Living Water
Excerpt of “Living Water” preached on March 8, 2026
John 4:5-42
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about the Healing & Hospitality arm of our Strategic Vision this week. There has been such overlap between the story of the woman at the well and finding a sense of healing and hospitality within the narrative. The idea of this for us is to become a people of refuge, care, and belonging – being formed to include others well. The woman at the well experienced Jesus at the well in such a unique and powerful way, her life was changed forever as a result.
We have been reading and studying the book “Reading John for Dear Life” by Jaime Clark-Soles and she highlights the contrast between this woman and Nicodemus. There is this contrast between light and darkness. She does not come in the night as Nicodemus does, but at the noon hour – complete opposite of him. She’s also not confused as he was, but fully begins to understand. There is a cultural disconnect between her and Jesus, where not only should they not be talking from a cultural perspective, but she does not hold the same views Nicodemus did as she is a Samaritan and he was a Pharisee. Yet, Jesus somehow breaks through the barriers that try to keep them separate.
Can you imagine encountering Jesus at the well, only to discover he knows everything about you? And yet at the end of the encounter, you leave with grace rather than shame. Everything about her is exposed in the daylight and for many of us, this is terrifying. Exposure too often leaves us feeling burdened, rather than free. How would we approach her? What would our posture be? Would we be judgmental or share everything we know? Exposure can be uncomfortable, but Jesus was open and transparent and this led to a deeply sacred encounter.
We hear of how the woman responded to Jesus in John 4:28-30, “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?’ They came out of the town and made their way toward him.”
There are times when I read scripture and it is as if I’m reading a story of a fictional character in a story. This woman Jesus encounters is not named in John’s gospel and it would be easy enough just to pass her off as just a character. I was surprised to learn that she had a name, Photini, and she is recognized as the first evangelist. The Eastern Orthodox tradition holds her in high regard and she is a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions. She led many to believe the gospel through her testimony. St. Photini was later killed under the reign of Nero. This is a reminder that the Spirit is at work in ways that we never notice or even forget the rich history that can blossom from just a single moment with Christ.
Photini’s legacy begins with John 4:39, “Many of the Samitans from the town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers. They said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.’”
What will our legacy be as we are shaped by Christ? I believe that stories of grace carry a particular weight for the gospel to be shared and carried forward through us. Grace is able to create belonging; belonging leads to testimony; testimony becomes invitation. What are the stories of our lives that lead with grace? May we be people who experience the transformative power of the grace of God. Amen.
