St John Chapter iv : Verses 11-19
 |
| The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
11 The woman saith to him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered, and said to her: Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again; but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever:
14 But the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting.
15 The woman saith to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw.
16 Jesus saith to her: Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
17 The woman answered, and said: I have no husband. Jesus said to her: Thou hast said well, I have no husband:
18 For thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband. This thou hast said truly.
19 The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
11 λέγει αὐτῷ ⸂ἡ γυνή⸃· Κύριε, οὔτε ἄντλημα ἔχεις καὶ τὸ φρέαρ ἐστὶν βαθύ· πόθεν οὖν ἔχεις τὸ ὕδωρ τὸ ζῶν;
11 Dicit ei mulier : Domine, neque in quo haurias habes, et puteus altus est : unde ergo habes aquam vivam?
12 μὴ σὺ μείζων εἶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἰακώβ, ὃς ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν τὸ φρέαρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἔπιεν καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θρέμματα αὐτοῦ;
12 Numquid tu major es patre nostro Jacob, qui dedit nobis puteum, et ipse ex eo bibit, et filii ejus, et pecora ejus?
13 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Πᾶς ὁ πίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου διψήσει πάλιν·
13 Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei : Omnis qui bibit ex aqua hac, sitiet iterum; qui autem biberit ex aqua quam ego dabo ei, non sitiet in aeternum :
14 ὃς δ’ ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ, οὐ μὴ ⸀διψήσει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, ἀλλὰ τὸ ὕδωρ ὃ δώσω αὐτῷ γενήσεται ἐν αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
14 sed aqua quam ego dabo ei, fiet in eo fons aquæ salientis in vitam æternam.
15 λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνή· Κύριε, δός μοι τοῦτο τὸ ὕδωρ, ἵνα μὴ διψῶ μηδὲ ⸀διέρχωμαι ἐνθάδε ἀντλεῖν.
15 Dicit ad eum mulier : Domine, da mihi hanc aquam, ut non sitiam, neque veniam huc haurire.
16 Λέγει ⸀αὐτῇ· Ὕπαγε φώνησον ⸂τὸν ἄνδρα σου⸃ καὶ ἐλθὲ ἐνθάδε.
16 Dicit ei Jesus : Vade, voca virum tuum, et veni huc.
17 ἀπεκρίθη ἡ γυνὴ καὶ εἶπεν ⸀αὐτῷ· Οὐκ ἔχω ἄνδρα. λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Καλῶς εἶπας ὅτι Ἄνδρα οὐκ ἔχω·
17 Respondit mulier, et dixit : Non habeo virum. Dicit ei Jesus : Bene dixisti, quia non habeo virum;
18 πέντε γὰρ ἄνδρας ἔσχες, καὶ νῦν ὃν ἔχεις οὐκ ἔστιν σου ἀνήρ· τοῦτο ἀληθὲς εἴρηκας.
18 quinque enim viros habuisti, et nunc, quem habes, non est tuus vir : hoc vere dixisti.
19 λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ γυνή· Κύριε, θεωρῶ ὅτι προφήτης εἶ σύ.
19 Dicit ei mulier : Domine, video quia propheta es tu.
Annotations
11. The woman saith to him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou living water? The Greek is, Thou hast not ἄντλημα, a pitcher, or waterpot. Observe, the fountain is here called a well, and is said to be deep. Rupertus writes that its depth was forty cubits.
12. Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?. Observe, the Samaritans were Assyrians whom Salmanasar had brought into Samaria instead of the original inhabitants, the ten tribes of Israel, whom he carried away into Assyria. These Assyrians, however, wished, when the Jewish state was in a flourishing condition, to be accounted Jews (Jos., Ant., lib. 11, cap. ult.), both because they dwelt in the portion of the Holy Land which had been allotted to the tribe of Ephraim, and because they were commingled with the Israelites who had been left in the country. Another reason was because they partly followed the Jewish religion. For they worshipped the God of Israel, together with the Assyrian idols (2 Kings xvii). This then was why the woman called Jacob our father, as though the Samaritans were Israelites, and descended from him. The meaning then is, “Jacob had no better water than this, for if he had had, he surely would have drank of it, both himself, and his children. If thou, therefore, O Jesus, art able to give, or to find better water than this, Thou must needs be greater than the Patriarch Jacob, our father.” So S. Chrysostom. By degrees did Jesus raise the woman’s mind, so that she should at length acknowledge Him to be the Messiah. For from what He had said, If thou didst know the gift of God, and who he is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water, the woman conjectured, or suspected, that Jesus was making Himself to be greater than Jacob.
