The story of the woman at the well is one of the most powerful stories we have about the life of Jesus. It is a story about the encounter of two strangers - two people who should never have met, when you consider the differences between them. It is also a story about the interaction of God with the world - where God acts in ways we might never have expected. So the story is surprising from a human point of view and it gives us a surprising view of God. But there is more; the story of the woman at the well is a story about us and our church and our community. This two thousand year old story is as fresh today as it was when Jesus first sat down on the wall around Jacob's well. Let's have a look. Jesus and his disciples have been walking along the road from Jerusalem, north towards Galilee. They have passed round the base of Mount Gerizim and are crossing a hot, dry valley. They have come to the well that Jacob dug to water his household and his animals, in the country of Samaria. The disciples leave to get food and Jesus, because he weary, sits down on the stone rim of the well.

Now the Samaritan woman comes to draw water from the well. Here is the first surprise. Why has this woman come at mid-day to draw water? The normal time for drawing water is in the morning. The women of the town would come out together, for company, and draw water together. This woman has come out in the heat of the day, by herself. Something has set her apart from her fellow citizens. She is a woman of mystery.

The second surprise is that Jesus speaks to her and asks for a drink. As a Jewish man, Jesus should not have been speaking to a strange woman, especially a Samaritan. He should definitely not have asked her for a drink; it was against the law of his religion to share a drinking vessel with a Samaritan. And then, in their conversation, we find out what sort of woman she is, a woman who has had five husbands, no wonder that she was set apart from her fellows. The disciples, when they return from the city, are surprised, and no wonder, when they find Jesus talking to this woman.

Now the third surprise happens. The woman forgets why she has come to the well, she leaves her water pot and returns to the town. She speaks to the townsfolk and they listen. More surprises, she is no longer rejected, but listened to with respect. They believe her, and come out to see for themselves the man to whom she has been speaking.

It is a miracle. The barriers which divided them have been overcome. The barriers between Jew and Samaritan, men and women, and between social outcast and community have all come down because of this remarkable person, this Jesus. That is the human story.

We find out where God is in the story by listening to the story of the living water. The still, dark water at the bottom of Jacob's well is not enough to satisfy ordinary human thirst. Every day, for hundreds of years, the women of the town have come to draw water from the well, and it has done nothing for them except satisfy their need for water day by day.

Jesus brings something else, water that is alive, gushing up like a fountain, leaping and sparkling, water than changes lives and gives new life. The moment the woman heard about this living water she wanted it. She wanted to live; she wanted to be part of her community again. And, as Jesus spoke to her, she was given it. She was filled with excitement; she left her water pot because she had some exciting news to tell her community. And her excitement was so catching that the townsfolk couldn't help listening, and they caught the excitement, too, and came out to find the source of the living water, who was Jesus, of course. So the whole community was changed by this meeting with the living water, the living God. It was God who broke down the barriers, the barriers between men and women, Jew and Samaritan, outcast and community.

So the miracle of reconciliation which the disciples saw in that Samaritan city of Sychar was nothing less than God at work in the world.

And this brings us to our part in the story. The woman at the well is a parable for our own lives and the life of our community. People who come to church come for many different reasons, they might come looking for company because they are lonely, they might come looking for the meaning of life, and they might come because someone has invited them. And the church can be like that conversation at the well, it becomes more than just a human gathering, it becomes a meeting with the living God. Through our prayers, through hearing the Bible read, through our singing and above al, through the sharing of bread and wine at the Eucharist, we draw closer to God and share the life of Christ. The Holy Spirit, at work on our community, is like the living water of the story, promising life to all who come. And those who drink the living water are changed, they are filled with life. St Paul says, "God's love has been poured into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

The church is a community which has this to offer. God pours out his love on all humanity and all the world. We have been called into the church to tell people about God's love so that they can experience it for themselves. Let us pray that we may be committed to that purpose.