LeSSon 23 The Woman at the Well Spreads the Word

L e ss o n 2 3

The Woman at the Well Spreads the Word

Summary of Today¡¯s Story

As Jesus was passing through Samaria on the way to

Galilee, he stops at a well to rest. There he meets a

woman who comes by to draw water from the well.

Jesus asks her for water and she, amazed that he, a

Jew, has addressed her, a Samaritan and a woman,

asks Jesus how he comes to ask her for a drink.

Jesus then talks to her about the water he gives¡ª

living water, by which he means himself. At first

the woman does not understand, but as the

conversation moves on, she comes to see Jesus as

the Messiah. Excited, she goes back to her town to

tell everyone, who then begin to believe in him.

Where You¡¯ll

Find Today¡¯s Story

In the Bible

We recommend the New Revised Standard

Version Bible.

John 4, especially 1-42

In Children¡¯s Bibles

If you plan to use a children¡¯s Bible for

storytelling, write the page numbers of

today¡¯s story in the space below.

In Our Sunday Lectionary

Today¡¯s story is told in church on the

following Sundays:

Year A: Third Sunday in Lent

? 2014 By Joanna Leiserson. Published by Morehouse Education Resources, . All rights reserved.

Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for use in the purchasing congregation only.

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Lesson 23

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The woman at the well? |

Weaving Our

Story with the

Biblical Story

The Samaritan woman that Jesus

meets at the well is the exact

opposite of Nicodemus. He is an Israelite, she a

despised Samaritan. He has a noble heritage, she

has a shameful past. He is a respected teacher of

the ruling class, she a common woman with a bad

reputation. He is highly educated, she is simple.

He comes to Jesus intentionally, she meets him by

accident. He has seen signs and knows that Jesus is

¡°from God,¡± she meets him as a complete stranger.

He is skeptical, she is open. He comes in secret, she

goes out to evangelize.

WEAVING TOGETHER THE FAMILY OF GOD, YEAR 2

The Episcopal Thread

A woman is an early evangelist for

Christ, one who was ¡°called¡± to preach

the Good News. The Episcopal Church

has ordained women to the priesthood since the

1970¡¯s, recognizing that gender is not a barrier to a

holy calling.

By the same token, the Episcopal Church recognizes

that, in one way or other, all are called to preach

the Good News of God in Christ. This is one of the

promises that we make when we are baptized, and

when we renew our baptismal vows (see BCP p. 305).

Men, women, children are all God¡¯s agents of hope

and reconciliation to the world.

But look how the woman opens herself up to

Jesus¡¯ words! Each response shows a little more

understanding and openness to Jesus. ¡°Sir, give me

this water.¡± ¡°Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.¡±

¡°Come see a man... the Christ!¡± By stages she opens

up to Jesus and his message.

Though she probably never really understands with

her mind all that he says, she understands with her

heart and her whole self.

She is also not threatened by Jesus¡¯ knowledge of

her and of her life: ¡°You are right in saying, ¡®I have

no husband¡¯; for you have had five husbands, and

the one you have now is not your husband.¡±

We can look at the woman as a model of a

disciple, though she never is counted as one of

Jesus¡¯ disciples. In a way, she is the first Christian

evangelist and missionary, as she runs back to her

town to proclaim Jesus as Messiah.

Imagine us encountering Jesus as we are doing our

everyday chores. Would we be as open to him and to

his disclosure of himself as the Messiah?

? 2014 By Joanna Leiserson. Published by Morehouse Education Resources, . All rights reserved.

Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for use in the purchasing congregation only.

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Lesson 23

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The woman at the well? |

Gathering

As the children enter the

room, greet them and engage

them in a simple activity that

relates to today¡¯s lesson.

Younger children may be given a gathering activity

such as a page to color or the Village to Well and

Back Again Maze provided on page 11 at the end of

this lesson.

An idea for a gathering activity for children of any

age is to give them a blank piece of paper and have

them draw a greeting card for the homebound in

your church. They can then pass around each other¡¯s

cards so that all can sign the cards before sending

them out.

For older children, allow a brief time for socializing

and for fellowship before the beginning of your

lesson. It gives them an opportunity to form closer

Christian relationships with each other, which we

want to encourage in our church family.

After all the children have arrived and had a few

minutes of activity or fellowship time, gather them

for an opening prayer:

¡ö¡ö Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have

brought us together today as your church family.

