07.329 --> 00:06:11.490 resist that and hold fast to our faith. Let us 00:06:11.490 --> 00:06:15.490 leave the desert behind and the oasis of the 00:06:15.490 --> 00:06:19.790 church here. Let us be here. Let us be filled 00:06:19.790 --> 00:06:24.769 with living water. Let the Lord direct your life. 00:06:25.550 --> 00:06:29.430 Thirst no more, for Christ is risen.