Remember also that Sappho was a true mom with a daughter she loved dearly named Cleis. She was worshipping these idols and therefore they became her husband’s. ( Log Out / The story begins as Jesus and his disciples are traveling from Jerusalem in the south to Galilee in the north. Told in John 4:1-42, it depicts how Jesus, traveling through Samaria on the way to Galilee, sat down at a well in the town of Sychar. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The Samaritan woman Jesus met faced prejudice from her own community. ( Log Out / Jesus was willing to toss out the rules, but our woman at the well wasn't. Living water: … Brava! SONG IDEAS: ‘Friend of God’ ‘Royalty’ by Hillsong Kids ‘Oh What Love – Be Exalted’ by Watoto Childrens Choir Wish I had read your essay before treating that scene in my novel The Passion of Mary Magdalen. ( Log Out / The woman went to the well to get a jug of water. John 4:1-26) Verse 1-4: “when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. Just as the Samaritan woman was looking to men … Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. Lesbianism was associated with any form of sexuality not related to procreation–in particular, oral sex performed by a woman on a man or another woman; the recognition that procreation was not the purpose (or even possible) led to its association with promiscuity (perhaps because family law issues related to children – for example, inheritance – that ostensibly mandate monogamy are not implicated). When Jesus revealed himself as the Living Water to the woman at the well, his message was strikingly similar to his revelation as the Bread of Life: “I am the bread of life. The “woman at the well” or the story of the Samaritan Woman at the Well is a well known story where Jesus reveals Who He is to the woman, but there is a much deeper meaning than you might imagine to this encounter. by Rita M. Gross, Catholic Feminists Meet, Strategize by Rosemary Radford Ruether and Theresa Yugar, Learning from the Nation by Jameelah X. Medina, Sexist Responses to Women Writing About Religion by Sarah Sentilles. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. There were two groups of peopl… Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The Samaritans looked for the Christ and expected Him to be a prophet who would teach them. See on ge3318. The story shows that Jesus offers divine mercy in the living water of grace, which washes away sins and cleanses souls. Watch the children's sermon demonstration below, download the teaching notes, and then gather your object lesson supplies. Vs. 7-8 – There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. The Samaritan’s play on ‘bigger’ anticipates the play on the meaning of ‘man’ that follows. "How can you ask me for a drink?" Jesus and the woman discussed their views on worship, and the woman voiced her belief that the Messiah was coming. (John 4:29, ESV). (Tulane, 1976) and J.D. I love this reading the passage in John. But as in English, the word man could take on more or less specific meanings. The Samaritan woman at the well is a figure from the Gospel of John, in John 4:4–26.In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic traditions, she is venerated as a saint with the name Photine (Φωτεινή also Photini, Photina, meaning "the luminous one" from φῶς, "light"). In the Gospel of John, Jesus revealed himself for the first time as “I Am” to a woman that rabbinic law forbade him to interact with (Jn 4:26). There are lessons here about racial prejudice, religious hatred, and dealing with moral outcasts. The Gift of God: The gift of God was His Son, (John 3:16), the benefit was eternal life. She appears at an odd time of day with no one else around and manifests an inquisitive, independent mind. To begin with, the Samaritans were utterly despised by the Jews. My translation is intended to bring out what I take to be a play on the meaning of the underlying Greek word for man. Previously he worked in a variety of other capacities, including 15 years as a corporate attorney. In making that comparison Sappho uses a form of the same Greek word John has the Samaritan use in her question to Jesus: the groom, Sappho says, is “much bigger than a big man.”. The story in this lesson takes some understanding – you have to know the players. (John 4:19, NLT) Now Jesus had her full attention! Because of that context the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan has been characterized as erotically charged banter. Second, she was a Samaritan woman, and the Jews traditionally despised Samaritans. The story is found in the Book of John, Chapter 4:4-42. 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