Believe me, woman...a time is coming and now has come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth...God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4).
What does it mean to "worship in spirit and in truth?" It seems to me that anyone who truly wants to worship God, to know God as he is, will pursue this question. Jesus told the woman at the well that the Jews worshipped what they knew, while the Samaritans did not know what or who they worshipped. The Samaritans, because of their history, had combined the worship of Yahweh with the worship of idols, so they could hardly distinguish between one and the other. They did not worship "in truth," but in the imaginations and the 'doctrines' they had conjured for themselves.
So how, given our personal histories, do we know whether we also worship the imagination of men or whether we worship "in truth"? There is only One Guide to the spiritual life, only One Shepherd of our souls -- and that is Jesus Christ. Only He can lead us to the Father through the Gift of the Holy Spirit, the One He promised to send to lead us into all truth.
The disciples were well-versed in Jewish doctrine and practice when they met Jesus, and yet He constantly surprised them with His revelations: "Lord, where else should we go? You alone have the words of eternal life," said Peter. Even if we are well-studied in Catholic or Protestant doctrine and practice, it is not enough to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. This kind of worship comes only through prayer, through asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and through the humility to be taught from within.
If we ask for the Spirit of true worship, we cannot be deceived for two reasons: (1) Jesus said that if we asked, we would receive; if we knocked, the door would be opened; and if we sought, we would find. Either we believe his words, or we make him out to be a liar. (2) We can "test the spirits" and the revelations we receive by the words of Scripture, for it is the same Spirit who wrote the words on the page and who writes the command of God in our hearts. The two must agree, or else we are deceived by our own voice, or that of another.
Anyone --- anyone --- who comes to Jesus for instruction, for guidance, for revelation will receive what he/she is seeking. Jesus said the hour had now come when true worshippers would worship in spirit and in truth. Why had the hour come, if not because He was the Way to the Father? Anyone who does not enter by Him is a thief and a robber. He did not promise us that our churches would not include thieves and robbers, but only that those who sought to worship in spirit and in truth would not be misled.
If the Samaritan woman, raised in part-truth and part paganism, could meet Jesus and through Him come to the truth, any one of us, regardless of tradition or background, can do the same thing. He promised "living water" to those who believed in Him, so that they would never thirst again. Can we, like the woman at the well, beg for this water, which is the bubbling-up, ever-refreshing Holy Spirit?
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