Browsing by Author "Pattath, Joseph"

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    An Encounter of Jesus With the Samaritan Woman as A Model for Mission Today: John 4:4-42
    (Tangaza University College, 2005) Pattath, Joseph
    Jesus is the one sent by the Father to reveal the Father to humanity and to share with us his life. In Christ, God allows himself to be represented: "the messenger is a fully accredited representative of the one who has sent him" (Jn 14:9-10). In the encyclical Evangelii Nuntiandi Pope Paul VI tells that Jesus Christ is the model of evangelization. Jesus is going to another culture to invite the people into the Kingdom of God (in 4:4-42). Jesus' words and deeds directed people to this Kingdom. And this same Jesus, the first missionary sent by God the Father had told his disciples "to learn from me" (Mt 11:29), and to do what he had done; "this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mk 14:24). So, in this dimension Jesus is the best example for missionary work, Jesus said, "for I have set you an example" On 13:15). The New Testament contains four distinct Gospel portraits of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus. All four Gospels attempt to bring the good news of the story of Jesus to the needs of a particular community. Each Gospel deals with the meaning of Jesus' identity and mission in its own way. The forniative issue for the Gospel of John seems to have been the question: who is Jesus? The Gospel narrative is an attempt to provide fresh answers to this question. It seeks to move the reader away from overly confident assumptions, false certitudes, and complacency about Jesus' identity. It offers each reader of the gospel the opportunity to discover Jesus for himself or herself. This purpose, to lead the reader to his or her own experience of Jesus, accounts for the distinctive literary style of John. The use of the extensive dialogues between Jesus and other characters would help to open the story to the reader's own experience. For John the dialogue is a means of Jesus' revelation of himself. Women play significant role in the Gospel of John. This significance is evident both in the number of stories on which woman appear and in the theological importance of those stories. Women are Jesus' main conversation partners in three stories that reveal Jesus' identity (4:4-42; 7:53-8:11; 11:1-44). And the role of the mother of Jesus is also given an important place at the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Cana (2:1-11). The first chapter of my essay is a study on the origin of the Samaritans, their religious status and the relationship between Samaritans and Jews. Then, my concern is to bring out how were the Samarians treated in the synoptics. We also will uncover the understanding of Samaritans about themselves. And my attempt, in this chapter, is to show how much importance is given to understand the identity of Jesus, using different symbols. The second chapter is dedicated to the detailed exegetical analysis of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4:4-42. The whole chapter deals with the dialogue of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. I set the conversation under different stages and show how did the conversation influenced her conversion. The Samaritan woman's perception of 'who Jesus is' has grown from 'a Jew', through sir' or 'Lord', to 'a Prophet', to 'a Messiah' or Christ' and at last the Samaritans' recognition of Jesus as 'the Savior of the world'. The third chapter is an endeavor to bring forth the climax of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. I see this encounter scene as a excellent model for our missionary work in this modern world. This dialogue —analysis is an attempt to enter into the process of the divine human encounter and its forth coming fruits. Since both Jesus and the Samaritan woman play very important role bringing conversion and faith in God the Father, they can be seen as model for our missionary activities among our own people and among the non-Christians.