Homily 33 — John 4, verses 21 to 27

“Jesus says to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews.’” [a]

Everywhere, beloved, we need faith: faith, the mother of blessings, the medicine of salvation. Without it, it is impossible to take hold of any one of the great teachings. Without it, people are like those who try to cross the open sea without a ship. For a little way they hold out by swimming, using both hands and feet, but when they have gone farther out, the waves quickly swamp them. In the same way, those who rely on their own reasonings before they have learned anything suffer shipwreck. As Paul too says of those “who have made shipwreck in regard to the faith” (First Timothy 1, verse 19).

So that this does not happen to us, let us hold fast to the sacred anchor by which Christ is now bringing the Samaritan woman across. When she had said, “How can you say that Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship?” Christ replied, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither in Jerusalem nor on this mountain.” He revealed to her a very great teaching, one he had not mentioned either to Nicodemus or to Nathanael. She was eager to prove that her own people’s privileges were more honorable than those of the Jews, and she argued it cleverly from their ancestors. But Christ did not take up this question. At that moment it would only have been a distraction to speak about it, and to explain why the ancestors worshiped on the mountain and why the Jews worshiped at Jerusalem. So on this point he was silent. He took away from both places any claim to first rank in dignity, and roused her soul by showing that neither Jews nor Samaritans possessed anything great compared with what was going to be given; and then he brought in the difference between them.

Even so, he declared that the Jews were more honorable. He did not rank one place above another; he gave them first place because of their intent. It is as though he had said: “You have no need to argue any longer about the place of worship. But in the manner of it the Jews have an advantage over you Samaritans. For ‘you worship what you do not know; we know what we worship.’”

How, then, did the Samaritans “not know” what they worshiped? Because they thought God was local, belonging to one part of the world. At any rate, that is how they served him, and that is why they sent word to the Persians and reported that “the God of this place is angry with us” (Second Kings 17, verse 26). In this they formed no higher opinion of him than of their idols. That is why they went on serving both him and demons, joining things that ought never to be joined. The Jews, on the other hand, were free of this notion, most of them at least, and knew that he was God of the whole world. So he says, “You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship.”

Do not be surprised that he counts himself among the Jews. He is speaking according to the woman’s opinion of him, as though he were a Jewish prophet, and that is why he puts it, “we worship.” For it is clear to everyone that he is one of those who are worshiped, since to worship belongs to the creature, and to be worshiped belongs to the Lord of the creature. But for the time being he speaks as a Jew, and “we” in this place means “we Jews.”

Having raised up what belonged to the Jews, he next makes himself believable and persuades the woman to pay closer attention to his words. He does this by making what he says above suspicion, and by showing that he is not exalting what belongs to the Jews out of kinship with those of his own tribe. For clearly a man who had said these things about the place the Jews prided themselves on most, the place that made them think themselves superior to everyone, and who had taken away their lofty claims, would not after this be speaking to win anyone’s favor. He would be speaking with truth and a prophet’s power.

So when he had for a while drawn her away from such reasonings, saying, “Woman, believe me,” and what follows, he then adds, “for salvation is from the Jews.” What he means is either that blessings for the world came from them (for knowing God and condemning idols began with them, and among you Samaritans the very act of worship, even though you do not do it rightly, took its origin from them), or else he is speaking of his own coming. Or rather, one would not be wrong to call both these things the “salvation” that he said was “from the Jews.” Paul pointed to this when he said, “From them is Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all” (Romans 9, verse 5). Do you see how he commends the old covenant, and shows that it is the root of blessings, and that he is in no way opposed to the law, since he makes the foundation of all good things come from the Jews?

Verse 23: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father.”

He says: “We, woman, are ahead of you in the manner of our worship, but even this will now come to an end. Not only the places, but even the manner of serving God will be changed. And this change is at your very doors, ‘for the hour is coming, and now is.’”