13. Jesus answered, and said to her: Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again; but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever. Jesus modestly points out to this woman, who was extolling the water of her own well, that His living water must be far better, because it would quench all, even future thirst. From this He tacitly left it to be gathered that He was superior to Jacob. As S. Chrysostom says, “He did not say that He was greater, because He would have seemed to be boasting of Himself, not yet being known; but this meaning lay hid under His words. For He said not simply, I will give thee water; but taking no notice of Jacob’s water, He praises His own, wishing to show its difference from the (different) nature of the givers of the gifts, and how greatly He excelled the Patriarch.” S. Cyril adds, “He showed that sensible and earthly water was infinitely inferior to that which He would have her understand” (that He would give her).
Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again. Tropologically, S. Augustine: “The water in the well,” he says, “is the pleasure of the world in a dark abyss, which men draw with the pitcher of desire. For this makes men always to thirst, because cupidity is insatiable.”
but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever. Meaning, He that shall receive from Me living water, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit, shall no more thirst for justice, the friendship of God, virtue, or holiness, because he shall already have them through grace. We must understand, unless he should wilfully squander and lose this water of grace by deadly sin. This is Christ’s antithesis: Common water, O woman, such as thine out of this well, when drunk, only quenches thirst for a brief space, because it does not remain in the body. But this water of Mine, which is the grace of the Holy Spirit, is in itself of such efficacy, that if it be even once tasted, it will suffice to banish thirst for ever. For it will always abide in the soul, the same and immutable. For the habitual grace of the ordinary Law of God, brings with itself at set times prevenient helps, that is to say, the impulses of exciting grace, which, as they are needful, so also they suffice, for retaining the spiritual vigour of the soul, and also its perseverance unto salvation. This is the teaching of the Council of Trent (Sess. 6, c. 16).
You will ask, Why then is it said in the Book of Ecclesiasticus, “They that drink me shall yet be thirsty?” For this would seem to be contrary to what Christ here says of His grace, he shall not thirst for ever. I answer that the meaning of “they that drink me shall yet be thirsty,” is, they shall desire to be still more filled with that wisdom of God which they already possess. They will wish for an increase of the wisdom and grace of God. Thus S. Ignatius the martyr, when, being condemned to the lions, he came into the amphitheatre of Rome, said, looking round at the spectators, “I am come hither to die for my Jesus, for whom I thirst unquenchably, that I may be united to Him in heaven.”
Observe, that the Holy Spirit by His grace begins to fulfil in this life all the thirst and desire of the soul, but in heaven He does this perfectly. Also He extinguishes the thirst of pride and concupiscence. Lastly, in heaven He altogether takes away all the hunger and thirst of the soul, every defect and trouble, through the glory and endowment of impassibility, according to the words, “I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear.” (Ps. xvi.15): also, “They shall not hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun strike them: for he that is merciful to them, shall be their shepherd, and at the fountains of waters he shall give them drink.” (Isa. xlix.10). As the Gloss says, “He promises the fulness of the Spirit, which shall be in the resurrection, because with Him is the fountain of life with which they shall be inebriated. Heavenly glory therefore makes up all defects both of soul and body, all desires, and all thirst. “For beatitude is a perfect state through the aggregation of all goods,” says Boethius, according as it is said, “They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure.” (Ps. xxxv. 9).
14. But the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting. .… waters leaping up (Syriac). The allusion is to those fountains which flow with such an impetus, the water behind pressing on that which is before, that although they be brought down into the valleys, yet by means of pipes they ascend to the level of the original spring. Thus the grace of the Holy Spirit draws the soul to its source, which is God and heaven. For grace is the seed of glory. The Arabic translates. The water which I will give, shall be in him water which shall bring a flood of eternal life. Grace then propels, as it were, a man to heaven, and never rests until it carries him where there is no thirst, nor defect, nor misery, but where all is abundance, and all is happiness. For this is the meaning of everlasting life. For this fountain of grace which is in the soul is derived from its original Spring, which is the Holy Ghost in heaven, even like a fountain which, being artificially conducted, bursts forth in a square, or garden, but is derived from its original spring in some mountain.
