Bishop Basil (Nesterenko)

.

Christ is Risen, dear brothers and sisters!

I congratulate you with the Holy Sunday and Holy Communion. Today we have heard the Gospel about the woman of Samaria (John ІV:5-42). And I want to pay your attention to same episodes of this Gospel. We see, that the woman of Samaria felt uncomfortable at first when Jesus started to talk to her. It is because Jews did not communicate with people of Samaria. They considered them as the people of lower race who did not worth the communication.

But we see in this Gospel that the Lord came according to Father’s Will on the Earth to execute such mission: He united all people in His Love, no matter of race or belongings to the different tribes of Jews. We see in this Gospel that the woman of Samaria was changing during the communication with Jesus Christ, even if their talk did not last very long. Jesus Christ told her about the high understanding of the Truth. But she did not understand that, she thought, that a Source was a source you can take water from and drink; she understood everything very literally. She did not realize that it was much higher, that it was a Truth, that the Lord brought this Source of Eternal Life.

And we see that during the communication the Source of living water filled her soul. At first her soul was dry like the desert. Later we see that her soul was changing like the desert, when the heavy rain comes and all turns to life and blossoms. The living Truth filled the woman of Samaria and she blossomed like the flower. She understood everything.

She heard that the Messiah had to come, that the Christ had to come and all Jews was waiting for Him. And in this Gospel we see that Jesus Christ confessed that He was the Truth for the first time. We can't find His confession in other Gospels; we can’t find such words one more time: “I came to save you. I am a Messiah. I am Jesus Christ and came for your salvation”. And here He opened a great secret to her. He did it to some purpose, maybe she deserved that. He saw her soul. He saw that she took every word with soul despite she was a woman of Samaria.

We see what He said next: “You will worship the Father in the spirit and truth”. At that times Jews worshiped in Jerusalem and people of Samaria on the mount called Gerizim. They went on that mount in one purpose – to worship, because they were forbidden to go to Jerusalem. And He told: “The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”

And it is true that we got a spirit from Jesus Christ which filters through and fills the soul, gives us the Source of Eternal Life, which we will inherit.

And the Lord preached to all people even from Samaria and they believe not only due to the words of that woman, but due to the words of Jesus Christ.

The Lord really came on the Earth for all people and we have to realize that. And let’s keep that Holy Spirit, that Source of Living Water, which the Lord gives us for the salvation and eternal life.

Let the Lord save You!