Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings: March 20, 2711

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Ver. 22. The Israelites, on account of their innumerable sins, had been delivered by the Almighty into the hands of the king of Assyria, who led them all away captives into Babylon and Medea, and sent other nations whom he had collected from different parts, to inhabit Samaria. But the Almighty, to shew to all nations that he had not delivered up these his people for want of power to defend, but solely on account of their transgressions, sent lions into the land to persecute these strangers. The Assyrian king upon hearing this, sent them a priest to teach them the law of God; but neither after this did they depart wholly from their impiety, but in part only: for many of them returned again to their idols, worshipping at the same time the true God. It was on this account that Christ preferred the Jews before them, saying, that salvation is of the Jews, with whom it was the chief principle to acknowledge the true God, and hold every denomination of idols in detestation; whereas, the Samaritans by mixing the worship of the one with the other, plainly shewed that they held the God of the universe in no greater esteem than their dumb idols. (St. Chrysostom in St. Thomas Aquinas)
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Ver. 23. Now is the time approaching, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth, without being confined to any one temple or place; and chiefly in spirit, without such a multitude of sacrifices and ceremonies as even the Jews now practise. Such adorers God himself (who is a pure spirit) desires, which they shall be taught by the Messias. (Witham) — Our Lord foretells her that sacrifices in both these temples should shortly cease, giving her these three instructions: 1. That the true sacrifice should be limited no longer to one spot or nation, but should be offered throughout all nations, according to that of Malachias; (i. 11.) 2. That the gross and carnal adoration by the flesh and blood of beasts, not having in them grace, spirit, and life, should be taken away, and another sacrifice succeed, which should be in itself invisible, divine, and full of life, spirit, and grace; 3. That this sacrifice should be truth itself, whereof all former sacrifices were but shadows and figures. He calleth here spirit and truth that which, in the first chapter, (ver. 17) is called grace and truth. Now this is not more than a prophecy and description of the sacrifice of the faithful Gentiles in the body and blood of Christ; for all the adoration of the Catholic Church is properly spiritual, though certain external objects be joined thereto, on account of the state of our nature, which requireth it. Be careful then not to gather from Christ’s words that Christian men should have no use of external signs and offices towards God; for that would take away all sacrifice, sacraments, prayers, churches and societies. &c. &c. (Bristow)
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Ver. 25.** I know that the Messias cometh. So that even the Samaritans, at that time, expected the coming of the great Messias. (Witham)

Ver 26. Jesus saith to her: I am he. Christ was pleased to own this truth in the plainest terms to this Samaritan woman, having first by his words, and more by his grace, disposed her heart to believe it. (Witham)

**Ver. 27. **His disciples … wondered, &c. They admired his humility, finding him discoursing with a poor woman, especially she being a Samaritan. (Witham)
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Ver. 29. **The Samaritans looked for the Messias, because they had the books of Moses, in which Jacob foretold the world’s Redeemer: The sceptre shall not depart from Juda, nor a leader from his thigh, until he come that is to be sent. (Genesis xlix. 10.) And Moses himself foretold the same: God will raise to thee a prophet of the nations, and of thy brethren. (Deuteronomy xviii. 15.) (St. Chrysostom in St. Thomas Aquinas)

Ver. 34. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me. Such ought to be the disposition of every one who, as a minister of Christ and his Church, is to take care of souls. (Witham)
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Ver. 35.** *For they are white already to harvest. *The great harvest of souls was approaching, when Christ was come to teach men the way of salvation, and was to send his apostles to convert all nations. They succeeded to the labours of the prophets, but with much greater advantages and success. And to this is applied that common saying, that one soweth and another reapeth. (Witham)
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Ver. 38. **By these words our Saviour testifies to his disciples, that the prophets had sown the seed in order to bring men to believe in Christ. This was the end of the law, this the fruit which the prophets looked for to crown their labours. He likewise shews that he himself that sent them, likewise sent the prophets before them; and that the Old and New Testament are of the same origin, and have the same design. (St. Chrysostom in St. Thomas Aquinas)

