As we all know the corona virus pandemic is ongoing and throughout the world many Churches are taking precautions and we here in Northern Ireland where I live are no different. Many people out there are panic buying and believe it or not Toilet Rolls are the hard to get thing such is the panic !!!! But for all of this we need to look out for one another and follow the guidance of the Government and Church authorities wherever we are in the world. We are also asked to look out for those who are vulnerable in our communities especially the Old and those who are unable to get around who might have other health worries as well.
As we continue our journey of prayer for lent we come to the 3rd Sunday and our gospel story for this weekend tells us about the Samaritan woman at the well. One of the responses for the Easter Vigil is with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation and this sums up what the reading from johns gospel is about. It is about the great joy that comes from being a Christian a believer in the good news of the Gospel. Jesus breaks the law to speak to a Samaritan woman who had come to Jacob’s well to draw water.
What a surprise it must have been to her, when Jesus, tired, hungry and thirsty, asks her for a drink of water! He broke all the rules in speaking to her. Now, He keeps on talking, ignoring her hostility, aware that, in this unexpected encounter, the Father has provided Him with an opportunity for piercing the heart of this sinful woman with His love and also leaving an example for all those who thirst. Jesus suggests that He can give her living water that is far superior to anything she had ever tasted. Certainly her five husbands haven’t brought her what she is really looking for. We know that she had tried cheap love, and we presume she was no stranger to intoxication, power, and money! This isn’t a gentle lady who comes to draw water from the well, but a toughened cynic. Cynical with the world around her in her time as so many are cynical in our modern world for many different reasons. Jesus forgets His own needs, and offers this woman living water that is spiritual grace. Finding her heart curious and open to this miraculous water, He proceeds to raise her vision. He asks her to go back and bring her husband to the well with her. Of course, this is the turning point of the story. When He confronts her with the truth, she could have flounced off in righteous indignation and denial as many people do when confronted with the truth but she doesn’t.
In true humility, she accepts the reality of her life. Because of her humility, Jesus floods her soul with grace. Dropping her bucket, she runs back to spread the good news. “I’ve found the Messiah!” And she had! Lent is a time for us to let Jesus satisfy our thirst for the truth. Like the Samaritan woman, we too have tried the wrong kinds of water to quench our thirst for happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind without really finding it. Lent is the time for us to find real joy and satisfaction of letting the Lord fill us with the grace in order to fully enjoy the season of Easter so that we can say “I’ve found the Messiah!”. The Samaritan woman reminds those who doubt, or struggle with faith that all of us are like that we all have doubts about our faith but we are asked to stay in a conversation with Christ. The Samaritan woman at the well came looking for physical water and found Jesus, the “living water,” who would quench her thirsty spirit. May we find joy at the wells of salvation brought to us through Jesus Christ as we go forward during Lent to Easter.
Fullerton T 