Women play a major role in the Gospel of St. John. Mary the Mother of Jesus is the one who launches Him on His public life at the marriage feast of Cana. Martha will be the one who declares that He is the Christ in a way reserved to Peter in the synoptic Gospels; and the first person to encounter the risen Lord, becoming the apostle of the apostles, is Mary of Magdala. Today we hear of Jesus’ transforming encounter with the Samaritan woman. Her role begins as that of the outsider. She herself does not know why Jesus speaks to her. He offers her living water that will turn into a spring inside her, welling up to eternal life. He goes beyond the question of whether it is right to worship in Jerusalem or Samaria, to the declaration that true worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth. He reveals Himself to her as the Messiah.
Each of us, in his or her own way, is called to worship in spirit and truth and carry the gift of God’s love to all. We renew the power of the Spirit within us each time we approach the sacraments. Each encounter with the living Lord strengthens, transforms and renews us.