**Ver. 42. **This is indeed the Saviour of the world. These Samaritans then believed that Jesus was the true Messias, sent to redeem the world. (Witham)

 

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Other thoughts and commentary on this Sunday’s Gospel Reading:

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5 So he came to a town of Samaria: ** During the Assyrian occupation most of the inhabitants of Israel had been carried off into exile; some remained behind and intermingled with the people whom Sargon II (king of Assyria) had imported from Babylon, Cutah, Affa, Hamath, and Sepharuaim; thus forming a new people. From that time on, these people were called Samaritans (2 Kings 17:24). Friendly relations existed between the Samaritans and the kingdom of Judah until the Babylonian exile. When the Samaritans desired to assist the repatriated Jews in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, their offer was refused (Ezra 4:2-3). The Samaritans therefore built a temple of their own on Mount Gerizim. The Jews regarded them as racially impure and compromisers in religion. The usual route from Judea to Galilee lay through Samaria and took about three days.
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called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

6 Jacob’s well was there: **“Sychar” Means “liar” or “drunkard”. Archaeologists have identified it with 'Askar, a small town on the southern base of Mount Ebal., about a mile north of Jacob’s well. Saint Jerome identifies it as Shechem, as noted in Syriac manuscripts. Genesis 33:19 tells of Jacob’s purchase of the land and Joshua 24:32 tells us that Joseph was buried there.

**Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.

9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.): **Not only was it unheard of for a rabbi to speak familiarly with a woman in public, it was also unheard of for a Jew to request a drink from a Samaritan. Jews considered Samaritans, and therefore their utensils for eating and drinking, unclean.

10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’: Jesus himself, whom the woman does not yet recognize, is the gift. She sees only a Jew who is a very bold and thirsty traveler.
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you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

11 (The woman) said to him, "Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water?: **As Nicodemus did (John 3:4), the woman takes Jesus literally. She thinks he is talking about flowing water rather than water from a well or cistern. Just as He did with Nicodemus, Jesus uses this misunderstanding as an opportunity for further teaching.

Continued on the posts below…

 

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12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?":** Since Jesus can’t mean to get water from this well, where will He get it? Even Jacob had no better source than this well. The Samaritans also claimed descent from the patriarchs, through the Joseph tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and thus refer to Jacob as their father.
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13 Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;

14 but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.":** Jesus begins to explain the meaning of His words (as He does every time He is misunderstood). Sirach 24:20 (a writing with which the Samaritan woman would be unfamiliar) says that the drinker of wisdom will thirst again. The water which Christ will give will satisfy thirst forever. The Christian reader is reminded of baptism, the water of Christ that confers the gift of eternal life.

15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”: The woman still misunderstands.

**16 Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.”: The Hebrew word for husband is baal which also means “lord”.

17 The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’

18 For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.": **In saying “the man you are with now”, Jesus is referring to Himself. Jacob met his wife at a well but Jesus tells her that He is not destined to be her husband. There is, however, a much deeper meaning: Hosea 2 tells of when the Messiah comes he will go to Israel (Samaria) and betroth to Israel and take away the Baals. According to Dr. Scott Hahn, the prophets were sent to condemn Samaria “you will be given over to the pagan nations surrounding you and they will bring their Baals (gods).” The prophets listed five different Baals (2 Kings 17) and she has had five husbands (baals).

**19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet: **A curious statement, coming from a Samaritan. The Samaritans held only the first five books of the Bible to be sacred because they rejected the prophets (who did not speak kindly of them). The only prophet they accepted was the one who was to come as promised in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. What she is really saying is that Jesus is The Prophet.

Continued on the next post…

 

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20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.": **This conversation takes place at the foot of Mount Gerizim (Mount Ebal in Jewish terminology), the Samaritan place of worship; here the patriarchs had sacrificed (Genesis 12:7; 33:20) and here according to the Samaritan version of Deuteronomy 27:4, the Israelites had first set up an altar in Palestine.

