Today, 29 May 2016, the 5th Sunday after Easter, His Grace Timotei Prahoveanul, Assistant Bishop to the Archdiocese of Bucharest, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at Radu Vodă Monastery in Bucharest.
After reading the Gospel text of the day (John 4:5-42), His Grace Timotei Prahoveanul delivered a sermon in which he showed that the text read in all the places of worship of the Romanian Patriarchate was a story full of teachings by which Jesus Christ, our Saviour, revealed Himself as Messiah to a woman belonging to another people, showing us that the nations could be saved too.
Jesus Christ, our Saviour, shows openness to the children of Israel, as well as to the foreign nations. He passes through Samaria and stops at James’ fountain. There, a Samaritan woman comes up and Jesus asks her to give Him some water to drink. The woman is surprised to see a Jew in front of her asking something. It is well known that a Judean was not allowed to talk at that time with a Samaritan man, so much the less with a woman. The Samaritan woman realises that the Man in front of her was not an ordinary one, because Jesus Christ, our Lord, revealed her personal details, which only she knew, His Grace explained.
The Gospel text of the 5th Sunday after Easter, also called of the Samaritan woman, reminds us that Jesus Christ has come for all people, sharing us the Living Water and speaking about the Holy Spirit who will be bestowed upon all those who believe and pray in spirit and truth, His Grace has also shown.
On that day, His Grace Timotei Prahoveanul ordained the young theologian Dragomir Ionuţ–Ştefănel as deacon for Saint Dumitru–Colentina parish, Bucharest District 2 Deanery.
