AUDIO MEDITATION:

Image credit: Jacek Malczewski (Polish, 1854-1929), Christ and the Samaritan Woman. Public domain.

FULL TEXT:

When Jesus offers the woman living water, she replies, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Her understanding is not complete—she still thinks Jesus is speaking of water she can drink—but she is curious and intrigued.

Jacek Malczewski painted himself as Christ in this depiction of Jesus meeting the woman at the well. His works often used folk tales and traditional stories as subjects set in his own time, which is why Jesus appears here in Polish garb with a walking cane and sun hat. Notice the woman’s curiosity. She is finally starting to look beyond the buckets she brought for water and her gaze breaks through towards the Christ-figure. She doesn’t understand everything he is saying, but her attention has been raised from her daily task to this greater reality Jesus is offering.

How might we remain attentive today to the gifts the Lord is offering us? What helps us look beyond our daily routines to see the life Jesus wants to share with us?