The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Saunders III
Greeneville, TN
The Third Sunday in Lent
March 8, 2026
Water is one of the simplest and most abundant things in God’s creation, and it is also one of the most essential. Scientists tell us that water covers about 70% of the Earth’s surface. Ironically enough, only about 1 to 3% of that water is considered fresh, with the other 97+% being salt. And of that fresh water, only a small margin of it (Roughly .007 to .04%) is safe for human consumption. Which is strange because our own bodies are made up of somewhere between 50% and 75% water.
Water is essential to human life… It can be a life-giving force, and it can be a life-taking force… In many ways, our lives are shaped and sustained by water. Pure water has no taste, no smell, and no color. Chemists simply describe it as H₂O, two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom joined together. The chemistry of water has not changed since the beginning of time.
The same molecules that flowed through ancient rivers are the same molecules that fill our lakes, our wells, and even the water bottles we carry today. For most of us, water is something we rarely think about. We take it for granted. If we are thirsty, we turn on the tap. If we want cold water, we open the refrigerator. If we prefer convenience, we can go to our local grocery store and buy a case of bottled water for just a few dollars.
But the truth is that not everyone in this world lives with that kind of easy access to water. Even today, in modern times, millions of people must walk miles every day just to draw water from a single well, hoping the well isn’t contaminated. Entire communities and villages suffer through droughts and contaminated water supplies. In recent years, we have watched heartbreaking images from places (some locally) where floods destroyed homes and lives, while in other regions, the land cracks open from a lack of rain. Water remains one of the great reminders that we are all connected and dependent upon God’s wonderful and beautiful creation, this planet earth.
We come to the Gospel story of Jesus this morning and his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. In this passage, we quickly realize that Jesus is speaking about something much greater than physical water.
The Samaritan woman comes to the well simply to do what she does every day... day in and day out, she comes to draw water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Then Jesus tells her that he can give her “living water.” When Jesus tells her that he can give her “living water,” she assumes he is talking about the same thing she came for. The water that she needs on a daily basis: water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning
She thinks he is offering some kind of miraculous water that would mean she would never have to make that daily trip to the well again. But as I said, we realize that Jesus is speaking about something more... Something far greater. He is speaking about a spiritual water... something that quenches not just the thirst of the body, but the thirst of the soul. A well that springs up into eternal life.
Water has a powerful place throughout the Holy Scriptures. In the beginning, the Spirit of God moved over the deep waters of creation… And from that deep chaos, God brought forth life. Later, the waters of the great flood covered the Earth. Yet, God preserved Noah and his family, bringing forth hope out of destruction. And when Moses was an infant, he was placed in a basket and set afloat on the waters of the Nile, where God preserved his life. Years later, Moses would stretch out his staff, and God would part the waters of the Red Sea so that the people of Israel could flee from the Egyptians and escape from slavery. When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness and cried out for water because they were thirsty, God provided water from a rock. And in the waters of the Jordan River, Jesus himself was baptized, and the Spirit descended upon him, and revealed him as God’s beloved Son.
Water, again and again, becomes for us a sign of God’s presence, God’s provision, and God’s saving grace. And so when we come to the moment when Jesus meets the woman at the well in Samaria, we realize the story is about so much more than water. The story is about relationships. It is about understanding. It is about God breaking through the barriers that we build between one another.
The woman and Jesus begin their conversation as strangers from two very different worlds. Jews and Samaritans did not associate with one another. Their histories were marked by suspicion of one another, and division. She expects Jesus to treat her with the same distance and hostility she has grown to expect over time and has experienced before. And yet Jesus does something unexpected.
He speaks to her. He listens to her. He engages her in conversation. And then slowly, something begins to change. The woman begins to see that Jesus is not like others she has encountered. She opens up about her life, even about the difficult and complicated parts of it. And Jesus sees her – not simply a Samaritan woman, but a person of honesty and faith.
In that moment, two people who would normally have remained divided discover they have something to say to each other. This is where the story begins to touch our own lives. This is where the teaching moment is…
Because we live in a world filled with divisions. We see them every day. We see nations at war, we see our own society struggling with mistrust, and we see neighbors who no longer know how to speak to one another with respect. It begins to feel as if everyone is standing at separate wells, guarding their own water.
But the Gospel reminds us that God often speaks to us through the people that we least expect... Through those unlikely encounters with strangers. Those who are different from us. Those who challenge our assumptions. Those whose stories we haven’t taken the time to hear yet.
Jesus’ ministry was full of these moments. He intentionally ate with outcasts. He welcomed sinners. He spoke openly with women in a culture that discouraged and even prohibited such conversations. The scripture tells us that Jesus even healed on the Sabbath.
And all this drove the religious authorities nuts. Again and again, Jesus crosses the boundaries that people carefully construct. He didn’t do these things simply to shock people. He did them because through him God was breaking through the barriers... God was breaking down the barriers that kept human beings from being with one another. He broke down barriers and opened a way for a relationship.
But unfortunately, those barriers still exist… And they’re the greatest obstacles in our world today. We often try to protect our lives by staying comfortable. We prefer to surround ourselves with people who think like we do, or look like we do, or live like we do, and see the world the way we do. We build walls; sometimes literal ones, sometimes invisible ones, to keep the strange and unfamiliar at a distance.
But when we live that way, something inside us slowly begins to dry up. And our spirits begin to grow thirsty.
There is a line from the play Auntie Mame that says, “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.” In many ways, that line describes the woman at the well. She stands face-to-face with the Water of Life, yet she can only think of the bucket she carries and the water she needs for the day.
But by the end of her conversation with Jesus, something changes. She realizes that her deepest thirst is not physical... it is spiritual. She discovers that the one standing right in front of her is the only one who can truly satisfy her spiritual thirst, as he offers her the water of life.
And we receive that same invitation today. Christ offers living water to a deeply thirsty world... Thirsty for peace, Thirsty for understanding, Thirsty for compassion, and thirsty for hope and love. And sometimes the place where we discover that living water is not where we expect.
It may be in a conversation with someone who sees the world differently. It may come through a difficult moment that challenges our preconceived notions. It may show up amid a divided and troubled world, where God is quietly calling us toward reconciliation.
So perhaps the invitation today is that simple. Pay attention to the places that feel unfamiliar. Listen carefully to voices you might normally avoid. Notice the moments when your heart reacts strongly to an issue or a person. Those moments might just be the wells where Christ is waiting.
Often, when we are bold and brave enough to enter the conversation, we begin to recognize our own thirst. And only then can we discover what God has already given us... That living water that can satisfy us in the life and love of Jesus.
And that living water, once it begins to flow, becomes a spring within us… a spring gushing up that leads us to life, hope, and grace. A spring of living water that never runs dry.
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