Water to Receive. Water to Give . . . 3rd Sunday of Lent
-
Third Sunday of Lent - March 12th, 2023 (Click Here for Readings)
How often have we asked, Is the Lord in our midst or not? Did God ever have to use some earth-shaking sign to wake us up as he did when he had Moses strike the rock at Horeb to quiet the Israelites’ demand for water?
When we allow ourselves to be quenched with God’s “spiritual waters,” we won’t have to test his presence as the Israelites did. We can be confident that our needs and desires will be met in God’s time, not ours. And if we feel God is calling us to a new path in our lives or a “new homeland” as he did with the Israelites, we must maintain our faith to avoid drifting “back to the Egypt” of comfortable mediocrity where Satan would prefer we remained.
God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. As St. Paul writes to the Romans, “His love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” And what an opportunity we have to take advantage of God’s love, not only to satisfy our own needs but to serve and transfer that love to others whom we find in need.
The encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well was the ultimate example of this. A likely outcast from her community, this woman of multiple marriages and distasteful reputation was given the attention and love by Jesus she rarely experienced. Jesus didn’t judge her by appearance or demeanor, but by her heart. Though a Samaritan, hated and considered half-breeds by the Jews, she became a staunch disciple for Jesus after being renewed by whom she was now able to confidently call “The Christ.”
Christ teaches us that God is bigger than our differences; that we are all brothers and sisters and are called to help each other in need with the same love and encouragement as he showed this Samaritan woman.
Though we may at times be rejected in our attempts to serve others as the woman was skeptical of Jesus’ “living water,” these are the times when we must turn to God for his intercession as Moses did when his credibility was questioned by the Israelites.
If we can transfer the waters poured into our heart at baptism to those in need, and treat people with more respect than they deserve as Jesus did with the Samaritan woman, we might be surprised at what we can achieve.
(For more reflections on the Sunday Readings, Go Here)
