A REFLECTION ON JOHN 4:1-42 FROM THE DAILY OFFICE LECTIONARY (AS READ BETWEEN JANUARY 21 AND 23, 2026)

If you ask me to name my favorite book of the Bible, my instant and immediate reaction is the Book of Revelation (but that's a different post). But if you want to know my favorite Gospel story, it's this one. John tells us the story of Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well. There are many things I love about it. 

First, it's unexpected. Jesus is traveling from Judea to Galilee and John tells us that, "he had to go through Samaria. But he didn't HAVE to go through Samaria. It's out of the way. It's mountainous. There are easier ways to go that don't involve going through what could best be described as difficult hostile territory. And then, Jesus engages with this woman of Samaria. There was long emnity between Jews and Samaritans. And there were rules about what was proper for interactions between women and men. Jesus breaks them all. 

We can learn pretty quickly that this woman is suspect. She comes to the well to draw water at noon, in the heat of the day. Why? Likely because her life has left her ostracized, socially isolated. Jesus tells her to get her husband and she says, "I have no husband." Jesus answers, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" We've been told to understand that this woman is a whore, of ill repute. Maybe. But it's also true that women had no agency in the first century. A husband could have divorced her for any reason. She could have been a widow. It's as likely that she's victim as a whore. She's likely a victim of male biblical interpretation throughout the ages, just as she was a victim in her own life. 

But here's the thing - and why I love this story. JESUS DOESN'T CARE. Whatever has caused her to be in her current domestic arrangement, it doesn't matter to Jesus. HE SENDS HER TO TELL HER WHOLE VILLAGE ABOUT HIM. And this makes her the first apostle (from the Greek - one who is sent with a message) in John's Gospel. Before James. Before John. JESUS SENDS HER.

And I love what happens when she gets back to her village. "Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’" I can almost imagine the crowd. "Honey, everyone knows everything you've ever done."  But what happens? The whole village comes to believe in Jesus because of her testimony. John says, "So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world." 
 
This is my favorite gospel story because it clearly shows Jesus calling a woman to be the first apostle. It shows a woman with a reputation (deserved or not) being sent with a message. 

There is nothing that brings us out beyond God's love. There is no one who is unworthy to carry the story of Jesus. And this gospel proves it.