The Jews hated the Samaritans as religious and
ethnic half-breeds because they had mixed the ethnic heritage and the religion
of Israel with that of other peoples. No
self-respecting Jew would have anything to do with a Samaritan, much less ask
one for a drink of water. But Jesus Christ
did, and a Samaritan woman came to recognize Him as the Messiah, to believe in
Him, and to lead many other Samaritans to the faith. She ultimately becomes Saint Photini, an
evangelist and martyr with the title “equal to the apostles.”
All the more remarkable is the fact
that she was not only a Samaritan, but she was a woman. Jewish men simply did not strike up
conversations with women in public.
Women had low status in that time and place and were not expected to
have deep theological conversations with rabbis. But this Messiah operated differently. He saw in her one made in the image and
likeness of God who, like everyone of us, is called to a life of holiness, regardless
of where we stand in worldly hierarchies.
The Samaritan woman also seemed an
unlikely candidate for holiness because of her history with men. She had been married five times and was then
living with a man outside of marriage. Some
have suggested that she went to the well at noon, an unusual time to do so, in
order to avoid encountering the other women of her village due to her bad reputation. The Lord knew about her history, but did not
condemn, judge, or ignore her as a result.
Perhaps because she appreciated His respect and genuine concern, she
acknowledged to Him the truth about her life and their conversation continued. Quite possibly, she had never encountered a
man who had treated her in this way before as a beloved child of God.
And very soon, she told the men of her village
that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Can you
imagine how surprised they probably were to hear this woman speaking to them of
God, for they surely were not used to thinking of her as an especially
religious person? Think of how brave
Photini was, how radically her life was changed through her encounter with
Jesus Christ.
We will make a
mistake this Pascha if we think that the good news of Christ’s resurrection is
only for people who live what we consider to be admirable lives, those who
measure up to our standards, or who are members of groups that we admire. We must not exclude anyone from the
possibility of embracing the new life brought into the world by the empty tomb,
even if they presently order their lives in less than ideal ways—as is true of us
all in some respects. Jesus Christ
Himself brought the blessing of His kingdom to a Samaritan woman with an
immoral lifestyle. She was changed by
His mercy and changed her ways. Who knows how many came to share in His eternal
life through her witness and ministry?
We learn from
the story of St. Photini that we must not write off anyone as a hopeless
case. We must not isolate ourselves from
those whose lives seem especially broken and off course—or even perverse and godless. If we respond
with hatred, judgment, or stony silence to those we deem unworthy, we turn away
from Christ’s ministry of bringing new life to the whole world. For which
of us has the right to cast the first stone at a sinner? Our Savior never condoned sin of any kind and
neither should we; but He came not to condemn, but to save. He came to bring sinners to repentance, to
heal the sick, to give sight to the blind.
He died and rose again for the salvation of all created in His image and
likeness, of the entire world. He has
made great saints of murderers, adulterers, and evildoers of every kind who
have called on His mercy and changed their lives.
When we have the
opportunity to show compassion or friendship or encouragement to someone whose life
is off course and who seems very far from following Jesus Christ, we should do
so. Whenever anyone who bears the image
of God is treated as less than human, we should show them the love of
Christ. When we have the chance to draw
into our church community someone whose life has been noticeably less than
perfect, we should not hesitate. Yes,
we should treat them as our Lord treated the Samaritan woman who became a great
saint. To do anything less is to place
our own limits on the power of the Risen Lord to bring salvation to the world—and
it is to refuse to follow in the way of the One who conquered death.
St. Photini is
also a powerful example for each of us as we struggle with our own sins,
passions, bad habits, and weaknesses.
Sometimes the burden of our sinfulness is great and we are tempted to
despair of ever finding peace and healing in our lives. The standards of Christ are so high and we
are so low. We can become obsessed with
our unworthiness; and if we are not careful, this way of thinking can lead us
away from the Church, for the guilt and frustration of spiritual failure are
hard to bear, and we often would simply rather not think about it.
St. Photini was no
stranger to such failures, but she learned to keep her eyes on the prize of the
new life in Christ. Perhaps her experiences had taught her humility.
She knew she was a sinner and must have been thrilled finally to be on a path
that would take her in a different direction. We do not know the details, but she surely faced
struggles, temptations, and reminders of the mess that she had made of her
life. Some of those difficulties probably
occurred in her own thoughts. Some
people probably continued to view her in a judgmental light, for there are
always those who appoint themselves as self-righteous judges of their neighbors
and like to look down on them.
Despite these
obstacles, the Samaritan woman with a checkered past became a glorious saint,
an evangelist equal to the apostles and ultimately a martyr. If she could pass over from sin to
righteousness, from death to life, in Christ Jesus, then we can, too. The great blessing of Pascha comes to us all,
and we have countless opportunities in our families, our marriages, our parish,
our friendships, our workplace, our use of time, money, and energy, in all our
thoughts, words, and deeds, to
participate more fully in the Lord’s victory over sin and death.
No matter what we have done in the past, no
matter our present weaknesses and challenges, no matter what anyone thinks or
says about us, we must remember that the Son of God has conquered death in order to bring us into the eternal
life of the Holy Trinity, to make us partakers of the divine nature. Like the
Samaritan woman, we must acknowledge our corruption and turn to Christ with
faith, love, and hope for a new life, and then continue on the journey of discipleship,
even when we stumble or are tempted to give up.
Just as we ask
for the Lord’s mercy on our sins, we must extend the same mercy to others. The Savior spoke the truth with love and
respect for the Samaritan woman, but he did not condemn or judge her. And He has surely not appointed any of us to
judge others either.
St. Photini did
not earn the new life given her by Christ and Pascha is not a reward given to
us for our good behavior. During this
season of Pascha, we know that life eternal has sprung from an empty tomb
purely as the result of our Lord’s love and mercy. The good news of Pascha extends to the
Samaritan women of our day and even to us.
So let us embrace our Risen Lord and become participants in His
life. He raised up St. Photini and
brought her from darkness into light; and He will do the same for us when we
respond with faith and repentance: that
is the gloriously good news of this season of resurrection. Let us embrace Him by living a holy life that
draws others into the new day of the Heavenly Kingdom, even as did St. Photini the
Great Martyr and Equal to the Apostles.
