All Things Seen & Unseen

Of all the sections in the fourth gospel account (FGA) Jesus' discourse with the Samaritan woman (Jn 4.7-26) fascinates me the most. I t's loaded with material that could keep any teacher at work in any interested group for a good while. The discourse has 3 stages: first, water (vv7-15); then, her ' husband ' (16-19); finally the worship place (20-26). The gospel's question is, Who is Jesus ? The writer focuses on her answers to this question as in each section her understanding becomes greater.

I was speaking with one of the mall charity collectors at our local shopping centre who frequently buttonhole shoppers with pleas to sign up for contributions to all manner of causes.  We got onto the topic of belief in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Who did she think He was? After the collector told me that she wasn't a Christian, she also told me that all religions were the same because they all have a belief in one supreme god.