St. Photina

The Church abhors a vacuum – or at least not being able to call important people by name, even if they are not given a name in the biblical text.  Such is the case of the Samaritan woman Jesus meets at Jacob’s well in our Gospel this week (John 4:5-42).  This is the longest recorded interaction that Jesus has with any woman, including his mother and Mary Magdalene.  However, the woman is never identified beyond being from Samaria, which in itself is telling as there was an on-going quarrel between the Samaritans and Jews about where one should worship God.  And yet Jesus and this woman share a beautiful exchange by the well of their common ancestor, Jacob.

That well still exists in the city of Nablus in the West Bank.  It is located in the Church of St. Photina, the name the Greek Orthodox Church gave to this woman to honor her memory and martyrdom, as they believe she was brutally killed by Emperor Nero’s forces and her body dumped in the well.  Please note that this is a Christian church in the West Bank, a Palestinian land, claiming the rights to a sacred Jewish site. 

I had the great opportunity to visit this church in person in 2012.  I was first struck by the fact that our visit had to be arranged in advance so that church could opened.  This is a huge church, but it is behind a locked gate most of the time to protect it from many who want to vandalize it for one reason or another. It is a beautiful space with soaring ceilings and the over-the-top décor that only looks reasonable in a Greek Orthodox church.   We were led down to the crypt to where the well is located.  We were not allowed to take pictures – so that we had to buy the postcards the church sold (I am sure the upkeep of such a building is quite expensive!).  We had the opportunity to drink from the well.  It tasted like water, with maybe a few more minerals than average.  But to drink from the same well as Jacob, Jesus and the Samaritan woman was awesome.

The church also has a sad history. In 1979, Archimandrite Philoumenos, the Greek Orthodox priest who had worked tirelessly to have the church built in such grand style, was killed by a group of Zionists who wanted to reclaim the well for the Jews.  No one was convicted of the murder. 

It is woeful that we humans have yet to learn the great lesson that Jesus shared with that woman by the well.  Regardless of who you are or what you have done, you are worthy of God’s love.  While she is not named in the Bible, the Samaritan woman already had the most important identity she would ever have – a beloved child of God.  She just had to claim that identity for herself so that she could live a life free from judgement of her neighbors.

Our secular culture practically demands that we judge our neighbors, scorning them for such unimportant things as how they look, dress, talk, etc.  This woman faced the same ridicule, and yet she returned from her meeting with Jesus proclaiming him as their Savior.  She didn’t hide the gift she had been given, but delighted in sharing it with all who would hear her. 

Are we brave enough to follow in her footsteps – to claim Jesus as our Savior, our healer, and then proclaim him to the world?  Perhaps we first need to be healed from our own sense of brokenness, just like she was, to see that it only holds us back if we let it.  This Sunday we will offer healing prayers during worship – an opportunity to meet Jesus ourselves and feel his love.  I hope you will come and taste the living water for yourself. 

In Christ,

Rev. Valerie+