3rd Sunday of Lent year A
“Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again”.
In the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: Amen!
Good morning my brothers and sisters in Christ! Today, as most of you have known by now, is the 3rd Sunday of Lent year A.We have a popular saying that “water is life”.
Today’s first reading and the Gospel reading is about water. We read from the Psalms, “Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God” (Psalms 42:1). Today, the holy Mother Church encourages us to come to Christ the Eternal Living Water. She calls us to break all cultural barriers and prejudices in order to let the eternal living water flow into all hearts. Water is one of the most important requirements for the sustenance of all lives: Humans, Animals or Plants. In fact, according to scientific studies, water makes up to 60 to 75 percent of the total human body fluid. Hence, total withdrawal or extraction of water from any person will result to death. That explains the reason why, the greatest need of the human body perhaps next to air, is water. People can go for days and even months without food, but they can hardly go for seven days (one week) without water. If we had to choose between having light: electricity or water which one would you think we will choose? I believe that most people including myself will choose water. Because of the importance of water in human life, people are prepared to go any length to get it. In fact history has it that nations have gone into war to secure access to water.The first reading, taken from Exodus speaks about the suffering the people of Israel faced in desert during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. The text tells us of complains of their thirst due to lack of water and how God solved their problem of water by asking Moses to strike the rock. As the Hebrews left slavery in Egypt we can imagine how they thought they would have a great future ahead of them. They trusted Moses’ leadership and that God was finally freeing them. But now in the first reading (Ex 17:3-7) we see that all is not going well. We can imagine them saying, “It shouldn’t have been like this.” They are tormented by thirst and they are complaining. Now that they have run out of water they feel that God is distant. They no longer trust God. They complained about why they were in the desert. Moses was afraid that they might even stone him. Instead of trusting in God they did the very opposite, they put God to the test. We know what they earned for themselves by testing God instead of trusting in God; they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land, it was their children or grand children who entered Canaan. Elsewhere Scripture tells us that what happened to them in the desert is a warning to us as we read in 1 Corinthians 10:11 “All this happened to them as a warning and it is written down to be a lesson for those who are living at the end of the age”. May be sometimes we too have murmured because we have focused on what we do not have or what we think we should have, rather than focusing on what God has already done for us. The Hebrews in the desert forgot one fundamental point; God had a plan for them and would see that plan come through. Do we forget that God has a plan for us all and will provide for us? The first reading is not just about the Hebrews in the desert. The first reading is also about us. So when things are not as we think, or when things are not going as they should be, “Keep calm and carry on.” As (World War II poster) would say. “God knows what we really need, not what we think we need, and God knows what will be best for us and for our future”. God is to be first in our lives. God is the one who will make us happy. When things are not as we thought they would be, remember that God has a plan for us.Now, the Samaritan Woman in today’s Gospel reading came to draw water from the well. Jesus told her of another kind of water. He calls it “living water”. What does the living water mean? In the ordinary language of the Jews in the time of Jesus living water simply means running water. It was running water from the stream in contradiction to the water of stagnant cistern or pool. The running water from the stream was always considered by the Jews then, as the best water. But in the Bible, living water had another meaning. It means the water of spiritual life. For instance the Bible often spoke of the thirst of the soul for God: and often spoke of quenching that thirst with living water. In Revelation 21:6 we read, “I will give water from the well of life free to anybody who is thirsty”. And again Revelation 7:17 says “… The Lamb who is at the throne… will lead them to springs of living water”. God’s promise was that he will pour water on the thirsty land” (Isaiah 44: 3). The summons was that everyone who was thirsty should come to the waters and freely drink (Isaiah 55: 1). Jeremiah’s complain was that the people had forsaken God who was the fountain of living waters and had dug themselves out broken cisterns which could hold no water (Jeremiah 2: 13). Ezekiel had had his vision of the river of life (Ezekiel 4 7: 1-12). In the new world there would be a cleansing fountain opened (Zechariah 13: 1). Yes, the water that the woman came to draw is also water of life but of a different kind. It is the water, which sustains only physical life. That gives us good reason why the woman thought that Jesus was talking about the water in the well of Jacob. But Jesus was speaking of a kind of water that sustains not only physical life but also spiritual life. This kind of water does not come from any well. It is not to be found in any river or sea either. That spiritual water can only come from Jesus himself who is God. He is the living water, the true water of life.God also had a plan for this woman of Samaria (John 4:5-42). It seemed just like any other day. She was coming to the well on her own instead of with the other women of the town probably because she may have felt excluded due to her sinful past. There she met Jesus and he knew everything about her, about her past and her marriages. But Jesus also had a plan for her, and that plan was to lead her to him. Instead of the water of her plans, Jesus offered himself as the water to sustain her. Jesus uncovered her past so that what was sinful could be healed. She came to the well bringing a water jar but she found much more than water, so she left her jar by the well and hurried back to the town’s people whom she had been avoiding to tell them that she may have found the Messiah.The lesson from this encounter between Jesus and the woman is that we must not discriminate against people on the basis of their race, culture or sinfulness. Jesus knew quite well who the woman was (a Samaritan) and her life history. Yet, he approached her for a drink. Jesus’ aim was actually, to draw her closer to himself, the Eternal Living Water. Hence, by breaking the silence and going against the social customs, and prejudices between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus becomes the gift of God to this woman and her people. Like Jesus therefore, we must be ready to take risks. This is by challenging the unjust rules of social structures and norms. It is by breaking down walls that exclude people, and by opening up possibilities to others. This is, so that they can experience Christ. Just as the Hebrews in the desert in the first reading are a warning to us, the woman of Samaria is an example to us. By sheer grace, like her, we have heard Jesus offering us living water. Jesus knows all about us, even what we do not want to face. But Jesus wants to give us a new identity in himself, to transform us. Of course this happens above all in baptism which is why the readings today are so appropriate for catechumens and the first scrutiny. But Jesus continues to hold out that offer of grace to us.This story of this woman gives us a glimpse into the power of God’s mercy and love. When Jesus meets this Samaritan woman at a well, he brings up her past: she has had five husbands and is now living with another man out of wedlock. But he doesn’t bring this up to condemn her, humiliate her or make her feel guilty. Rather, he uses this intimate knowledge about her private life to reveal himself to her. If God exposes our sins during lent, let us know that is not to disgrace or humiliate us, but that he might bring us closer to himself: the eternal living water. Notice that this woman is not named. John, the writer of the gospel wanted her to be an example for us who are sinners, people who miss the mark. Slip your name into the blank spot and see that no matter who you are, or what you have done, you are special and loved by God Himself! This is the Good News; this is the Gospel of Jesus. Ordinary ritual like drawing of water can become an extraordinary and transformative life experience. Let us be thirsty and attentive. Jesus can satisfy the deepest thirst of our human soul. Learn how you, yourself, can bring this about. Finally, the mission of Lent is to encounter the Lord Jesus, the eternal living water to dialogue with him and have a new life in him. The story of the Gospel today teaches us that Jesus awaits us everywhere. He is never tired of looking for us. Because he loves us, he looks after us like a father. That is the Good News Jesus brought. God loves us so much that he likes to be with us always. Therefore Christian life without Christ is empty. Christ is the source of the ‘Living water’. His spirit enlivens us. It is the spirit of selfless love and service. He quenches the thirst of all who go to him. Union with him means fullness of life. It is out of this conviction that Paul said: “For me to live is Christ, and to die is a gain.” (Phil. 1:21) Let this also be our conviction during this Lenten period. Happy third Sunday of Lent!
+Ab Matthew Audu Jos
