At the conclusion of her encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman
experiences untold joy at the center of her being. She has been liberated from
both personal sin and social ostracism, and her
life has been revolutionized by her budding friendship with Christ.
This explosive joy launches her on a life of apostolic action. Her
apostolate is the dynamic fruit that proves the authenticity of her conversion:
she wants the whole world—even those who had ostracized her—to experience the
deliverance and the love she has received from Jesus. Thus, transformed into an
apostle, the woman abandons her water jar, symbol of her
previous life and all its hardships, by the edge of the well and hurries full
of zeal to her fellow Samaritans to proclaim the Gospel to them. She has found the
Messiah and wants them, too, to recognize him as such and so experience the joy
of salvation bestowed on her by Jesus of Nazareth.
Initial from an ancient Cistercian manuscript. Reflection by Father Simeon.