**21 Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem: **Jesus tells her that this question is no longer of any importance. In the messianic kingdom he is setting up, God will be worshiped, not with mere external ceremonies in some particular place, but throughout the world, and this universal worship will be given by men of all nations “in spirit and in truth.” It will be true worship, because it will come from convinced hearts moved by the Holy Spirit–the “living water” given by the Messiah. It will not exclude external rites, but the internal sincerity is what will give it value.

**22 You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews: **Jesus must be agreeing that in Judaism, not the Samaritan version of it, God’s revelation has been safeguarded. The Jews, in spite of their sinfulness, have preserved the knowledge of the true God, and the Messiah promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah comes from them.

**23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him: **The first mention of His “hour” in John’s gospel is associated with wine at the marriage feast. Here, it is associated with worship. The Spirit is given by God that reveals truth and enables one to worship God appropriately (John 14:16-17). The Spirit is received at baptism.
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24 God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.": **The new covenant which Jesus will institute is Spirit and truth. Jesus emphasizes again that the worship God wants is the true dedication and service of the interior man. A service of love, not the mere performance of some external rites.

25 The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything.”: The woman again states her recognition that Jesus is the prophet the Samaritans had expected; she uses Jewish terminology, the Samaritans expected a prophet like Moses.
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26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”: **Jesus confirms her knowledge by saying “I am” [Yahweh] (There is no word for “he” in Hebrew)

When the woman states her belief and hope in a Messiah who is to come, Jesus openly declares his identity to her. As there was no danger of a political upheaval in Samaria (unlike Judea), he could proclaim his Messiahship here.

Concluded on the next post…

 

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27 At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or "Why are you talking with her?"

28 The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people: The woman hastened back to the town and told the people that it was most probably the Messiah who was at Jacob’s well.
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29 “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Messiah?”: **The woman leaves to spread the word without the usual warning of “tell no one.” She is the first evangelist.

**30 They went out of the town and came to him.

31 Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.”

32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

33 So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?”: The woman fully realizes who Jesus is, but the disciples are slow to understand. They still take everything in its superficial sense.
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34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work: In these words Jesus sums up His entire career.
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35 Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’?: **This is apparently some sort of Palestinian proverb. It takes four months from planting to harvest.

I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest: Using the familiar metaphor above, he tells the astonished disciples, when they returned from the town to which they had gone to buy food, that the world was ready for the messianic message. he harvest of which Jesus speaks is of God’s planting and is ready now (see Matthew 9:37-38). The woman who goes even now to witness to the people of her village, who will soon come to see for themselves.
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36 The reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together: **In this harvest there is no interval at all from sowing to reaping, the sower and the reaper rejoice at the same time when their jobs are finished.
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37 For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’: **Job 31:8; Ecclesiastes 2:21.
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38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work."

39 Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I have done.”: **The Samaritans follow the model of all who have true faith; almost the same words are used to describe the disciples in John 17:20. First having believed because of the woman’s testimony, they eventually come to believe because of His own word.

**40 When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.

41 Many more began to believe in him because of his word,

42 and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”:** They came out to hear him and became convinced that he was the Savior of the world, that is, the promised Messiah. And he remained there two days instructing them. They became the first-fruits of the non-Jewish world to accept him as Messiah.

http://loyaltothemagisterium.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/jesus_christ_and_the_samaritan_woman.jpg

 

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The numerous Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing John 4:5-42 can be found here.

The Cross Reference: John 4:5-42

 

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Some questions on the Readings for personal study and reflection:

* In the 1st Reading, from where does the water come from? Who does St. Paul identify this in some way with (1 Cor 10:4)? What does Jesus promise he will give those who believe in him (John 7:38)? In the Gospel, what does he promise the woman at the well (verse 14)?

* What is significant about the Gospel story taking place in Samaria?

* Since “nice girls” did not come to draw water at noontime, why do you think Jesus risked his reputation to ask a favor of this woman?

* How would you describe the woman’s response? How does Jesus turn the tables on her in verse 10? In the woman’s reply, what is she really saying?

* Why are the disciples surprised to find Jesus with this woman?

