Homily for 12 March 2023




On this 3rd Sunday of Lent Year A the readings show us the difference in the nature of God and that of human beings and the significance of the living water offered by Jesus in our life.

The first reading taken from the book of Exodus is a narrative set in the wilderness when the people are making their way towards the promised land. The main issue in this narrative is the scarcity of drinking water. We could call the Israelites impatient grumblers for constantly complaining, but drinking water is a necessity for survival. They lash out against Moses and blame him for endangering their lives. In response to Israel’s murmuring, God stages a miracle. Moses is asked to take his staff in his hand and strike the rock, and water comes out of it, for the people to drink.

It is unfortunate, however, that the Israelites forget all that God had done for them till then. God rescued them from the hands of the Egyptians, made a way through the Red Sea, and provided for their needs on their journey through the desert. They still do not trust God. They had still not learnt an important lesson: when God leads, God will provide. This narrative bears witness to the faithfulness and graciousness of God. Do we continue to trust in the providence of God when things get tough or is our faith limited to only the good times?

In the second reading taken from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, we get a further glimpse into the nature of God. Paul emphasizes that the only way to salvation is to be justified by grace through faith. Through the loving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross we have peace with God and grace gained by faith. Paul describes the greatness of God’s love. It is love given to the undeserving, to those without strength, to the ungodly, to sinners. God is the initiator. God’s love is a love beyond human understanding. The highlight of the life of Jesus isn’t that He died, but rather it is whom He died for – undeserving sinners.

In the gospel passage taken from John, we have the famous narrative of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Unlike the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke the gospel of John is more spiritual and symbolic and therefore there are different layers of meaning which have to be uncovered through the circular style of writing that is used in the gospel. Jesus is presented as tired from the journey and therefore sitting by the well. This represents Jesus in his humanity, as a man subject to the struggles of life. In the first part, we have the motif of water. Jesus leads the discussion about physical water to a higher level by offering the woman the gift of “living water”.

What is the significance of ‘living water’? Most scholars interpret this reference to the living water in terms of Jesus’ revelation or teaching, or else as the spirit communicated by Jesus. In the book of Jeremiah the prophet raises the fundamental objection that Israel has forsaken its fountain of ‘living waters’ - God, and dug out cisterns that can hold no water (Jer 2:13). This teaching is directed to the northern tribes of Israel i.e. to those who belonged to the Kingdom of Samaria. The main accusation is the worship of pagan cults and there is a stress on the need of faithfulness in the relationship with Yahweh. Jeremiah aims to restore the unique relationship between Israel and Yahweh which is described as that of a bride and a bridegroom. The bride, the Samaritan woman, requests the living water from Jesus, the Son of God, the bridegroom.

The second part of the narrative continues with this theme of marriage. It is important to note that Jesus in addressing the Samaritan woman uses plurals indicating that the Samaritan woman serves as a spokesperson of the Samaritan people. The woman’s personal history matches her national history. We know that Samaria was a land where colonists from five foreign nations had been brought in by the Assyrians in 722-721 B.C. (cf. 2 Kgs 17,24). The reference to 5 husbands could be a metaphor for the gods worshipped by the Samaritans before they returned to the worship of Yahweh. The number “five” could also be seen as an allusion to the Pentateuch, which the Samaritans considered as inspired Scripture. The reference to the sixth man could be seen as an infidelity to the Pentateuch, the syncretistic mode of worship prevalent among the Samaritans. From “false husbands” the woman is led slowly to the “true husband” and from “false Gods” she is led to the “true God”.

Jesus introduces a new order of things appropriate to the messianic era. True worship is no longer to be confined to the holy places revered by the Samaritans and the Jews. The true worship of God as Father will be done in spirit and truth. The worship is to be based on a relationship with a person rather than based on a place.

What lessons can we draw for our lives from the readings? The Samaritan woman was more focused on the physical water which would quench her thirst instead of the living water which would give her eternal life. Similarly, we too are more focused on looking for the wrong things in the wrong places. We spend most of our lives looking for happiness and pleasure in material things and people. However, what happens once we achieve what we desire? A brief moment of happiness is followed by a sense of emptiness and we set our sight on the next object of desire. Happiness and pleasure through material things is only temporary. A long-lasting joy comes only through true worship and closeness with Jesus Christ. I pray that during this season of Lent, we continue to trust in the providence of God even when things get tough and seek true joy by coming closer to Jesus who showed how much he loved us by sacrificing his life for us when we were sinners. May God bless us all.

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