Photinai, the Samaritan Woman. 22nd April 1945.
«I
will stop here. You go into town and buy what is necessary for our meal. We
shall eat here.»
«Shall
we all go? »
«Yes,
John. You had better be all together.»
«And
what about You? You will be left alone... They are
Samaritans...»
«They
will not be the worst enemies of Christ. Go. I will pray, while waiting for you.
I will pray for you and for them. »
The
disciples reluctantly go away, and they turn round three or four times to look
at Jesus, Who has sat down on a little wall, exposed to the sun, near the low
broad edge of a well. It is a big well, so wide that it seems a cistern. In
summer it is shaded by tall trees, which are now bare. It is not possible to see
the water, but the little puddles and ring marks of wet pitchers on the ground
near the well, are clear signs that water has been drawn. Jesus sits down and
meditates, in His usual attitude, His elbows resting on His knees, His hands
stretched out and joined, His body slightly bent forward and His head lowered.
When He feels the mild warmth of the sun, He lets His mantle drop from His head
and shoulders and holds it round His waist. He raises His head and smiles at a
flight of wrangling sparrows quarrelling over a large crumb of bread, which
someone has dropped near the well.
But
the sparrows fly away when a woman arrives near the well. With her left hand she
is holding an empty amphora by one of its handles, whilst her right hand with a
gesture of surprise pushes aside her veil to see who the man is who is sitting
there. Jesus smiles at the thirty‑five/ forty year old woman. She is tall, with
a beautiful strongly marked figure. A Spanish type, we would say: a pale olive
complexion, rather thick bright‑red lips, dark eyes which are even exceedingly
large, very dark eyebrows and hair, visible through her transparent veil. Also
her rather plump features are typically oriental and slightly soft, as is
customary with Arab women. Her dress is a multicoloured striped robe, which is
held very tight round her waist and her plump sides and breast, and then falls
to the ground in a kind of wavy fringe. She is wearing several rings on her
rather plump dark fingers and bracelets on her wrists, which appear under her
linen sleeves. Round her neck she wears a heavy necklace from which some medals
are hanging I should call them amulets because they are of all shapes. Heavy
ear‑rings hang down as far as her neck and shine under her
veil.
«Peace
be with you, woman. Will you give Me some water to drink? I have walked a long
way and I am thirsty.»
«Are
You not a Judaean? And You ask me, a Samaritan woman, to give You a drink? What
has happened? Have we been rehabilitated, or have you been routed? A great event
must have taken place, if a Judaean speaks kindly to a Samaritan woman. But I
should say to You: "I will not give You anything, to punish in You all the
insults the Jews have been heaping on us for centuries".»
«You are right. A great event has taken
place. And because of it many things have changed and many more will change. God
has granted a great gift to the world and through it many things have changed.
If you knew the gift of God and Who is saying to you: "Give Me a drink", perhaps
you would have asked Him to give you a drink and He would have given you living
water.»
«Living
water is in the veins of the earth. It is in this well. But it is ours.» The
woman's tone is derisory and arrogant.
«Water
comes from God. As bounty comes from God. As life comes from God. Everything
belongs to the One Only God, woman. And all men come from God: Samaritans and
Judaeans. Is this not Jacob's well? And is not Jacob the head of our race? If
later on an error divided us, that does not change our
origin.»
«Of
course, it was our error, was it not? » the woman asks
aggressively.
«Neither
ours nor yours. It was the error of one who had lost sight of Charity and
Justice. I do not wish to offend you or your race. Why do you wish to strike an
offensive attitude? »
«You
are the first Judaean whom I hear speak thus. The others... But reverting to the
well, yes, it is Jacob's and its water is so plentiful and clear that we in
Sychar prefer it to other fountains. But it is very deep. You have neither
amphora nor bucket. How could You, therefore, draw living water for me? Are You
greater than our holy Patriarch Jacob, who found this abundant vein for himself,
his sons and his cattle and left it to us as his souvenir and gift?
»
«You
are right. But whoever drinks this water, will be thirsty again. I instead have
a water and whoever drinks it will not be thirsty again. But it is only Mine.
And I will give it to whoever asks Me for it. And I solemnly tell you that
whoever has the water I give him, will always be satisfied and will never be
thirsty again, because My water will be an unfailing eternal
spring.»
«What?
I do not understand. Are You a magician? How can a man become a well? A camel
drinks and lays a supply of water in his big stomach. But he then consumes it
and it does not last all his life. And You say that Your water lasts a whole
lifetime? »
«Even
longer: it will last until eternal life. In those who drink it, it will gush
until eternal life and will give germs of eternal life, because it is a spring
of health.»
«Give
me some of that water, if You really have it. I get tired coming here. If I have
it, I will not be thirsty any more and I will never be ill or become
old.»
«Is
that the only thing of which you get tired? Of nothing else? And you feel only
the need of drawing water to drink and satisfy your poor body? Think about it.
There is something more important than your body. Your soul. Jacob did not
procure only the water of the earth for himself and his sons. He was anxious to
be holy and to bestow holiness, the water of God.»
«You
call us heathens... If what You say is true, we cannot be holy...» The woman's
tone is no longer insolent and ironical and she is submissive and somewhat
confused.
«Also
a heathen can be virtuous. And God, Who is just, will reward him for the good he
has done. It will not be a complete reward, but I can tell you that between a
guilty believer and an innocent heathen, God looks at the latter with less
severity. And if you know you are such, why do you not come to the True God?
What is your name? »
«Photinai.»
«Well,
tell me, Photinai, are you sorry that you cannot aspire to holiness because you
are a heathen, as you say, or because you are in the haze of an old error, as I
say? »
«Yes,
I am sorry.»
