Sermon for the Third Sunday of Lent
Exodus 17:1-7; John 4:5-42
In the Middle East today the type of wells which seem most important are oil wells. The deeply troubling conflict we see across the Gulf is, in part at least, fuelled by the oil which gushes from the wells in Iran, Saudia Arabia and other countries. The discovery of that oil some 120 years ago brought with it great wealth but also great trouble. We watch and pray.
Yer there is another type of well which is historically of much greater significance across the Middle East, and that is the well from which is drawn water. For while the economies of the Gulf would be radically different without oil, the reality is that without water life itself would be impossible. The people of Israel, wandering in the desert, knew this only too well. Without water they were going to die. And so it was a great mercy that the LORD through Moses brought forth water from the rock at Meribah.
When you travel across the Middle East today, you can still see the location of the wells which have sustained life for centuries. Indeed, one thing about wells is that they don’t move. Which is why we can be pretty confident that the well which is the location for our gospel reading this morning is the one people still visit today, just outside Nablus in the occupied West Bank, overlooked by Israeli settlements growing all the time. I have been there – a church has been built over it, but it is still possible to draw water from the well, water which tastes, by the way, just wonderful.
And it is by this well that the most extraordinary encounter takes place. Jesus, a Jewish man, meeting and speaking to a Samaritan woman, bridging a cultural divide which was filled with mistrust and hatred. St John brings us the only account of this fascinating episode of Jesus amidst the Samaritan community, and at the heart of it, appropriately enough given the centrality of the well, is the promise of living water. ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that saying to you, “Give me a drink”’, says Jesus, ‘you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’
What is this living water? It is water than does not run out. It is water that satisfies. It is water that Jesus gives. What is this living water? It is nothing other than the presence of the living and loving Jesus Christ. The living water doesn’t come to the Samaritan woman from Jacob’s well or any other well. It comes to her from the one who stands in front of her, the Messiah, the Christ. Jesus Christ who knows her better than she knows herself. Jesus Christ who does not shame her in her sin but restores her through forgiveness and love. Jesus Christ who calls her into a living relationship with God the Father, a relationship not restricted by time or space but made possible by the living water of spirit and truth.
John’s gospel is filled with images and pictures of what life in Christ is like. It is like being born again (hence Nicodemus last week). It is like seeing for the first time. It is like being known and called by a good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.
Here a relationship with Christ is depicted as living water, bubbling, gushing, overflowing. The Samaritan woman is offered love that will never run dry and life that will never end. This is abundant life.
We might reflect that for Lent this seems like an unusual passage to have as our gospel reading. It seems, well, rather upbeat when we might expect the focus to be on the way of the cross and all that it meant for Jesus and means, or should mean, for us.
But Lent is not just about abstinence, although in a culture where we find going without hard I think I think it should include that. Lent is also about repentance and return, saying sorry for our sins and coming back to the Lord. And who are we returning to? We are returning to the Lord who promised the Samaritan woman, and promises you and me, living water. The living water that is the living and love presence of Jesus Christ with us. Jesus Christ who knows us better than we know ourselves, warts and wrinkles, private sadness and hidden pain, and all. Jesus Christ who does not shame us in our sin but restores us with love and forgiveness as we repent. Jesus Christ who calls us into a relationship not restricted to a special building or a particular ritual but accessible in the small hours of the night by the Spirit who whispers ‘I am here’.
How do we know Jesus Christ as living water? However works for you. Whether you say your prayers in bed on your own or while walking in creation. Whether you read a Christian book or listen to a portion of scripture being read. Whether you sing a hymn in the shower or hum along to a worship song in the car. The offer is the same. Christ himself longs to give you the living water that is his living and loving presence. Christ with you, Christ with us, every day.
I have just been on my annual silent retreat, when for five days I switch off the phone and the email and seek to return in a deep way to the Lord. I wrote this sermon when I was on retreat, and the words of Jesus spoke to me about the life that Jesus offers me, living water that bubbles and gushes and never runs out.
Here is something to try. Next time we take a long gulp of water, or much anticipated slurp of tea, offer a prayer of thanks that Jesus offers you and me living water in himself.
As we gather around the Lord’s table this morning, we are invited to return to the one who promised living water. We come as people who are known, who are forgiven, who are called to worship. And we receive these tokens of his love that will never, never run dry.
What about the Middle East today? What are we to make of the events which make listening to the news a scary experience? We cannot solve all the world’s problems but we can ensure that we are resourced for the responsibilities God has given us. And that resourcing comes from living water Jesus promised the Samaritan woman that day. It comes from the life of Christ in us. I hope this Lent you are finding the space to be resourced in your walk with Christ.
Let us also note that in offering this woman living water Jesus was stepping across a boundary marked by mistrust and enmity. As the woman herself makes clear, Jews did not speak to Samaritans, let alone exchange a drink. But this living water Jesus offers isn’t for some or those who belong to a certain tribe or nation; this living water is the well from which lasting reconciliation between enemies can still take place. In a world stained by sin and haunted by division, this is the good news we all need to hear.
The people of Israel asked the question, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?’ The Samaritan woman knew that he was and told her fellow Samaritans accordingly. I pray that we will know the Lord is among us. In his daily provision of living water, his presence with us at all times and in places, so that in a world where it is easy to focus on what we do not have, or what makes us scared, we know that Jesus Christ, his love and his life, are with us. Amen.
Very Revd Dr Philip Plyming
St Mary’s, Barnard Castle
8 March 2026