A BIT OF JESUS EACH DAY- DAY 252 HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT In the first Sunday of Lent we spoke about temptation and in my homily I used the acronym ACID and BASE. I said that temptation is ACID; (A) refers to the fact that temptations can happen anywhere, anyhow, anyplace, anytime, any day, to anybody, in anyway; (C) means confusion, temptation is a CONFUSION of identity and desires; (I) Temptation is ILLUSIVE, i.e. deceptive; and finally (D) temptation leads to death. The BASE means “Be always seeking eternal life” and by that we can deal with temptations. In the 2nd week of Lent we reflected on the transfiguration of Christ and we focused our attention on the need for change in our Christian life. And so applying principles of science, when an acid reacts with a base there is a change. For instance when the acid HCl reacts with a base (NaOH), the product is water (H2O) and salt (NaCl) i.e. HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) → NaCl + H2O. On this 3rd Sunday of Lent our readings focus on water, and so we would focus on the theme of living water. The Church draws our attention to the symbolism of water because on this day those who are to receive baptism on Holy Saturday are scrutinized. In ordinary life there is no substitute for water, water is indispensable for survival. When you are hot and thirsty no drink can satisfy your thirst. Water is also abundant in the world but it is scarce in some nations. But interestingly in places where there is abundance of water people do not drink it as they should. Do you drink a lot of water? How much water do you drink each day? Most experts agree that we should drink about eight or nine glasses of water a day but sometimes we do not. About water also we can say it is some sort of a duality commodity; it can remain stagnant or flow, it can grow or destroy, it can get dry or flooded. So the symbolism of water is common to us that it wouldn’t be difficult to relate it to Christ, who is the source of living water. The first reading from the Book of Exodus recounts the complaint of the Israelites in the wilderness. After the people had seen the miracle of the manna (Exo 16), they now chide Moses for the lack of water. It is difficult to understand why the people did not trust that the God who provided them with food could give them water as well. But like many of us when we are in need, we forget about the miracles of the past and only grumble about the lacking of the present. So in their thirst the Israelites grumbled, God did not punish them but rather drew them to himself by providing them with water. In the gospel about the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman we see the symbolism of water. From the text we are told that the encounter between Jesus and the woman was at the well. For the ancient people the well was the centre of their life. During the dry summer the well was their main source of water. The next detail about the encounter is that it was between a Jew and a Samaritan. The people of Samaria were not liked by the Jews because they were a mixed blood after the conquest by the Assyrians and they had their own temple on Mount Gerizim. But at the well, the need for the water was the starting point for reconciliation between ‘enemies’. Jesus asked the woman for a drink but she responded with a reminder of the enmity between Jews and Samaritans: “You a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan for water?” The response Jesus gave: “If only you knew who was asking you for water…” led the woman to realise that Jesus was offering her something more than ordinary water. Jesus then capitalizes on the physical thirst as an occasion to address the deeper thirst of the Samaritan woman. Jesus makes the woman to understand that what satisfies the real thirst of man was the new life he offers, a living spring inside man. By admitting her past failures in her relationships, she experiences the reconciliation of Christ and that propels her to spread this good news to others. The central point of this encounter therefore is that the living water which Jesus offers is a water of reconciliation with God irrespective of our past. The living water washes clean and gives each man a new beginning in Christ. The living water breaks barriers and opens the doors of friendship. Just as the Samaritan woman received a new beginning by experiencing the living water, Christ, we are called to the experience of that living water. Water here is an acronym which means WILLING ALWAYS TO EMBRACE RECONCILIATION. Reconciliation simple means to come back to God, to align our lives and wills with his. We must be willing to always embrace reconciliation because it is the nature of God to reconcile humanity to him. God takes the initiative for reconciliation. In the first reading the Israelites grumbled but God loved them and gave them water because by love he reconciles. In the gospel Jesus took the initiative to offer the Samaritan woman what she didn’t initially even ask for, living water. We must live with the truth that it is God who reconciles us to himself first, therefore the need for us to embrace this gift of reconciliation from God. Christ died for us while we were still sinners. It is also important to will to embrace reconciliation because each one of us has a thirst that only God can satisfy. Jesus was the only one who knew the inner wounds of the Samaritan woman; he knew her thirst for happiness. Her hurts and thirsts for happiness was a deep as the well she came to draw water from. All of us have some thirst for God in us and that thirst is only quenched by a daily conversion to God, a daily reconciliation. But you see to be reconciled we must have the capacity for dialogue. When we look at the gospel Jesus led the Samaritan woman to faith by dialogue. At first she offered some resistance by mentioning to Jesus the existence of the social enmity between Jews and Samaritans but as the conversation ensued, she forgets about the social barrier and desired the opportunity to attain the living water Jesus offers. As they dialogued she got to know more about herself and about Christ. Dialoguing with Christ leads to a personal discovery of the self and of Christ. In our human relationships whenever we offend someone we talk about it with the person so as to settle issues. In the process we might even get to know more about the person and ourselves. This is exactly the point, the more we talk to God the more we get to know him and thus be reconciled. It is by dialogue that we can lay bare our hurts to God. Jesus revealed the past of the woman and the woman also truthfully lay bare her inner hurts, indeed her past relationships had not satisfied her thirst for happiness and love. Realizing that inner thirst Jesus proceeds to quench her thirst with the living water. As we lay bare our inner desires before Christ in dialogue, which is prayer, he heals our past and gives us a new beginning. In the season of Lent we are called to constant prayer, dialogue with Jesus, whereby we open our hearts to him and allow him to satisfy our thirst with his living water. The Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession is also very important in this regard. Whenever we go for confession we experience God’s mercy and get to know more about ourselves through the counsel of the priest. The willingness to always embrace reconciliation also implies that we must leave something behind after we have encountered Christ, the Samaritan woman left her water jar behind. Many interpretations have been given to this intriguing detail mentioned in the gospel, in our context of reconciliation our water jars could be obstacles that block our relationship with God and neighbour. Someone wrote that LENT means Leaving Every Negative Thing. Some of us are carrying water jars of bitterness, hatred, disappointment, past failures, all these must be left behind after our encounter with Christ. After we have been reconciled to Christ, it is important that we extend the invitation to others as well. The Samaritan woman did not have the faith of Abraham neither did she possess adequate knowledge about Christ, all she had was the joy of being reconciled and she throws the invitation to others “come and see”. If you have someone you need to be reconciled to, please go and do so. Invite the person to experience the power of the living water that reconciles all humanity. All of us have a thirst within. That thirst can be quenched by Christ, the living water. When we are reconciled with him, our thirst is quenched and our lives made whole.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 19:15:06 +0000
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