Open our eyes and our ears so that we can hear

your Word and see your love in this room and in

the world. We pray for all of us here, and for those

who are absent, asking especially for your blessing

on those who are sick today. This we ask in Jesus¡¯

name. Amen.

WEAVING TOGETHER THE FAMILY OF GOD, YEAR 2

Telling the Story

Read aloud today¡¯s story from a

children¡¯s Bible, showing the pictures,

tell the story in your own words, or

read from the version of the story we

provide, found on pages 8-10.

To dramatize this story, set out some stones or

make ¡°stones¡± by opening lunch bags, putting one

bag inside another. Make 20-50 ¡°stones.¡± Pile these

stones in a circle to make a ¡°well.¡± You may also

have a pitcher of water to symbolize the water in

the story. Use any other props you wish to bring the

story to life.

You may want to begin by giving some background

about the traditional relations between Jews and

Samaritans and between men and women. Then the

conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman

becomes even more amazing.

Let the children hear the story without analyzing

it for them or discussing it. For now, simply let the

story sink into their minds and hearts. Later, while

having snacks, you can bring up the story again and

invite the children to talk about it and explore its

message.

? 2014 By Joanna Leiserson. Published by Morehouse Education Resources, . All rights reserved.

Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for use in the purchasing congregation only.

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Lesson 23

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The woman at the well? |

Prayer

Set up a small worship center in

your room.

Materials:

small table with a cloth to cover it

2 candles or a single large Christ candle

matches

Bible

cross

optional: flowers (real, artificial or handmade by

the children)

WEAVING TOGETHER THE FAMILY OF GOD, YEAR 2

Help familiarize the children with our liturgy by

doing the reading as it is done in church. Read as

follows:

Reader: A reading from the book of John:

(Read the selected passage.)

Reader: The word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God.

Read a verse from today¡¯s scripture from a Bible so

that the children connect the story they heard with

the Bible, which is the word of God. If working

mainly with older children, you might expand the

reading to several verses.

Invite the children to sit in a circle and join in prayer.

Say a brief prayer yourself, then invite prayers from

each child in the circle:

¡ö¡ö Invite prayers of thanks for ways in which God

has been present to them during the past week.

Encourage them to notice God¡¯s active role in

their lives in concrete ways, such as receiving

comfort from someone or help when they¡¯re sick.

¡ö¡ö Ask for prayers for anyone who is sick or in

trouble.

¡ö¡ö Recognize birthdays and other celebrations and

give thanks to God for them.

¡ö¡ö End by praying the Lord¡¯s Prayer together.

Suggestions for the readings:

Carefully extinguish the candles.

Have the children set up a simple altar with the

materials listed above. Invite them to place on the

altar any drawings or crafts that they created during

Gathering time. Then light the candles.

For younger children: John 4:10

For older children: John 4:13-14

? 2014 By Joanna Leiserson. Published by Morehouse Education Resources, . All rights reserved.

Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for use in the purchasing congregation only.

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Lesson 23

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The woman at the well? |

Sharing

Pass out snacks and say a

simple grace, such as:

¡ö¡ö Bless this food, Lord, and the people who made it,

who brought it, and who will eat it. Amen.

Or you may invite children to share a favorite grace

from home or camp.

This is an excellent time, while sharing a snack, to

begin talking about the story that the children have

just heard. You may bring up some ideas about the

story of Jesus¡¯ meeting with the woman at the well.

¡ö¡ö How does she compare with Nicodemus?

¡ö¡ö How is she different?

¡ö¡ö How are we like this woman?

WEAVING TOGETHER THE FAMILY OF GOD, YEAR 2

Talk together about baptism and what it means for

how we live. We have received the ¡°spring of living

water gushing up to eternal life¡± through the rite of

baptism.

¡ö¡ö How does our baptism give us life, and continuing

life?

¡ö¡ö Explore with older children what it means to them

to be baptized. How does it affect their identity

(as children of God, as part of the church) and the

choices they make every day?

¡ö¡ö If we saw Jesus resting somewhere and realized

that he is the Messiah, what would we do? The

woman left her water jar and went to town to tell

everyone. Many of the people believed in Jesus

because of her.

¡ö¡ö Would we do that? Why or why not?

¡ö¡ö How did her response change from the beginning

to the end of her conversation with him?

? 2014 By Joanna Leiserson. Published by Morehouse Education Resources, . All rights reserved.

Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this page for use in the purchasing congregation only.

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