Transcription
Peace be with you. Friends, for this third Sunday of Lent, you know, we're in cycle A, and that means we get some of the richest readings, uh, of of the Lenton possibilities. Um, this week, the woman at the well. What is it about this story? You know, John's gospel is, um, it's a gospel of high kind of philosophical assertions, but it's also a gospel of conversations, these wonderful lengthy dialogues Jesus has with people. And this one, I think, is a kind of master class in evangelization. So this theme that preoccupies us in the church today, look to the dynamics of this story. And it's also, it's about every one of us, every one of us sinners who are seeking life. I mean, that's what evangelization's about. It's, it's telling starving people where to find bread. It's, it's telling people dying of thirst where to find water. And so it's a story about all of us, I think. So rich.
Look how it begins. Jesus coming to a town of Samaria sits down by Jacob's well. It was about noon. Couple things here. Wells in the Old Testament are twisting places. They're places where people come together who eventually get married. Happened with with Moses. Happens with Isaac and Rebecca. The well is a place of marriage. Ah, it's our first clue. Uh, Jesus, the woman of the well will not be married in the conventional sense. But see, all of us followers of Christ, in a way, we're the bride. He's the bridegroom. Marriage becomes a master symbol of how, uh, the believer and Jesus are united. So watch this as a kind of story of marriage read spiritually.
Secondly, we hear that it's noon. Now, in John's gospel, um, details matter, especially when we're dealing with the theme of light and darkness, which is a key one in John. Noon, the brightest time of the day. Jesus, of course, will call himself the light of the world. And at noon, everybody, when the sun's at its height, that's when you can look all the way down a well. Right? If the sun is oblique to it, you can't really see all the way down. But if it's right overhead, you can see all the way down. I think this special illumination is being signaled here.
So we hear a woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." Very interesting. Now, so the Samaritan woman is going to stand for all of us. What are we all seeking? Life. We're seeking joy. We're seeking peace. Think of the well as a symbol of of our our our quest for what will satisfy us. Who's there? Jesus is already there as she comes seeking water. It's a basic New Testament principle, everybody. Jesus says, "It's not you who've chosen me. I've chosen you." If we're seeking life, it's because in a way life has already found us. Don't think that Jesus is up there out there playing, you know, hard to get with us. No, no, the opposite. He's seeking us. He's after us. He's there to meet us as we go seeking him, even in the wrong way.
Now, watch how it unfolds. His first move is to say to her, "Give me a drink." Ah, the whole spiritual life is there, in a way. Remember I talked about this last week. The the nature of sin is curvous and say it's caved in around myself. It's seeking the goods of the world to fill myself up with them. That'll never work. That will never work. Instead, it's always being called, as I mentioned last week, on an adventure outside of yourself. Let go of yourself. So, what's the first thing the Lord says to her as she's seeking, um, water? Give me something to drink. He's trying to lure her into a stance of generosity. Ah, that's near the heart of the gospel, everybody.
Now, she balks. You know, how can you? You're a man. You're a Jew. And I, I'm a woman. I'm a Samaritan, and I thought you Jews had nothing to do with us. So, she's she's balking at this. And listen what Jesus says. "If you knew the gift of God," mind you, see the gift of God. What's who is God? He's the one who gives. Not not the one who who hoards for himself, but the one who gives. That's why his opening move was give me a drink. When we can be drawn out of ourselves, we start looking like God. See, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
Now, she's thinking undoubtedly with living water, like running water. So, not the kind of crummy water that's that's stagnant at the bottom of the well, but like a deep aquifer. That's what she's probably thinking of. And she's saying, "Oh, you know, look, I'd love that, but you don't have a bucket, and how would you possibly reach it?" And what does Jesus say? "Everyone who drinks this water that you're seeking will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst. The water I shall give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life." I don't know if there are more important and powerful and beautiful words in the entire New Testament than those.
Now we can see see what the well symbolizes. You know, you come to this well and you drink and you get thirsty again. Well, that's the way it goes, everybody, with the goods of the world. Doesn't mean they're they're not goods. They really are. Think of, you know, the the passing things of this world of of wealth and and power and fame and and honor and good reputation, and I mean all these things that we seek. Are they good? Sure. Sure. Sure. And they'll satisfy your thirst briefly, but then I guarantee you'll be thirsty again. Why? Because we're not like dogs. See, dogs have a very narrow, narrow range of interest and and when they get what they want, they're completely satisfied. That's why they they seem so happy most of the time. But we're not dogs because we are designed to hunger and thirst for God. Everything in this world which means less than God is not going to satisfy the hunger of the heart. So we'll be happy. Hey, I got what I've always wanted. I got that job. I got that reward. I got that title. I got the amount of money I've always wanted. Yeah. And you're happy for a time, but then you get thirsty again. That's the way it goes.
