A Spring of Water Welling up to Eternal Life
Introduction: May you continue to come to the Source of
life-giving sustenance and partake of Him Who is essential to life.
The readings are read particularly in conjunction with
celebration of the First Scrutiny of the Elect who will be fully received into
the Church through the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. Jesus
continues to offer to us Himself as the source of life, not just earthly life,
but eternal life. He promises to quench our thirst so we do not have to journey
in the hot, dry regions of our life without life-giving water. Jesus challenges
us to look at our life, a life that He knows better than we know ourselves.
Jesus invites us to open ourselves to the ever deepening, faith-filled
relationship with Himself, His Abba-Father, and the Holy Spirit. Let us respond
with continued conversation with our Lord Jesus!
Water. Life-giving water. Ever flowing water. Water, as seen
in today’s readings, reminds us of the gift of faith. Let us dive into the
waters of faith and see how refreshing they can be.
First Reading: Exodus 17:3-7: ‘Give us water to drink.’
Commentary: The
people are journeying through the desert to the south of modern Israel, whose
very name (Negeb) means ‘dry’, and they are consequently ‘tormented by thirst’,
being forced to encamp where there is no water at all. Obviously their faith in
the LORD and in Moses’ leadership failed. On this occasion the LORD allows
Moses to remedy the situation, but their failure is marked by the two
place-names.
Responsorial Psalm 95:1-2. 6-7b. 7c-9: O that today you
would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
The psalm response challenges us not to test God and show
lack of faith as the people did in the desert. If we believe, God will give us
what we need. And then we can sing a joyful song to the LORD.
Second Reading: Romans 5:1-2, 5-8: Love has been poured
into our hearts through the Spirit who has been given to us.
Commentary: Gradually
explaining the mystery of salvation in his great Letter to the Romans, Paul has
outlined a world sunk in evil. Then he meditates on Abraham’s trust in God’s
promises, the same unwavering trust which is our only way to salvation, an
unshaken conviction the God will come to our rescue in our shame and our
failures. But what is the means by which God fulfils his promise of
obliterating the evil which grips the human race? It can only be the obedience
of Jesus, shown in his loving and obedient death on the Cross, which outdoes
the disobedience of the whole human race, represented in Adam’s sin. It is not
the gore and suffering which are in themselves salvific – like a price
paid for human delinquency – but the total extent of the love shown in
unflinching obedience to the Father’s will. It was love for the Father, but
also love for us, for whom he was to establish the Kingship of God on earth.
Paul seems to argue that, though in normal terms we were not worth dying for,
Christ did die for us, just as in his ministry he did not wait for sinners to
repent, but actively and unconditionally called them back to himself.
Gospel: John 4:5-42: ‘A spring of water welling up to
eternal life.’
Commentary: In
this lively dialogue Jesus almost seems to be teasing the Samaritan woman,
deliberately leading her into misunderstanding about what he means by living
water or about the conditions of worship. Nothing daunted, she gives as good as
she gets, replying with a cheeky series of sarcastic questions, gradually
edging nearer to the truth: an open-minded Jew – greater than our father
Jacob – a prophet – and finally acknowledging him as the Messiah.
With its serious message it is a lovely example of Jesus’ willingness to engage
with people as they are, and of his openness with women. On these last three
Sundays of Lent before Palm Sunday in Cycle A, the Church lays before us the
three great symbols of the baptisms which will be celebrated at Easter. This
concerns not only those who will be baptised at the Easter Vigil, but all those
who are invited to renew our baptismal promise and commitment at Easter. Then
we enter afresh into the living and nourishing water of God’s love which
surpasses any food or drink, into the light which enlightens the blind (the
Cure of the Man Born Blind) and true life (the Raising of Lazarus).
Reflection: Would you do a favor for someone who snubbed you
or treated you like an enemy? Jesus did just that and more! He treated the
Samaritans, the sworn enemies of the Jews, with great kindness and respect. The
Samaritans who lived in middle region of Israel between Galilee and Judaea and
the Jews who lived in the rest of the land of Israel had been divided for
centuries. They had no dealings with one another, avoiding all social contact,
even trade, and inter-marriage. If their paths crossed it would not be unusual
for hostility to break out.
