The Living Water
The Living Water....
The Living Water….
This weekend the readings are centered on the living water: Sacrament of Baptism and new life. The first reading, from the Book of Exodus chapter 17, tells us the story of Israelites complaining about their thirst. In the previous chapter, they had complained that Moses brought them to the wilderness to die of hunger (16:3). Here they grumbled that Moses meant for them to die of thirst. So, Moses asked the LORD, “What shall I do with this people?” Moses followed God’s instruction and strikes the rock. In Deuteronomy 32 in Moses’ song, he called God the Rock. St. Paul says that the rock was the Christ (I Corinthians 10:4). The spiritual rock followed the Israelites in the wilderness and satisfied their thirst. The place Israelites quarreled was named Massah and Meribah - Massah, which means testing, and Meribah, which means quarreling. So, they are quarreling with God, and they are doubting God and they are testing by saying “is the Lord really with us or not?”
Psalm 95 retells this story, “If today you would hear his voice: harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert…” Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works (8-9).” They hardened their heart by doubting that God had the power to save them, quench their thirst, and bring forth water for them in the desert.
In the Gospel, Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman at the well. Samaritans were half-Jews, ritually impure, and therefore Jews were forbidden to drink from any vessel they had handled. It began with the devastation of northern Palestine by Assyria. We read in the 2 Kings chapter 15-17 that the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. The Assyrian pagans in the land of Israel, married and intermingled with some of the Israelites that were left and who set up their own rival religion to the religion of the Jews in Jerusalem. This caused enmity between Jews and Samaritans. Geographically, Judea is in the extreme south, Samaria in the middle, and Galilee in the extreme North. Normally, Jews avoid Samaria to go between the north and south. But Jesus went through the Samaria and made a stop at Jacob’s well. This well was located on a piece of land that Jacob bought (Genesis 33:18-19) and later given to Joseph (48:22).
Jesus oversteps the boundaries of Jewish traditions by conversing with women in public, sharing a drink with Samaritans, and mingling with a sinner. When Jesus reached the well, it was hot midday, and he sat there, and the disciples went to town to get some food. Jesus was thirsty from traveling and asked the Samaritan woman for water.
We see in the Old Testament the meetings between future spouses at wells. Isaac meets Rebekah (Genesis 24:10-67), Jacob meets Rachel at the well of Haran (Genesis 29:1-30), and Moses and Zipporah meet at a well in Midian (Exodus 2:15-21). Here Jesus is the divine bridegroom in search of believers to be His covenant bride.
Normally women used to go to fetch water in the morning or in the evening when it was not too hot. But she came to fetch water at noon. She may be trying to avoid the crowd. Jesus came to her level to reach out and walk with her and leads her to faith. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His thirst was for the soul of the Samaritan woman. On the other hand, the Samaritan woman thirst for real love. Jesus reveals himself as the source of Living Water.
The liturgy uses water to refer to our relationship with God. It represents God’s Spirit coming to us in Baptism. The water that Jesus promises is closely linked to conversion and the forgiveness of sin. In the second reading, Saint Paul asserts that, as the savior of mankind, Jesus poured the living water of the gift of his Holy Spirit into our hearts. Samaritan woman, in the Gospel once embraced the faith, and the living water and became a missionary who brought others to Jesus.
Jesus THIRST for our souls. Do we thirst for him? Yes, we do. The question is do we recognize it? Mother Teresa writes, “Our aim is to satiate the infinite thirst of God, not just for a glass of water, but for souls. Souls are immortal, precious to God.” Lent invites us to renew our faith, through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Let us pray for one another, special prayers for our RCIA candidates, our First Communion students, Confirmations Candidates, and all those who need our prayers. Like the Samaritan woman who brought others to Jesus, let us invite/encourage one another to celebrate our faith – Eucharistic Revival/Maintenance to Mission. We are sent out to make his name known and loved.