I want to give you water that will bubble up in you to eternal life so you'll never be thirsty again. What's the one thing that can possibly satisfy us? Is the divine life. Why? Because the divine life is infinite. It's like this ever-flowing, ever-overflowing stream and source and fountain. Drink all you want from it. It'll keep coming. Drink all you want. It's never going to run out. And see, what's the divine life? Ah, if you knew the gift of God, the mystery of grace, gratzia, what's freely given, God's life is infinite grace. You order your heart toward that grace, you will find it welling up in you to eternal life. Stop seeking the goods of the world. They're not going to satisfy you. But surrender to the gift of God. Ah, you receive the grace and now you give it away. And then you get more and you give that away and then you get more and you give that away and the well bubbles up in you through eternal life. Look, fellow sinners, that's the answer, right? We're looking for the answer. What will satisfy my hungry heart? That's it.
Now, I I mentioned this is a master class in evangelization. She she's being drawn now by Christ into his power. But see, what has to happen to make this grace really flow in her? Well, she's got to deal with some moral issues in her life. Mind you, I know the minute people hear moral issues, they get nervous. Notice he did not start with moral issues. Noah's opening move was one of great friendliness and invitation, right? And then this beautiful description of what he's offering. He didn't begin with, you know, by the way, you're a lousy person. You better get your life straightened out. No, no, no, no, no. And the good evangelist should never begin with, you know, moral reform. That's not going to work. But once he's drawn her in and he's opened up this great possibility, what has to be dealt with? Well, there's a moral block in this lady. So Jesus says, "Go call your husband." "I have no husband," she says. Uh-huh. Says the Lord. "That's right. You've had five and the one you're with now is not your husband." What's he naming painfully? Yeah. This addictive pattern she's been caught in. We begin to see now what it is that she's been searching for for love, but doing it in in the wrong way, in this kind of addictive, manipulative way. Does that have to be dealt with before she can really come to life? Yeah, it does.
And so everybody, in this Lenton season, as we hear the Lord say to us, "I know you've been coming to this well of pleasure, honor, power, whatever it is. I know. And you and you drink and you get thirsty. Yeah, I know. Yes. Yes. I want to give you the water welling up to eternal life." And we say, "Yes, that's what I want." But he's going to say to us in his own way, "But there's a moral block. There's there's something in your life that that's not right. There's something that's going to block the flow of grace." Can we do a searching moral inventory during Lent and find out what that is? What's off in my moral life that has to be dealt with, you know? And so the woman at the well has to come to terms with that.
Well, then she moves the next I love is she starts talking theology. "I see you're a prophet. Well, you Jews say we should worship in Jerusalem. We Samaritans say Mount Gerizim. You know, which one is it?" Well, she's broaching the great theological topic of worship. And you know, I've talked a lot about that. What's at the heart of the whole spiritual life is right worship, ordering your life unto God. And so Jesus says to her, "Look, the time is coming. It's even now we'll worship not in Jerusalem and not on the mountain but in spirit and in truth." What does he mean? He means I'm the focus of your worship. I am the focus of your ultimate concern. Turn your life dramatically and radically over to me and you'll find this grace flowing within you. Marvelous. There's the whole pattern of evangelization. It leads finally to right worship. We Catholics would say it leads to the Mass, which is worshiping in spirit and in truth.
How's this great story end? This woman who at first was, you know, reluctant. She was resistant to the Lord. Once she's understood, she says, "Here's a man who's told me everything I've ever done." Well, she doesn't mean in detail like he's rehearsed every detail of her life. She means, "He's unlocked for me the key. He's He's unlocked for me the mystery of my life. He's shown me the addictive patterns I've been in. He's shown me the way out. He's told me everything I've done and now ought to do." And so, she becomes herself an evangelist. She leaves behind the water jug, right? Her her errant searching, and she goes back into the town to tell everybody about Jesus. What's evangelization? As I said, telling starving people where to find bread, telling people dying of thirst where to find water. That's exactly what she does when she goes back into town and proclaims Jesus. A great Lenton meditation for all of us. We who've been liberated by the Lord. We who found the path through him, leave that water jug behind, that old way of life, and now we go into the world and tell starving people where to find bread. We go into the world speaking of Jesus. And God bless you.