AN: This year's Jesus-related fic in honor of Nisan 14th.
Living Water
Based upon the Bible account found within the fourth chapter of the book of John
During one of Jesus' travels, it became necessary for him to go through Samaria. Living in Samaria are, of course, the Samaritans – with whom Jews typically will have no dealings. It was a deep-seated prejudice, for Samaritans – while accepting the books of Moses – did not worship in the designated temple within the walls of Jerusalem.
On this day, around noon, a woman trudged to the historic old well to draw water.
There, she hesitated, drawing in a sharp breath. There was a man (Jesus, though she had no way of knowing this), sitting at the edge of the well.
His face wasn't unfriendly – indeed, it was rather a nice face – but there was no mistaking him for anything other than a Jew.
The woman licked her parched lips. Well, thought she, if he chases me away in disgust, I shall probably have no water, yet if I go away now, without trying, I most certainly shall go home empty-handed.
The man with whom she lived wouldn't like that; he was thirsty, too, complaining loudly that morning about how they'd run out of fresh water and he had nothing with which to wash down his first meal of the day.
Striding to the well, her mouth grim-set, the woman prepared to lower her bucket. She was startled suddenly by the man unexpectedly speaking to her.
"Give me a drink."
Her dark eyes widened; she was taken aback. She'd expected either to be shooed off or, if she was fortunate, ignored entirely. The notion of his making a kind request had never crossed her mind.
"How is it that you, despite being a Jew, ask me for a drink even though I am a Samaritan woman?"
"If you had known who says to you, 'Give me a drink', you would have asked him and – through the free gift of God – he would have given you living water."
She furrowed her brow. What another odd thing to say! "Sir, you do not even have a bucket for drawing water... This well is deep. From where would you get this living water?" Surely he was not greater than their forefather Jacob who'd given them this well...
Giving her a warm, patient smile, soft skin folds crinkling around his kind eyes, the man answered, "Whoever drinks from this well will get thirsty again."
Yes, it went without saying, did it not? Still, she could see he had not finished his thought, that he was only pausing to let it sink in and to take a breath, so she waited.
"Whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty at all, but the water will become in him a spring bubbling up to impart everlasting life."
"Sir," said she, her tone gone slightly breathless, "give me this water, so I might not grow thirsty again and have to keep returning to this place to draw up water."
"Go," he told her, "call your husband and tell him to come to this place."
"I..." she stammered, "I do not have a husband."
"You are right. For you have had five husbands, and the man with whom you reside now is not your husband."
"Sir," said she, amazed, "I see that you are a prophet. Our forefathers worshiped on this mountain, but you people say we should worship in Jerusalem. What do you say on the matter?"
"Believe me," said he, "the hour is coming when not on this mountain or in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know. Nevertheless, the hour is coming now when true worshipers from everywhere will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. These are the very ones the Father is looking for to worship him."
A faint smile playing upon her face, the woman answered, "I know that the Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When that one comes, he shall tell us all these things openly."
"I am he, the one speaking to you."
Her mouth fell open and her eyes shone bright with excitement. Before she could say a word in reply, however, Jesus' disciples – who had gone to buy food – arrived, so she quickly took her water and departed.
Later, the woman went to other Samaritans in her city, telling them of what had occurred, saying, "This man, he knew everything that I did."
Going to see for themselves if he could possibly be the Messiah, they found – to the great strengthening of their faith – that indeed he was!
There is a lesson we can take from this. Usually, when we speak – or think, in general – of Jesus and his lack of prejudice, his love for all kinds of people, we find ourselves referring to his parable of the Good Samaritan, who was a kind neighbor to a robbed and injured Jew when others ignored the poor man's plight.
But let us not forget, also, this real example, showing that Jesus truly practiced all that he preached.
AN: Reviews and comments welcome, as always.