The Life of Jesus Advent Calendar - Day 10: Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

Introduction

John 4:1–42 is another of my favourite passages in the Bible. Most of us know what it feels like to be excluded from something at some point in our lives, but this Samaritan woman lived with rejection as a daily reality. She had been through five husbands and was now with a man who wasn’t even prepared to call her his wife. It's no wonder that she came to draw water in the heat of the day, deliberately avoiding those who were likely to scorn her.

Imagine her shock when she arrives at the well and finds Jesus already there waiting - waiting for her. A Jewish man, who by every social and religious convention should have ignored her completely: she was a Samaritan, a woman, and someone with a painful and complicated past. And yet Jesus, who knows the full story of her life before she ever speaks a word, initiates a conversation with her. He asks her for a drink. He dignifies her. He opens to her the promise of living water. It is sheer grace - undeserved, unlooked for, and deeply personal.

What unfolds is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful conversions in Scripture. A woman who had known only exclusion is drawn into the embrace of the true Messiah. The one who knew her fully did not turn away from her; instead, He offered her life.

And the change in her is unmistakable. The very people she had been avoiding only moments before are now the ones she seeks out. She tells them openly about the man who told her everything she had ever done, yet did not reject her. Through her testimony, the whole village is invited to come and meet the Saviour for themselves. Grace received becomes grace shared.

Assembling your stocking

There are two ways to approach the well in this stocking. The simplest way is to cut out the well shape, and then the well insert. I chose to do the well insert in a slight darker colour, to give the well a little depth. Simply stitch the well insert onto the well, to make it look like the well opening. I add brick detail to make it look like a structure - there's a stitching suggestion in my template.

The other method, which I have used for my stocking, is to cut the well insert shape out of the well itself, leaving you with an opening. I then cut out a second well shape in a darker colour, and cut it slightly smaller than the original shape. I then place this down first, with the well on top, so it has a slightly more 3D appearance. You might find it easier to understand by viewing the pictures to the left.

You will recognise the water jars from the previous stocking. In this stocking however, I use a darker shade of grey or brown for the water or wine inserts from the last stocking, to show the jars as empty. I don't think once the woman gets to the well that she has a chance to fill her water jar, and she leaves it to go tell the other villagers about Jesus. But you can choose to add in blue for the water if you like.

I actually forgot to make a proper video for this stocking, so the one on my social media is just a compilation of the photos you'll see here!

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