When the Lord Jesus returned from Judaea into Galilee, He travelled seventy miles or more, and passed through Samaria, wearied with His journey. Behold Him, your God, how fatigued He is ! He thus often walks, often is weary, and His whole life is full of toil. Then He sat by the well, and rested Himself ; but His disciples went away into the town to seek for bread. Then came a certain woman — she is said to have been named Lucia — to the well for water. And the Lord began to converse with her, and to treat of sublime truths, and to manifest Himself to her.
What He said to her, how the disciples returned, how at the saying of the woman the people of the city came out to meet Him, how He went with them, stayed for a while, and then departed, I do not intend to relate ; for it is all clearly set forth in the Gospel history. Read it, then, and behold the Lord Jesus Himself in all His actions. But from this account you may note certain beautiful and useful things. And first see the humility of our Lord ; how the humble Lord remained quite alone and unattended during the absence of His disciples, for they were on familiar terms with Him ; then, how humbly He talked with this unhappy woman by herself,, and treated of such great mysteries, and conversed with her, as if His equal. For He did not disdain her, but, on the contrary, He answered her in such a manner as would have been wonderful even if He had been addressing an assembly of the wisest men. The proud do not act thus. For if they pour forth swelling words before a few, much less before one, they regard them as wasted, and count their hearers unworthy of them.
Secondly, consider His poverty and affliction of the body, and the humility which accompanied them. For here you are told how the disciples went away to the city to seek bread, and, having obtained it, how they brought it to Him, and wanted Him to eat. But where did He eat? No doubt at the well, or by some river or spring. See, then, how He refreshed Himself, wearied and famished as He was. And do not imagine that this was the only occasion when He so acted, but His general custom. Whence you can plainly conclude, that the humble Lord and lover of poverty often took His meals in the open air outside the dwellings of men, by some stream or spring, however tired or prostrated He might be. He was provided with no dainty food, no fine cups, no delicate wines, but with pure water from the spring or river. He who caused the vineyards to be fertile, who created the springs, and all that move in the waters, sat humbly on the ground, and took His meals as any poor man. In the third place, consider how intent he was on spiritual things. For when His disciples invited Him to eat, He said, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of. My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work ;”1 nor would He eat, until He had received the people who came from the city and preached to them, desirous of first attending to the needs of the soul before taking bodily refreshment, though He stood so greatly in need of it. Behold Him, then, in all the actions which have been mentioned, and strive to imitate His virtues.
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Footnotes
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S. John iv. 34. ↩