Daily Lectionary: Genesis 24:32-52, 61-67; Mark 8:1-21

"And this day I came to the well and said, ‘O Lord God of my master Abraham, if You will now prosper the way in which I go, behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water, and I say to her, "Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink."'"(Genesis 24:42-43)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. There's something in the water when it comes to wells in the Bible. In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant to find a bride from among his kinsmen for his son Isaac. Eventually, the servant returned home to Isaac with his bride-to-be, Rebekah. Later on, in Genesis 29, Isaac's son, Jacob, meets his future wife, Rachel, at--you guessed it--the well. 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman, an outsider, at, of all places, a well. Only this time, the Offspring of Abraham isn't at the well to find a bride, but to show this woman, and all who call on His Name, that He is our heavenly Bridegroom, come to save us all by His life, death, and resurrection. 

At the well in John 4, Jesus is fulfilling the promise God made to Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all believers of all time and place. Jesus is that Promised Seed, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Bridegroom who has come to save us, His lost, wayward, faithless Bride. Jesus sat next to that Samaritan woman at the well, not only for her sake, but for yours as well. 

"Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:13,14).

The well of Genesis 24 gives way to a far deeper well, where the water of life flows freely out of Jesus' wounded side on the Cross. Water and blood flows into the font and the chalice. And out of this wellspring of eternal life Jesus makes for Himself a Holy Bride: you, His baptized, beloved people. Indeed, there's something in the water of your Baptism: the Word and promise of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, by our baptism into the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ, you turned us from the old life of sin: Grant that we, being reborn to new life in him, may live in righteousness and holiness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

-Rev. Samuel Schuldheisz is pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Milton, WA.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Learn more about your favorite hymns and find the deeper meaning behind the text with Eternal Anthems: The Story Behind Your Favorite Hymns. The book includes devotional commentary and historical facts from forty different contributing authors on fifty different hymns. Now available from Concordia Publishing House.