Sunday, March 12, 2023

 THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

(Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2.5-8; John 4:5-42)

According to an ancient hymn, “We all have secret fears to face; our minds and motives to amend…” However, we don't always want to let go of our sins. We may view them as unimportant, or perhaps we hide them so other people don't think ill of us. In the gospel today we find a person carrying a heavy load of sin. Fortunately, Jesus is there to ease it.

The Samaritan woman doesn't seem stressed when she arrives at Jacob's well at noon. But one may wonder why she comes alone at the hottest part of the day. Why doesn't she come with the other women at a more comfortable hour? Jesus is going to reveal the reason in the conversation that is about to begin. She has had five husbands and now she lives with a man to whom she is not married. She is excluded from the company of other women because of her disordered life. In addition, the hard work of carrying water and her conscience overburdened with guilt increase the difficulty of her life.

Yet Jesus does not judge her. Rather, he initiates a conversation with her. They talk about something they have in common, water. He asks the woman for water from the well. When she responds with surprise, Jesus offers her "living water." Supposedly "living water" is the fresh water that flows from a spring. But Jesus has something else in mind. When saying “living water”, he means the revivifying grace of the Holy Spirit. It is like a charge to a discharged battery. He affords her the opportunity to move from her sinful condition to the freedom of a daughter of God.

Jesus extends to all of us the same opportunity. By the gospel calling us from without and the Holy Spirit moving us from within, Jesus offers us deliverance from our sins. His words awaken us from complacency. In the gospel his words remind the Samaritan of the mess in her marriage situation. In a famous cinema, Jesus' warning that the loss of one's soul is not worth the whole world shakes the conscience of a betrayer. With equal insistence the Spirit urges us to go to confession where our sins are removed like darkness with the first rays of light.

But many times our vices stick to us like bloodsuckers. We know we should make changes, but something within us resists them. We may tell ourselves that the merciful God will forgive our sins. Or possibly we are convinced that our sins are so encrusted that it is not possible to remove them. In the first reading the Israelites resist putting trust in the Lord. They say they were doing better in Egypt with plenty of water than wandering thirsty in the desert. The Samaritan woman tries to change the subject when Jesus mentions her sordid past. She would rather discuss theological differences between Jews and Samaritans than examine her life with the best of counselors.

Jesus does not allow her to avoid the need to repent. He tells her, "...salvation comes from the Jews." That is, he comes from the Jews, and both we and she must face the truth of our lives before him. But he has not come to punish us for our faults. Rather, he has come to save us from them. He is like a doctor who does not blame his cancer patient for smoking but does everything possible to cure him.

Wisely the woman submits to the mercy of the Lord. She leaves her pitcher, the symbol of her sins, behind as she goes to tell others about him. Let us do the same. After confessing our sins, let us tell others of the goodness of the Lord. Let us tell others about Jesus.

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