Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42
In their thirst for water, both the Israelites and the Samaritan woman express our thirst for salvation, our thirst for God. Water flows from the rock and, as Saint Paul says, this rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10: 4). This water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit whom every Christian has received in the sacrament of baptism.
The Gospel of John is filled with dialogues and three among them deserve special attention. Nicodemus heard that to enter God's Kingdom he must be born "of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5), the Samaritan woman learned that people need to worship God "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23), and the Jews were told that to have eternal life one must eat Christ's body and drink his blood (John 6:53-54). Baptism, proper worship of God and the Eucharist are at the center of the Church's liturgy.
The Gospel about the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman can be divided into three parts. In the first part (John 4:1-15), the conversation centers around water. The meeting takes place by the well, and it raises a question: is Jesus looking for a bride? Abraham's servant found a wife for Isaac by a well (Gen. 24:11-16) and both Jacob and Moses also met their future wives by the wells (Gen. 29:1-11; Ex. 2:15-21). Jesus says, "give me a drink" (John 4:7) and similarly, Abraham's servant addressed Rebecca (Gen. 24:17). The servant wanted to know whether or not Rebecca was the intended wife for Isaac and Jesus desired the woman's faith. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Samaria was one of the first places evangelized by Christ's disciples (Acts 8:4-8). And so, the Bridegroom meets his Bride by the well.
The second part (John 4:16-26) reveals the basic tenets of faith. (1) God is not attached to any particular place (John 4:20-24). The Samaritan woman is in the presence of the one who is greater than any temple (Mt 12:6) and worship "in spirit and truth" (John 4:23) refers to the worship we give to God the Father through Jesus Christ, who is the truth, in the Holy Spirit. (2) Salvation comes from the Jews (John 4:22). "You worship what you do not know" (John 4:22). "Knowing" refers to an intimate relationship that unites spouses (Gen. 4:1), and among all the nations of the world only Israel had such a relationship with God (Hosea 3:1). Such knowledge of Jesus should be the goal of the life of every Christian (Phil. 3:7-11). (3) Jesus is the Messiah (John 4:25-26). "I am, the one speaking with you" (John 4:26). The phrase "I am" brings to mind God's holy name revealed to Moses (Ex. 3:14). God revealed himself to Moses as "I am", and He revealed himself to us in Jesus as "I am the Savior" (Matt. 1:21).
Finally, the third part (John 4:27-42) describes the missionary success of the Samaritan woman. Jesus' food (John 4:31) is to do the will of the Father (John 4:34; Hebrews 10:9), and the Father's desire is that all should be "saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2: 4). And that is what happened in front of the disciples’ eyes. The Samaritan woman brought the whole village to Christ, and after two days with the Lord, they confessed that Jesus is the Savior of the world (John 4:42).
What the Samaritan woman wanted - living water, the symbol of the Holy Spirit - became ours. She could not receive Him, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39); we can, because Christ died for us while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:6-8). Now, rivers of living water flow from our hearts (John 7: 37-39), the Holy Spirit has poured into our hearts God's love (Rom. 5:5).