3rd Sunday of Lent
My dear parishioners,
God is Good!!! All the time!!! And all the time!!! God is Good!!!
The departure from Egypt was just the beginning of Israel’s journey of faith. As they make their way, there are challenges to face that provide them with opportunities to display trust in God. Such trust will be absolutely necessary for them to eventually enter the Promised Land.
The story of Jesus encountering a Samaritan woman at a well in Samaria is filled with drama and extensive dialogue. Technically, this narrative is a “recognition story,” a story whose purpose is to show that coming to full recognition of Jesus’ true identity as Messiah is a process that happens over time. Here there are three steps. a) Jesus is referred to merely as “Sir.” b) The woman comes to understand Jesus as a “prophet.” c) She has full recognition of Jesus as the “Messiah.”
Jesus and the Samaritan woman. The main characters of the story are Jesus and a Samaritan woman. Jews and Samaritans had been enemies since the fall of the northern kingdom. This antagonism reached violent proportions by 200 BCE. All of this is in the background as Jesus insists on going through Samaria and stopping at Sycar, where he went to the well. A Samaritan woman came to the well and Jesus immediately asked her for a drink. Jesus is the assertive one in the dialogue. She knows he is a Jew and that he should not be talking to a woman who is alone and definitely not a Samaritan woman at any time for any reason.
Living water. The lengthy dialogue that follows centers on Jesus claiming that he is living water and the Samaritan woman not being able to get below the surface and understand what he means. The woman thinks Jesus is talking about some kind of magic water that perpetuates itself. He is actually talking about himself. All the woman can say is, “Sir, give me this water . . .“ She has missed the point and the revelation of who Jesus is.
Could he be the Christ? Jesus astounds the Samaritan woman by disclosing that she has had five husbands plus a current partner. He is not interested in judging the woman. How could he possibly know this information? The woman at first acknowledges that he must be a prophet. The dialogue continues over authentic places to worship and the coming Messiah. At this point Jesus clearly reveals to the woman that “I am he.” With this revelation the woman recognizes who Jesus really is. Jesus stayed on two more days with the Samaritans. God’s kingdom is open to all believers, including Samaritans.
Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Aloysius