«Well,
then, why do you not live at least as a virtuous heathen?
»
«Lord!...»
«Yes,
can you deny it? Go and call your husband and come back here with
him.»
«I
have no husband.» The embarrassment of the woman
increases.
«You
have spoken the truth. You have no husband. But you have had five men and you
have one with you now who is not your husband. Was that necessary? Also your
religion condemns lewdness. You have the Decalogue, too. Why, then, Photinai, do
you live thus? Are you not tired of the exertion of being flesh for everybody,
instead of being the honest wife of one man only? Are you not afraid of the
evening of your life, when you will be all alone with your memories and regrets?
And with your fears? Yes, all those.
Fear of God and of ghosts. Where are your children? »
The
woman lowers her head completely and does not reply.
«You
have none in this world. But their little souls, whom you prevented from seeing
the day of their birth, are reproaching you. And they always will. Jewels...
beautiful dresses... a splendid
house... a bountiful table... But emptiness, and tears, and interior misery. You are
forlorn, Photinai. And only through sincere repentance, through God's forgiveness
and consequently through your children's forgiveness, you can become rich
again.»
«Lord,
I see that You are a prophet. And I am ashamed...»
«And
when you were doing evil things, were you not ashamed of yourself before the
Father Who is in Heaven? Do not weep out of dejection before the Man... Come here, Photinai. Come near
Me. I will speak to you of God. Perhaps you did not know Him well. And that is
why you have been so faulty. If you had known the True God well, you would not
have degraded yourself so much. He would have spoken to you and supported
you...»
«Lord,
our ancestors have worshipped on this mountain. You say that one must worship
only in Jerusalem. But You said that there is only One God. Help me to see what
I must do and where...»
«Woman,
believe Me. Before long the Father will be worshipped neither on the mountain in
Samaria nor in Jerusalem. You worship Him Whom you do not know. We worship Him
Whom we know, because salvation comes from the Judaeans. I remind you of the
Prophets. But the time will come, nay, it has already arrived, when the true
worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, no longer according to
the ancient rite, but to the new one, where there will be no sacrifice of
animals consumed by fire. There will be the eternal sacrifice of the Immaculate
Victim consumed by the Fire of Charity. It will be a spiritual cult in a
spiritual Kingdom. And it will be understood by those who are able to worship in
spirit and truth. God is Spirit. Those who worship Him must do so
spiritually.»
«You
speak holy words. I know, because we also know something, that the Messiah is
about to come: the Messiah, He Who is called also "Christ". When He comes, He
will teach us everything. Not far from here there is also one who is said to be
His Precursor. And many go and listen to him. But he is so severe!... You are
kind... and the souls of poor people are not afraid of You. I think that Christ
will be good. They say that He is the King of Peace. Will it be long before He
comes? »
«I
have told you that His hour has already come.»
«How
do You know? Are You perhaps one of His disciples? The Precursor has many
disciples. Also Christ will have them. »
«I,
Who am speaking to you, am Jesus Christ.»
«You!...
Oh!...» The woman, who had sat down near Jesus, stands up and is about to run
away.
«Woman,
why are you running away? »
«Because
I am struck with terror at being near You. You are holy.»
«I
am the Saviour. I came here, although it was not necessary, because I knew that
your soul was tired of wandering. You are disgusted with your food... I have
come to give you a new food, which will remove your nausea and tiredness... Here
are My disciples coming back with My food. But I have already been fed by giving
you the first crumbs of your redemption.»
The
disciples glance at the woman out of the corners of their eyes, more or less
prudently, but no one speaks. She goes away forgetting about her amphora and the
water.
«Here,
Master » says Peter. «The people have treated us very well. Here is some cheese,
fresh bread, olives and apples. Take what You want. It's a good job that woman
left her amphora. We shall draw water with it quicker than with our small
flasks. We shall have a drink and then we shall fill them. And we shall not have
to ask the Samaritans for anything else. Neither shall we have to go near their
fountains. Are You not eating? I wanted to get some fish for You, but there was
none. Perhaps You would have
preferred it. You look tired and pale.»
«I
have a food which is unknown to you. I will have some of it and it will restore
Me considerably.»
The
disciples look at one another inquisitively.
Jesus
replies to their silent questions: «My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me
and to accomplish the work which He wants Me to complete. When a sower sows the
seed, can he say that he has done everything and thus state that he can reap the
harvest? Most certainly not. How much more there is still to be done before he
may say: "My work is accomplished". And he cannot rest until that moment. Look
at these little fields in the bright midday sunshine. Only a month ago, even
less than a month ago, the soil was bare and dark because it was wet with rain.
Look now. It looks as if it were covered by a light whitish veil, because of the
many very pale‑green corn stems, which have just come up and look even lighter
because of the bright sunshine. That is the future crop and seeing it you say:
"It will be harvest time in four months. The sowers will employ reapers, because
if one man is quite sufficient to sow his field, many men are required to reap
the harvest. And they are all happy. Both the man who sowed a small sack of corn
and now must prepare his granaries to store the crop, and those who in a few
days earn enough to live on for a few months". Also in the spiritual field those
who reap what I have sown will rejoice with Me and like Me, because I will give
them the wages and crops due to them. I will give them what to live on in My
eternal Kingdom. You have but to reap. I have done the hardest work. And yet I
say to you: "Come. Reap the harvest in My field. I am glad that you burden
yourselves with the sheaves of My corn. When you have harvested all the corn
that I, without ever tiring, have sown everywhere, then the will of God will be
fulfilled and I will sit at the banquet in the Celestial Jerusalem". Here the
Samaritans are coming with Photinai. Be kind to them. They are souls coming to
God.»
Maria Valtorta
The Poem of the Man God