When Jesus decided to pass through Samaria he stopped at
Jacob's well because it was mid-day and he was both tired from the journey and
thirsty. Jacob's well was a good mile and a half from the nearest town, called
Sychar. It wasn't easy to draw water from this well since it was over a hundred
feet deep. Jesus had neither rope nor bucket to fetch the water.
When a Samaritan woman showed up at the well, both were
caught by surprise. Why would a Samaritan woman walk a mile and a half in the
mid-day heat to fetch her water at a remote well rather than in her local town?
She was an outcast and not welcomed among her own townspeople. Jesus then did
something no respectable Jew would think of doing. He reached out to her, thus
risking ritual impurity and scorn from his fellow Jews. He also did something
no strict Rabbi would dare to do in public without loss to his reputation. He
treated the woman like he would treat one of his friends - he greeted her and
spoke at length with her. Jesus' welcoming approach to her was scandalous to
both Jews and Samaritans because this woman was an adulteress and public sinner
as well. No decent Jew or Samaritan would even think of being seen with such a
woman, let alone exchanging a word with her!
Jesus broke through the barriers of prejudice, hostility,
and tradition to bring the good news of peace and reconciliation to Jews,
Samaritans, and Gentiles alike. He demonstrated the universality of the gospel
both in word and deed. No one is barred from the love of God and the good news
of salvation. There is only one thing that can keep us from God and his
redeeming love - our stubborn pride and wilful rebellion.
What is the point of Jesus' exchange with the Samaritan
woman about water? Water in the arid land was scarce. Jacob's well was located
in a strategic fork of the road between Samaria and Galilee. One can live
without food for several days, but not without water. Water is a source of life
and growth for all living things. When rain came to the desert, the water
transformed the wasteland into a fertile field.
The kind of water which Jesus spoke about was living,
running, fresh, pure water. Fresh water from a cool running stream was always
preferred to the still water one might find in a pool or resevoir. When the
Israelites complained about lack of water in the wilderness, God instructed
Moses to strike the rock and a stream of fresh living water gushed out
(Exodus17:6 ). Even though the Israelites did not trust God to care for them in
the wilderness, God, nonetheless gave them abundant water and provision through
the intercession of his servant Moses.
The image of "living water" is used throughout the
scriptures as a symbol of God's wisdom, a wisdom that imparts life and blessing
to all who receive it. "The teaching of the wise is a fountain of
life" (Proverbs 13:14). "Living water" was also a symbol for the
Jews of thirst of the soul for God. The water which Jesus spoke of symbolized
the Holy Spirit and his work of recreating us in God's image and sustaining in
us the new life which comes from God. The life which the Holy Spirit produces
in us makes us a "new creation" in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Do you thirst for God and for the life of the Holy Spirit within you?
Hippolytus (170-236 AD), an early Christian writer and
theologian who lived in Rome, explains the significance of the Holy Spirit's
work in us:
"This is the water of the Spirit: It refreshes
paradise, enriches the earth, gives life to living things. It is the water of
Christ's baptism; it is our life. If you go with faith to this renewing
fountain, you renounce Satan your enemy and confess Christ your God. You cease
to be a slave and become an adopted son. You come forth radiant as the sun and
brilliant with justice. You come forth a son of God and fellow-heir with
Christ." (From a sermon, On the Epiphany)
Basil the Great (330-379 AD), a great early Christian
teacher and Greek bishop of Caesarea, speaks in a similar manner:
"The Spirit restores paradise to us and the way to
heaven and adoption as children of God; he instills confidence that we may call
God truly Father and grants us the grace of Christ to be children of the light
and to enjoy eternal glory. In a word, he bestows the fullness of blessings in
this world and the next; for we may contemplate now in the mirror of faith the
promised things we shall someday enjoy. If this is the foretaste, what must the
reality be? If these are the first fruits, what must be the harvest?"
(From the treatise, The Holy Spirit)
Lord Jesus, my soul thirsts for you. Fill me with your Holy
Spirit that I may always find joy in your presence and take delight in doing
your will.
Daily Quote from the Early
Church Fathers: The Living Water
of the Spirit, by John Chrysostom, 347-407 AD
Sometimes Scripture calls the grace of the Spirit
"fire," other times it calls it "water." In this way, it
shows that these names are not descriptive of its essence but of its operation.
