Today’s gospel is rich in symbolism. It begins in an unassuming way, Jesus came to
a Samaritan city and, tired by his journey, was sitting by the well. We should note that Jesus was tired – ‘a sign
of his true humanity’ which can be seen as a prelude to his Passion (Benedict
XVI). Wells in the Old Testament times
were traditionally places of encounter, almost like a courtship – a place of
encounter between individuals who would later be married. So here we have Jesus, tired out from his
journey, sitting by this place of encounter.
He is thirsty, not just for water, but for faith. This theme of thirst will come up again later
in John’s gospel where Jesus will cry from the cross, “I thirst”. While this thirst does have a physical
component Jesus’ words go further and ‘imply a thirsting for the woman’s faith
and for the faith all mankind (Pope Benedict XVI)’. The woman’s curiosity is piqued – ‘How is it that
you, a Jew, ask me a Samaritan for a drink?’
The text tells us that Jews and Samaritans share nothing in common. Jews and Samaritans in fact shared a common
lineage up to a certain point in history, they are descendants from the same
people – however, by the time of Christ, a long-standing divide existed between
them. Jesus goes on to talk of ‘living
water’ – this ‘living water’ that he would give if he were to be asked. Again the woman is cautious but interested in
finding out more - ‘You have no bucket and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?’ Jesus does not directly answer her question
but tells her that this water will become in the one who possesses it ‘a spring
of water gushing up to eternal life.’
Her response is simple: ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be
thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’
The water in the gospel story
“clearly” refers to the sacrament of baptism, “the source of new life for the
faith in the grace of God.” The water represents the Holy Spirit, the gift “par
excellence” that Jesus brings to man from God the Father.
“Each one of us can take the
place of the Samaritan woman. “Jesus waits for us, especially in this time of
Lent, to speak with us. Let us pause for a moment in silence in our room, or in
a church or in a secluded place.”
“Listen to his voice that tells
us ‘If you knew the gift of God…’,”
He closed with the prayer: “May
the Virgin Mary help us not to miss this event, on which depends our true
happiness.” - Pope Benedict XVI
After this initial encounter – when the Samaritan woman says
– give me this water Jesus asks her to call her husband. She responds by saying, I have no
husband. Jesus responds, ‘You are right
in saying ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands and the one you
have now is not your husband. What you
have said is true!’ The woman, rather
than being scared away or accusing Jesus of judging her simply says, ‘Sir, I
see you are a prophet.’ In other words,
I see that you know the truth of my situation – you see into the disorder of my
life clearly, without being told by another – you have spoken the truth to
me. She says to him, “I know the Messiah
is coming” – when he comes he will also see into all truth. Jesus says to her, “I am he, the one who is
speaking to you.” Without another word
this woman of questionable reputation leaves her water jar and goes to spread
the word about Jesus. She leaves her
water jar, that is, her old life, and pursues the new, telling others about
Jesus, saying to them, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever
done! He cannot be the Messiah can
he?” Through her sharing many came to
believe. And then through that event many
more came to believe because they asked Jesus to stay with them; and he stayed
there two days. Then they said to the
woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have
heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the
world.” Here we see the grace of God’s
spirit at work through Jesus – as his thirst is met with that of other
thirsting souls – thirsting to know the truth, thirsting to be known, thirsting
to be in the presence of God. This is
the grace given to us through our baptism and we pray that through our Lenten
observance that our baptismal graces may once more be renewed. That we, in a sense, might leave the water
jar of our old life and pursue the new, telling others about Jesus. We pray that this new water, which bubbles up
to eternal life may come to rest within us by the gift of the Savior, who comes
to console us in our moments of collapse and tiredness along the road of the
cross. As the second reading reminds us,
“rarely will anyone die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good
person someone might actually dare to die.
But God proves his love for us that while we were still sinners Christ
died for us.” Christ has not abandoned
us along the road of our lives but rather He seeks us out, be it in the good or
evil circumstances of our lives. He is
like the one sitting by the well, attempting to woo our love, attempting to wed
us to himself and his Church. Seeking to
dialogue with us through the Scriptures, through the sacraments, through our
everyday lives. All too often we are
like the people of the first reading who quarrel and test the Lord, saying, “Is
the Lord among us or not?” But the Lord
understands even this. Just know that He
is reaching out to you today, through the grace of baptism, seeking to reawaken
in you his deep love; deeper than the waters of any ocean and more mighty than
the surging of the sea. We, each one of
us, are the woman at the well, and Jesus approaches us each time we gather at
the Eucharist to infuse us with new life, to convict us to turn away from sin
in our lives and to be faithful to the gospel.
As we continue our Lenten journey may we do so with a renewed sense of
his concern and call to conversion in our lives.
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