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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