Ascension : From St Mary's Church
Submitted by The Islander (Clive & Jenny Duncan) 28.02.2008 (Article Archived on 13.03.2008)

Dear Readers, On behalf of St Mary’s Church, I would like to thank Serco Defence and Aerospace for the sum of £500.00 (five hundred pounds), which was generously donated to the Ascension Day Fair Fund on Wednesday 20th February 2008.

This week’s gospel is about a spring welling up to eternal life according to John, chapter 4:  5 – 26

Jesus came to the Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Jacob’s well is there and Jesus tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink. ‘What?  You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?’ – Jews in fact, do not associate with Samaritans.  Jesus replied.

If only you knew, what God is offering and whom it is saying to you.  Give me a drink, you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.

‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered ‘and the well is deep: how could you get this living water?  Are you a greater man than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?  Jesus replied.  ‘Whoever drink this water will get thirsty again, but anyone who drink the water that I shall give will never thirst again, the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.

‘Sir,’ said the woman ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water.’  ‘Go call your husband’ said Jesus to her ‘and come back here. ‘The woman answered, ‘I have no husband.’  He said to her ‘you are right to say, “I have no husband.” for although you have had five, the one you have now is not your husband.  You spoke the truth there.”  ‘ I see you are a prophet, sir’ said the woman.  ‘Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while you say that Jerusalem is place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said.

Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You worship what you do not know’ we worship what we do know, for salvation comes from the Jews.  However, the hour will come; in fact, it is here already – when true worshippers will worship the father in spirit and truth.  That is the kind of worshipper the father wants.  God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.’  The woman said to him, ‘I know that is, Christ – is coming, and when he comes he will tell us everything.’ ‘I, who am speaking to you, said Jesus ‘I am he.’