The theme of this 3rd Sunday of lent is water. Three people are in need of water: the chosen people, Jesus and the Samaritan woman; but only one among them is the source of the living water. Water is a valuable resource any person can have and be in need of. Only water can truly quest our thirst despite the many drinks available. When we lack it problems arise and complains like in the desert where the people complained to Moses and against God. God provided water through Moses so that the Israelites may continue with their journey and mission out of slavery to the promised land. In this lent we may have complained or criticized about many things like the fast, sacrifices, hunger, thirst, etc, but God is giving us the necessary water for life to continue with repentance till the resurrection day. Most of us who are baptized have abandoned the rod/stick (after subsequent sacraments), which can be useful on our desert journey. With the rod of Gods spirit we can quench our thirst and strike water for others like Moses. In the Gospel Jesus breaks the wall of enmity between Jews and Samaritans, Rabbi and women. The masters of the law never spoke in public with women and the Jews avoided any social contact with the Samaritans. By approaching the woman and asking for water, Jesus strikes the rock to allow the living water flow to all children of God without distinction. How many of us would rather have slept hungry, thirst or in the cold than ask for help from our enemies/neighbors from different tribe, race, status, class, religion? Let us break some traditions of enmity without need of inheriting them to other generations. As a human being Jesus was tired, thirst and hungry. As a person of divine nature he offers himself as the living water and food for life. He represents the face of God who bows down to humanity asking for the ordinary water he himself created. He tests our generosity for the same gift he gave us and wants us to thirst and yearn for his wisdom, love, Holy Spirit and divine life. How many times just in this current season of lent has Christ asked me and you for water? It could have been a neighbor, family member, relative, friend or stranger who needed an ordinary necessity like water, salt, or any other basic need. I was thirsty, hungry, naked, sick, imprisoned, homeless and you......? Jesus had no rope or bucket to get the water from the well, but wants to use our rope, hands, bucket and efforts to draw us closer to God. He lives our human condition and makes us desire for the divine. Jesus borrows water from us to use the same to cleanse us from our iniquities. Once we have God as our food and drink for life, we shall desire no more for any other water or food. Drinking and eating all kinds of food which exist in this planet without feeding the soul with the living water and food for life, is killing ourselves eternally; while feeding the soul with food and water from the spring of life, even if in reality we starve from hunger, we shall only die temporarily and live eternally. Only when we drink from the living spring can we tell Jesus the truth about our private life like the Samaritan woman. Drinking this living water we shall worship God in spirit and truth, doing away with superficiality, walls of tribalism/culture, partisanship, richness or poverty. Jesus has planted the seed of his word in us and what remains is for us to do the will of the Father and participate in the harvest. During our meals we have some drinks, items or foodstuffs which never lack. Do we have in our menu or table that delicacy which Christ proposes? that living water which quenches our soul, that food which means doing the will of God? Let us not just believe what others tell us about Christ, but seek and yearn to hear by ourselves what he tells us and believe like the Samaritans did.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 18:06:30 +0000
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