Reflection for the Fifth Sunday of Pascha: The Samaritan Woman
Gerald Largent
On this Fifth Sunday of Pascha, the Church presents the powerful and personal encounter between our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ and a Samaritan Woman at the well (John 4:5–42). At first glance, it may seem like a simple dialogue about water, but this moment reveals profound truths about worship, repentance, mission, and the living water of divine grace.
Christ meets St. Photini—not by accident, but in divine providence. A woman with a troubled past, isolated from her community, is approached by the very Source of Life. He doesn't shame her but gently exposes the truth of her life to awaken her thirst for something more profound. Their conversation transitions from the physical to the spiritual, from water drawn from a well to the living water that springs up to eternal life.
In this meeting, we see God's mercy and love reaching boundaries of gender, ethnicity, and moral reputation. The Jews had no dealings with Samaritans, yet Christ speaks to her with dignity and honesty. Her sin is not ignored, but neither is it the end of her story. In repentance, St. Photini becomes a believer and a bold evangelist—rushing back to her town to share the good news: "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"
Her witness reminds us that none of us is beyond the reach of God's grace. The Gospel is for the righteous as well as those thirsty for truth, healing, and purpose. Her transformation encourages us to believe our past mistakes do not disqualify us from becoming vessels of God's mercy.
The dialogue at the well also points us toward the nature of true worship: "The hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." This calls each of us to examine not just what we do externally, but the state of our heart in prayer and in our life with God. Are we worshiping in truth, allowing God to expose our hidden wounds and fill them with His healing love?
During this Paschal season, as we continue to proclaim, "Christ is Risen!" Let us remember that the Risen Christ meets us where we are—at the wells of our own lives, calling us to drink deeply of the water He alone can give. Like the Samaritan Woman, may we allow our encounter with Him to transform us so that we, too, may lead others to the joy of the Resurrection.