The Ancient Mariner had it all wrong when he stated, “Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.” If you remember, in the famous Coleridge poem, the Mariner was stuck in the middle of the ocean—there was no wind; his ship was unable to sail—until he was able to love and value all things that God has made. It was, you see, a matter of faith. Just as in the Exodus passage today, when the Israelites complained to Moses because they were thirsty, insinuating that God was letting them down. Moses turned to God in despair and was instructed to go ahead of the people and, taking the staff which had previously struck the Nile, strike a rock to bring forth water and to sustain their lives. They found water from a rock, the last place they would have thought to look. You see, it was a matter of faith.

Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that we have easy access to Christ’s grace. In fact, he tells us that “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Given to us—like water to the Israelites, even when we don’t deserve it. It is, of course, a matter of faith.

In today’s gospel reading, we find a woman who, indeed, found grace in a place that she would never have thought of looking. The story of the woman at the well, found only in the Gospel of John, contains the longest conversation on record between Jesus and anyone—and the person he had this conversation with was a non-Jew and a woman.

In Jesus’ time, Palestine was divided into three parts: in the north, Galilee; in the south, Judea; and in the middle, Samaria. The Jews and the Samaritans had an old feud. In the eighth century before Christ, the Assyrians had invaded Samaria and had captured its people. They did what conquerors often did in those days—they carried off almost everyone to their own country. Then the Assyrians brought others into Samaria, people from Babylon and other places. Of course, when the Assyrians gathered up the Samaritans, they didn’t get everyone. Some were left and they eventually intermarried with the foreigners who had come into Samaria. For the Jews, this was an unforgivable crime because of the loss of racial purity, so those left lost their right to be called Jews at all. And the majority of Samaritans who were carried away never came back but became part of the country into which they were taken.

Later, when the armies of Babylon came into Judea and carried away the inhabitants of Jerusalem and carted them off to Babylon, they did not become assimilated into Babylon. They remained stubbornly and unalterably Jewish and, when the time came, returned to Jerusalem. After their return, the remaining Samaritans came to Jerusalem and offered their help in rebuilding the temple, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. But they were rebuffed and told that they had lost their Jewish heritage and had no right to share in the rebuilding of the house of God. Other events added fuel to the fire, so that there was hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. In the time of Jesus’ ministry, the feud was still strong even though the quarrel was centuries old.

Jesus could have avoided going through Samaria, which many did. But he decided to travel through Samaria as he headed north to Galilee, and he stopped at the well that was on the ground which had been bought by Jacob and given to Joseph and where Joseph was eventually buried. It was the middle of the day, and Jesus was hot, hungry and thirsty. At the well he encountered a Samaritan woman. Not only was she a Samaritan and not worthy of a Jew’s conversation, but strict rules forbade a rabbi to greet any woman in public. A rabbi might not even speak to his own wife or daughter or sister in public.. There were even Pharisees who were called “the bruised and bleeding Pharisees” because they shut their eyes when they saw a woman on the street and so walked into walls and houses. And yet Jesus spoke to this woman. And, to make matters even worse, she was a woman with a questionable reputation.

And what was the Samaritan woman’s reaction to Jesus? He and she entered into a conversation about water and worship. She was a literal thinker, so when Jesus offered her water which would quench her thirst forever, she was eager to try it. Jesus instructed her first, however, to go and get her husband. She admitted that she had had five husbands and Jesus ascertained that she was not even married to the fifth. Perhaps to change the subject, the woman then acknowledged that since he knew about that fifth “husband,” he must be a prophet, and she confronted him with the differences in beliefs between the Samaritans and Jews on the holy place of worship. Jesus told her that where one worships does not really matter. Then she told him that she knew that the Messiah was coming, and he acknowledged, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.” Here he was, the real fount of living water in the middle of the desert of her life.

And what was her response? She went off to the city to spread the word. She didn’t stake a claim to the living water; she went off to tell the town the news. And, this is the amazing part: they listened. When she told the story of Jesus’ words, the people believed her. What power her story must have held! With what conviction and charisma must she have held their attention! Not only did they listen to her, a person of no importance or value to them, but they also believed.

Let’s look at this story and think about it a bit. Jesus, the Son of God, tired, weary, and thirsty, broke through the barriers of national hostility, gender discrimination and notoriety. Here is God’s love in action; here is God’s grace in action—just where one might least expect it. If Jesus accepted this woman, he will accept us—any of us—all of us—also. And, if Jesus accepted this woman, we must accept her—and everyone else—also. What a humbling thought for us.

Jesus came with his message of love for everyone, and he lived it himself. Love extends beyond nationality, gender, reputation or any other barriers that we in this material world have constructed. And, just as people listened to the Samaritan woman, they will listen to those who share the message of God’s love and His gift of grace, if those who relate the good news have the power of the message in their hearts and on their lips and if they live the message in their lives. If the message is pure enough and true enough and told from the heart, the words will reach even those who are suspicious or unbelieving, even if the message comes from a place where they least expect to find it.

In this season of Lent, as we examine our lives and our relationship to God, let us think on the great gift of grace that we have been given: how it is unexpected; how it is undeserved; how it is like water in the desert. God’s love was poured out for an unlikely woman with a questionable past by a well in Samaria. God’s love has been poured into our hearts, too. And will we accept it and share it? Can we, like the Ancient Mariner in Coleridge’s poem, open our hearts to all of God’s creatures, can we value everyone whom God has made, and can we share the good news of God’s grace with everyone? You see, it’s a matter of faith.