From the Gospel of John    45 

    God wants true worship in spirit and truth. In the course of His ministry, 

Jesus praised some Samaritans for their faith and good works. When Jesus 

healed the ten lepers (Luke 17:11 19), the only one who returned to give 

thanks was a Samaritan. Jesus praised the Samaritan for his faith and held 

him up as an example for Christians everywhere. The other nine who were 

healed were presumably Jews. And so, this passage is also a criticism of 

those Catholics who are lacking in faith and in thanksgiving to God. 

    Again, in the well known story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29 37), 

Jesus praises a Samaritan for his work of mercy. Jesus is referring 

symbolically to Protestants, who do not believe all that the Church teaches, 

but who nevertheless do good works for God. Notice that a priest and a 

Levite both see the man who was robbed and beaten, yet they refuse to help 

him. The priest and Levite represent those members of the clergy and the 

religious life who refrain from doing works of mercy, who ignore those in 

need. 

    Here too, is a lesson for Catholic Christians. It is not enough to believe all 

that the Church teaches, you must also live that teaching. Jesus praises the 

Samaritan for his good work even though the Samaritan followed a different 

version of the Jewish faith than Jesus Himself followed. Though the 

Samaritan was wrong in some of his religious beliefs, Jesus still holds up his 

work of mercy as a good example for Christians of every age. Faith and 

good works are found among Protestants as well as Catholics. 

    Jesus has a conversation  with the Samaritan woman about her five 

husbands and the man who is not her husband (John 4:16 19). This 

conversation refers symbolically to the failure of some of the Protestant 

Churches to fully observe God's commandments on chastity and marriage. 

    Notice that the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman 

takes place at a certain time:  It was about the sixth hour.  (John 4:6). Later 

in this same Gospel, during the account of Jesus' Crucifixion, Holy 

Scripture repeats these same words:  it was about the sixth hour.  (John 

19:14). Clearly, this phrase is meant to connect the story of the Samaritan 

woman with the Crucifixion. 

    What is the connection? It is a commentary on the divisions within the 

Church, discussed symbolically by Jesus and the Samaritan woman, which 

will exist at the time of the Church's Crucifixion (Zechariah 11:13 14). 

Jesus,  wearied as he was with his journey,  (John 4:6) refers to the Church 

wearied by its journey through time. It also means that the unification of 

Christians in one Church occurs during a time of suffering for the Church.