The Well, the Witness, and the Worldwide Mission
In this sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Pascha, Fr. Geoff Harvey reflects on the encounter between Christ and St. Photini at the well of Samaria, drawing together the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles. Under three headings — the well, the witness, and the worldwide mission — he explores how Christ meets us in our weakness, how transformed people naturally proclaim Christ, and how one encounter at a well can overflow into a missionary church that reaches the whole world through the power of multiplication.
Transcript
Christ is risen!
Today we have the wonderful story of the Samaritan Woman at the Well — St. Photini. It is interesting that this has come up on Mother's Day, because she was a mother too. She had many children, and the one lesson about motherhood that comes from St. Photini is that she worked hard to keep her children faithful to the end, even in the face of death. But today the Church in its wisdom points us toward the Gospel story and also the Epistle, and these two scriptures merge very nicely. We will see what we can learn from them — the Gospel of the Samaritan Woman and the missionary expansion of the Church in the Acts of the Apostles. Two completely different stories, but they reveal the same mission that is on God's heart: the transformation of a soul into a witness, and the transformation of witnesses into the Church.
I have three headings — I always have three when I can: the well, the witness, and the worldwide mission.
The Well — Christ meets us in our weakness.
In the Gospel, our Lord enters Samaria, a place generally avoided by Jews. We are told by John that he had to pass through Samaria. But if we think of Jesus simply traveling from Judea to Galilee, the reality is that he did not have to go through Samaria — Jews usually went around it to avoid ritual impurity. So why does the Apostle John tell us that Jesus had to go through Samaria? It was God's love for an individual.
If you are like me, you may still be wondering: why did God choose me to follow him, and not some of my friends who were around me at the time? Why me? And then to bring us into the Church, away from our totally selfish, distracted lives. It was God's love. It is amazing. God will go out of his way to reach one person.
So there at Jacob's well, Christ meets St. Photini — a woman who was anxious because of her broken past. She came to the well at midday, the hottest hour of the day, where no one in their right mind would go to draw water. Yet it is exactly there, in her loneliness and anxiety, that Christ meets her. He asks her for water — not because he needs water, but because he wants to awaken her heart. "Give me a drink," he says. And in this simple request, the mystery of salvation begins to unfold. The one who is the source of life humbles himself to thirst, so that the one who is spiritually thirsty may awaken to eternal life.
Our Lord Jesus Christ offers her what no earthly well can provide: living water — the grace of the Holy Spirit, the renewal of the human heart, the life that meets our deepest needs. Slowly and gently, he reveals her life — not to condemn, but to heal. Truth is not used as a weapon, but as medicine. This is the Orthodox way. This is the Christian way.
This speaks directly to us at the Good Shepherd English Language Mission. Many people in Australia approach the Church carrying hidden burdens — loneliness, disappointment, real hurt, confusion, anxiety, fear, shame. Some feel distant from the Church because of language, culture, or past wounds. Yet Christ still waits at the well of every human heart. The Good Shepherd Mission must become a place where people encounter not condemnation, but the healing truth and mercy of Christ.
The Witness — transformed people proclaim Christ.
The result of our Lord's encounter with St. Photini is transformation. The woman who once dodged others now dashes into the town. The one who came in shame now speaks with boldness: "Come and see — the man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" She leaves behind her water jar — a symbol of her old burdens — and becomes the bearer of new life.
This is the pattern of genuine Orthodox witness. Evangelism is not merely argument or persuasion. It is the overflow of an encounter with the living Christ. Those who truly drink of the living water cannot keep silent.
For the Good Shepherd Mission, this is especially important. English language Orthodox missions in Australia are not simply places of doing services in English. We are called to be welcoming witnesses to Australians searching for truth: converts seeking the fullness of the faith, young people trying to understand Orthodoxy, and Orthodox Christians who may feel spiritually disconnected. Like St. Photini, we are called to say to others: "Come and see" — not come to see us, but come to see Christ.
People are often drawn to Orthodoxy not primarily by arguments, but by transformed lives — by experiencing peace, kindness, reverence, hospitality, repentance, prayer, and love. I can say that is true for my own experience. The first night I prayed: "Lord, if you're really there, show me" — that was my prayer of faith. And my life changed from that point. What drew me to that moment was spending time with a group of young Christians and deciding: "Whatever they have, I want it." What they had, of course, was Christ. If we have truly met Christ, others should be able to sense the living water flowing through us and through our community here at the Good Shepherd.
The Worldwide Mission — from one soul to the living Church.
The Gospel does not end with one transformed soul. It overflows into the reading from the Book of Acts. There we see the fruit of encounters like this one between Jesus and St. Photini. The believers are scattered because of persecution — yet what appears to be a complete mess becomes a wonderful mission. They preach the Gospel in Antioch and a great number believe. The Church grows beyond its original boundaries.
The message that began in Samaria with St. Photini and others now reaches the nations. What begins in John's Gospel as a personal encounter becomes in Acts a community reality. The living water given to St. Photini becomes the living Church in Antioch. The one who said "Come and see" is multiplied in countless voices proclaiming Christ.
I want to use the word multiplication, because that is the key. There are today an estimated two billion people following Christ — and it all started with one person, like St. Photini, or another person that Jesus encountered. How has it happened? Not by addition, but by multiplication. And that is the only way we will reach Australia for Christ, never mind the world.
Notice the movement: Christ speaks to one woman. In Acts, that encounter has become a community of men and women calling itself by a new name — Christians. "The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). The one-to-one meeting at the well becomes the birth of the missionary Church.
We are not asking you to go out and preach on the streets. But if we follow St. Photini's example and allow Christ to transform our lives, we will overflow with his love and mercy, and people will be drawn to him through us. Consider this: if every transformed person here today brought just one new person into the Church this year — and that person is transformed, and the following year they do the same — we double each year. How many years would it take to reach all of Australia at that rate? About thirty years. That is the power of multiplication. It took the Christians three hundred years to overturn the Roman Empire — the greatest empire the world had ever seen. They did it in a very pagan, very anti-Christian society. We can do the same in Australia with God's help.
Politics and politicians are not the answers to our problems in Australia. But when we allow Christ to transform us, and allow his presence to overflow to others, then and only then will our wonderful country be transformed. Every one of us has a part to play.
And how are we transformed? We go back to CAFES: Confession, Almsgiving, Fasting, Eucharist, Scriptures, Serving, Saints — all undergirded with prayer.
Australia is an increasingly secular, spiritually fragmented, and culturally diverse nation. The good news is that, as Jesus said, "the harvest is plentiful." There are many people out there ready to hear the Gospel. English language Orthodox missions have a unique role in bringing the riches of the ancient Orthodox faith to contemporary Australian society. Our mission is not merely to preserve Orthodoxy for ourselves, but to share the living water with the wider community.
Some of us are here for the same reason the Church went to Antioch — because our parents or grandparents were persecuted, and we came to Australia. But we did not come merely to have a good life. We came to share the Gospel, to share Christ, to share the riches of the Orthodox faith. That is why we are all here.
Our Lord Jesus Christ still meets his people today. He still offers living water. He still transforms those who want to be transformed. And he still sends his Church into the world. Through the prayers of St. Photini, may we become both recipients of this living water and faithful witnesses of it, for the benefit of the life of the world. He is risen!