2. It shall become in him a fountain of water, because, as Theophylact says, the water of grace which Christ instils into the faithful soul is being ever multiplied in it. For the saints receive the seeds and beginning of good through grace, but they themselves “trade” with it, and work for its increase, that, as it were a fountain, it may abound in them, and afford abundant drink, not only to themselves, but to many others. As S. Chrysostom says, “He that hath a fountain in himself is not troubled with thirst.” And Origen, “Every one of the angels hath in him a fount of water welling up unto life eternal from the Word Himself.”
3. A fountain, the more it flows downward, the more water there flows into it from above. So too the more any one pours his own grace upon others, the more God causes to flow into him.
Lastly, this is a paradox spoken by Christ, that whereas earthly water flows downwards, this His fountain flows upwards, according to the saying, The founts of the holy rivers are borne upwards. Here is a great and marvellous leap, the mighty and infinite power of the Holy Ghost, which makes the earthly and laden hearts of men to leap from earth to highest heaven, from grace to glory, from the flesh to the spirit, from death to life eternal, from Satan to God. To believers therefore it is said, Sursum corda. And this is a sure sign of the indwelling of grace and the Holy Ghost, if our minds are occupied in heaven, if we speak and do heavenly things, if we say, with S. Paul, “But our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Phil. iii. 20). For this cause Christ came down from heaven, that He might make us to rise from earth to heaven, according to the words, “The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills.” (Cant. ii. 8).
15. The woman saith to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. “She was delighted,” says S. Austin, “not to thirst, and thought that this promise was made unto her by the Lord in a fleshly sense. Her poverty drove her to the labour of coming and drawing water from a well at a distance from the town; and her weakness shrank from this toil. The woman, who was carnal and ignorant, did not yet understand that Christ was speaking of the spiritual water of grace. Then He smote her with another dart, that she might have loftier thoughts concerning Him.”
16. Jesus saith to her: Go, call thy husband, and come hither. Observe from S. Chrysostom and others that Christ bade the woman call her husband with this pretext, that it would not be proper to give this so great a gift of living water to a married woman without the knowledge of her husband. But Christ really intended to open out to her the hidden things of her life, and her secret fornication, that so He might draw her confession from her, and arouse her to repentance. At the same time He would show her that He was more than a mere man, that He was the Christ, from whom she might ask and expect remission of her sins and everlasting salvation. For this was the living water which Christ set forth.
17. The woman answered, and said: I have no husband. Jesus said to her: Thou hast said well, I have no husband. From hence it is plain that this woman was thus a widow, and therefore not an adulteress, but a harlot, unless indeed her lover were married, in which case both were guilty of adultery.
18. For thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband. This thou hast said truly. Nonnus says, For thou hast had five husbands, one after another; and he whom thou now hast is not thy lawful husband. So S. Austin, Bede, Euthymius, and others passim. But S. Chrysostom and Maldonatus think they were unlawful, adulterous connections, and that they are here spoken of by Christ in this sense, that she was now living with a sixth adulterer. But the former sense is the more probable, because Christ makes an antithesis between the five former, which were lawful connections, and this sixth, which was unlawful.
Observe here the gentle and courteous method of Christ’s reproof. He does not say directly to the woman, “Thou art an adulteress, or a fornicatrix: do penance for thy fornications.” But He praises her for speaking the truth in saying, she had no husband. Then He adds, he whom thou now hast is not thy husband, tacitly implying that she was living in sin with him, and that He knew of this secret sin by the revelation of God, and therefore that He was a prophet, from whom she ought to ask pardon and grace.
S. Basil (Epist. 2, ad Amphiloch.) says that a third marriage is an abomination to the Church, but better than fornication. And in his first epistle to the same he says, “The thrice married are often excommunicated for three or four years, not longer: and such unions are called polygamy, or qualified fornication. Therefore the Lord said to the Samaritan woman, who had had five husbands, He whom thou now hast is not thy husband, surely because those who had gone beyond a second union were not worthy the name of husband, or wife.” But the Church is now of a different mind. For it is certain that fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, or more marriages, are licit, although they are indecent, and marks of incontinence. And this is what S. Basil appears to have meant.
19. The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Because Thou revealest the hidden things of my life, whether good or bad, which Thou couldest not know except by the revelation of God, especially since thou art a Jew and a foreigner, I humbly accept Thy gentle reproof, and confess my sin. “By one and the same confession,” says Rupertus, “she confessed, as to herself, what she was, and as to Him, what she was able to perceive He was.”
+ + +
SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
The Vladimirskaya Icon. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
No comments:
Post a Comment