The prophets said what they said long before the event. So to show that here it is not like that, he says, “and now is.” He says: “Do not think that this is a prophecy of the kind that will be fulfilled only after a long time. The fulfillment is already here, at your very doors, ‘when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.’” In saying “true,” he excludes the Jews as well as the Samaritans. For although the Jews are better than the Samaritans, they are still far below those who were to come, as far below as the type is below the reality. He is speaking of the church: that she is the “true” worship, the kind that is fitting for God. [c]

“For the Father seeks such people to worship him.”

If, then, he was seeking such as these in times past, he allowed those others their way of worship not because he wanted it, but by stooping down to meet them, and for this reason: that he might bring them in too. Who, then, are “the true worshipers”? Those who do not confine their service to a place, and who serve God in spirit. As Paul says, “whom I serve with my spirit in the good news of his Son”; and again, “I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, your rational service” (Romans 1, verse 9, and 12, verse 1).

Verse 24: “God is spirit.” When he says this, he is declaring nothing other than that his nature is bodiless. Now the service of what is bodiless must be of the same character, and must be offered by what is bodiless in us, that is, by the soul and a pure mind. That is why he says, “Those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” For both Samaritans and Jews neglected the soul but took great pains over the body, cleansing it in all sorts of ways. So he says: “It is not by purity of the body, but by what is bodiless in you, namely the mind, that the bodiless One is served. So do not sacrifice sheep and calves; dedicate yourself to the Lord. Make yourself a whole burnt offering: this is to offer a living sacrifice. You must worship ‘in truth.’ The former things were types, such as circumcision, and whole burnt offerings, and slaughtered victims, and incense; now they no longer exist, but everything is ‘truth.’ For now a man must circumcise not his flesh but his evil thoughts, and crucify himself, and root out and slay his unreasoning desires.”

The woman’s head was swimming at his words, and she grew faint at the height of what he said. In her confusion, listen to what she says:

Verses 25 and 26: “I know that the Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus says to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

And where did the Samaritans get their expectation that Christ would come, since they accepted only Moses? From the writings of Moses themselves. For even at the very beginning he revealed the Son. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1, verse 26) was said to the Son. It was he who talked with Abraham in the tent (Genesis 18). And Jacob, prophesying about him, said, “A ruler will not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he comes for whom it is reserved, and he is the expectation of the nations” (Genesis 49, verse 10). And Moses himself says, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brothers, like me; you must listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18, verse 15). And anyone who wished could pick out the events surrounding the serpent, and the rod of Moses, and Isaac, and the sheep, and many other things, as proclaiming his coming.

Someone says: “And why, tell me, did Christ not lead the woman on by these means? Why did he bring up the serpent with Nicodemus, and speak of prophecy to Nathanael, but say nothing of the kind to her? For what reason? Why?” Because they were men, and well versed in these things, while she was a poor, uneducated woman with no practice in the Scriptures. That is why he does not speak to her from them, but draws her on by the “water” and by prophecy, brings her to mention Christ, and then reveals himself. If he had told the woman this at the start, when she had not asked him, he would have seemed to her to be trifling and talking idly. As it is, by bringing her little by little to mention him, he revealed himself at the right moment.

The Jews kept saying, “How long will you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us” (John 10, verse 24), and to them he gave no clear answer. But to this woman he said plainly that he is the one. For the woman was more fair-minded than the Jews. They did not ask in order to learn, but always to mock him; if they had wanted to learn, the teaching given through his words, through the Scriptures, and through his miracles would have been enough. The woman, on the other hand, said what she said out of an impartial judgment and a simple mind, as is plain from what she did afterward. She both heard and believed, and caught others in her net as well. In every circumstance we can see the woman’s carefulness and her faith.

Verse 27: “Just then his disciples came” (their coming was well timed, now that the teaching was finished) “and marveled that he was talking with the woman; yet no one said, ‘What are you looking for?’ or, ‘Why are you talking with her?’”