For the Spirit, which is invisible and simple, cannot be made up of different
substances... In the same way that he calls the Spirit by the name of
"fire," alluding to the rousing and warming property of grace and its
power of destroying sins, he calls it "water" in order to highlight
the cleansing it does and the great refreshment it provides those minds that
receive it. For it makes the willing soul like a kind of garden, thick with all
kinds of fruitful and productive trees, allowing it neither to feel despondency
nor the plots of Satan. It quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
(HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.1)
Jesus loves the unlovable: “Come
and see Someone Who told me everything I ever did! Could this not be the
Messiah?” —John 4:29
Meeting Jesus is unlike meeting anyone else. When we meet
Jesus, we meet Someone Who loves us more than all others who have ever loved us
combined. Jesus loves us perfectly and infinitely.
Also, when we meet Jesus, we meet the Person Who knows
everything about us. For example, He knows if we have tried to have five
husbands or wives and if the ones we’re with now are our spouses (Jn 4:18).
Jesus knows our sins and perversities — the most shameful things we have done
(see Heb 4:13). The Samaritan woman said that Jesus knew and told her
everything she had ever done (Jn 4:29).
It is rare to love anyone deeply, even to laying down our
lives, “though it is barely possible that for a good man someone may have the
courage to die. It is precisely in this
that God proves His love for us: that while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us” (Rm 5:7-8). Jesus knows all the bad things about us, and nevertheless
loves us with a crucified love. He loves unconditionally. Deep down, this is
what we all want. We want to be loved and to be secure in that love. We want to
know that we will always be loved no matter what. Jesus alone meets our deepest
human need — to be loved unconditionally. Jesus is Love (1 Jn 4:16).
Prayer: Father, may the catechumens receiving the
Scrutinies today be secure in Your love. “Many Samaritans from that town
believed in Him on the strength of the woman’s word of testimony: ‘He told me
everything I ever did.’” —Jn 4:39. Praise Jesus, crucified and risen Love!
Praise Jesus, Light shining in darkness! (see Jn 1:5)
The personal action for
today: How have I experienced the
Lord Jesus’ gift of life-giving faith? Have I sought to dialogue with the Lord
Jesus in order to grow in my awareness of the gift of faith that God gives me?
How have I been willing to share my faith with those around me, so that they
can be brought into the life-giving relationship with the Lord Jesus and His
Abba-Father, in union with Holy Spirit?
Saint John of God: Having given up active Christian belief while a
soldier, John was 40 before the depth of his sinfulness began to dawn on him.
He decided to give the rest of his life to God’s service and headed at once for
Africa where he hoped to free captive Christians and, possibly, be martyred.
Saint John of God was soon advised that his desire for
martyrdom was not spiritually well based, and returned to Spain and the
relatively prosaic activity of a religious goods store. Yet he was still not
settled. Moved initially by a sermon of Saint John of Avila, he one day engaged
in a public beating of himself, begging mercy and wildly repenting for his past
life.
Committed to a mental hospital for these actions, John was
visited by Saint John of God, who advised him to be more actively involved in
tending to the needs of others rather than in enduring personal hardships. John
gained peace of heart, and shortly after left the hospital to begin work among
the poor.
He established a house where he wisely tended to the needs
of the sick poor, at first doing his own begging. But, excited by the saint’s
great work and inspired by his devotion, many people began to back him up with
money and provisions. Among them were the archbishop and marquis of Tarifa.
Behind John’s outward acts of total concern and love for
Christ’s sick poor was a deep interior prayer life which was reflected in his
spirit of humility. These qualities attracted helpers who, 20 years after
John’s death, formed the Brothers Hospitallers, now a worldwide religious
order.
Saint John of God became ill after 10 years of service, but
tried to disguise his ill health. He began to put the hospital’s administrative
work into order and appointed a leader for his helpers. He died under the care
of a spiritual friend and admirer, Lady Ana Ossorio.
The utter humility of John of God, which led to a totally selfless dedication to others, is most impressive. Here is a man who realized his nothingness in the face of God. The Lord blessed him with the gifts of prudence, patience, courage, enthusiasm, and the ability to influence and inspire others. He saw that in his early life he had turned away from the Lord, and, moved to receive his mercy, John began his new commitment to love others in openness to God’s love.