What did they marvel at? At his freedom from pride and his great humility: that he, looked up to as he was, bore with such lowliness of heart to talk with a woman who was poor, and a Samaritan. Yet in their amazement they did not ask him the reason, so well had they been taught to keep to a disciple’s place, so much did they fear and revere him. For although they did not yet hold the right opinion about him, they still paid attention to him as to someone wonderful, and showed him great respect. [i]

Yet they are often seen acting with confidence: as when John lay on his breast; when they came to him and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18, verse 1); when the sons of Zebedee begged him to seat one of them at his right hand and the other at his left. Why, then, did they not question him here? Because all those instances concerned themselves, and so they needed to ask about them, whereas what happened here was of no great importance to them. And in fact John did that a long time afterward, toward the very end, when he enjoyed greater confidence and was bold in the love of Christ. For he was the one, he says, “whom Jesus loved.” What could equal such blessedness?

But, beloved, let us not stop at this, at calling the apostle blessed. Let us do everything we can to be among the blessed ourselves. Let us imitate the evangelist, and see what it was that won him such great love. What was it, then? He left his father, his boat, and his net, and followed Jesus. Yet he did this in common with his brother, and Peter, and Andrew, and the rest of the apostles. What, then, was the special thing that won him this great love? Shall we find it out? He says nothing of the kind about himself, only that he was loved; as for the righteous acts for which he was loved, he has modestly kept silent.

That Jesus loved him with a special love was clear to everyone. Yet John does not appear talking with Jesus or questioning him in private, as Peter often did, and Philip, and Judas, and Thomas, except only when he wanted to show kindness and compliance to his fellow apostle. For when the chief of the apostles urged him with a nod, then he asked. These two had great love for each other. So, for instance, they are seen going up together into the temple and speaking together to the people. Yet in many places Peter is stirred and speaks more warmly than John. And at the end he hears Christ say, “Peter, do you love me more than these?” (John 21, verse 15). Now it is clear that the one who loved “more than these” was also loved. But in Peter’s case this was shown by his loving Jesus; in the other’s case, by his being loved by Jesus.

What, then, was it that won this special love? To my mind, it was that the man showed great mildness and gentleness, and that is why he does not appear speaking out openly in many places. How great a thing this is, is plain also from the case of Moses: it was this that made him what he was, and so great. There is nothing equal to humility. That is why Jesus began the Beatitudes with it. When he was about to lay, as it were, the foundation and base of a mighty building, he put humility first. Without it a person cannot possibly be saved. Though he fast, though he pray, though he give to the poor, if it is done with a proud spirit, these things are detestable where humility is absent. But where it is present, all these things are lovable and pleasing, and are done in safety.

So let us think modestly of ourselves, beloved; let us think modestly of ourselves. Success is easy if we keep a sober mind. After all, what is it, my friend, that stirs you to pride? Do you not see the poverty of your nature? The unsteadiness of your will? Think about your end; think about the multitude of your sins. But perhaps you are proud because you do many righteous deeds. By that very pride you will undo them all. That is why it is not so much the one who has sinned as the one who does what is right who must take pains to be humble. Why? Because the sinner is held in check by his conscience, while the other, unless he is very sober, is quickly caught up as if by a gust of wind, lifted high, and made to vanish, like the Pharisee.

Do you give to the poor? What you give is not yours but your Master’s, shared by you and your fellow servants. For this reason above all you ought to be humbled, foreseeing your own misfortunes in the misfortunes of your kin, and recognizing your own nature in theirs. We ourselves are perhaps descended from such ancestors; and if wealth has passed over to you, it is likely that it will leave you again.

And after all, what is wealth? An empty shadow, smoke that melts away, a flower of the grass, or rather something poorer than a flower. Why, then, are you proud over grass? Does wealth not fall to thieves, and effeminate men, and prostitutes, and grave robbers? Does this puff you up, that you have such people as these for partners in your possession? Or do you want honor? For winning honor nothing serves better than giving to the poor. The honors that come from wealth and power are forced out of people, and hatred goes with them. But these others come from the free will and real feeling of those who give them, and so those who pay them can never give them up.

Now if people show such reverence to the merciful and call down every blessing on them, think what return, what recompense, the merciful will receive from the merciful God. So let us seek this wealth that lasts forever and never deserts us, so that, becoming great here and glorious there, we may obtain the everlasting blessings, through the grace and love for humankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.