* What does leaving her water jar reveal about Jesus’ impact on the woman? How did she affect others? What can we learn from her telling others about Jesus?

* Considering your interest in “spiritual things,” are you more like the disciples or the woman? Why? Is doing God’s will as essential for you as eating food?

* What are you constantly “thirsting” for? How has Jesus satisfied you?

 

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A meditation on the Gospel Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **In the first reading today, we saw the Israelites rebelling against God and calling him a murderer, because they thought they were in danger of dying of bodily thirst in the desert. He mercifully forgave their blasphemies and gave them an abundance of water. In the gospel just read, Christ tells the Samaritan woman, and through her all mankind, that the “spiritual drink” he has come to give men is not primarily given to preserve bodily life, but rather to give eternal life to those who will drink of it. Not only will they know and serve the true God in this life, but they will be given a right to an everlasting life with God if they serve him “in spirit and in truth” during their earthly life.

This is the kernel, the essence of our Christian religion. In baptism we have been made sons of God, heirs of heaven, and directed towards our eternal destination. Christ, in his divine mercy, has given to his Church all the means and all the helps we need on that journey. We have the road-maps clearly drawn for us in the infallible, dogmatic and moral teaching of the Church. We have the first-aid stations along the route, where those who injure themselves by sin, can be medicated and made sound once more. We have, above all, the miraculous nourishment of the Eucharist–the manna of the New Testament–Christ himself, who so lovingly and condescendingly arranged to be our spiritual food and sustenance during life’s journey.

Could even God have done any more for us in order to bring us to heaven? Can there exist a thinking Christian who would be so neglectful of his own true and lasting welfare–not to mention the ingratitude to the one who has done so much for him–that he would ignore the divine guidance and graces given him, and be content to sit by the wayside in spiritual rags and misery? It is almost unthinkable that such a man could exist.

There is another secondary lesson–but a very practical and urgent one, especially in our day–to be learned from this incident at Jacob’s well. It is the lesson that condemns racialism. St. Paul (and the other Apostles), insisted that the gospel of Christ and the brotherhood of Christ were for all men. There was neither “Jew nor Gentile, Greek nor barbarian,” Paul said, as far as Christianity was concerned. No less an authority than Christ himself had first taught that truth, and he taught it at Jacob’s well as told in today’s gospel.

For centuries, Jews and Samaritans were bitter enemies. Even individuals were not on speaking terms. That day at Jacob’s well Christ broke down this separating wall. While admitting that their knowledge, up to now, of the true God was faulty, they too were acceptable to God, as his adopted children. They too could and would become members of his earthly and eternal kingdom.

Have we not all a lesson to learn from our Lord’s mercy and kindness, which broke through racial and national barriers on that day in Samaria? Has not something very basic gone wrong with our Christianity, or rather with our application of it to our own daily lives, when our world is torn to pieces by fraternal strife? Not only is one nation against or threatening another, but groups and factions, classes, creeds and colors are fighting one another within the one nation. We may well be surprised when we learn that the family next door is at loggerheads. Why, we say, aren’t they one family? Why can’t they live in love and harmony as a family should? But what is our country—what is this planet on which we live, but the home of one family—the family of God, the human race? Why are we quarreling, why do we hate one another, why cannot we live in peace?

We can, and we will, if and when each one of us recognizes his fellowman as his brothers. It is the charity of Christ, practiced as Christ practiced it towards us, and not demonstrations, or protests, or force of arms, that will make this earth once more the true (if temporal) home of the whole human family.

 

[Crumpy]

The incident described in the first reading troubles me somewhat. The people were without water and grumbling about it. Why did God let them get into that situation in the first place?

I think it’s in Deuteronomy that the text describes the wandering in the desert as a testing period. Well,it’s right there in the scripture, so you can’t argue about it, but the 40 years was really a punishment for the sin of the Israelites in worshipping the golden calf.

God had resolved that most of the members of that generation were going to die in the wilderness and not reach the promised land, for this very great transgression.

Yet, God’s mercy prevails in this unusual situation, in that at the same time, the new generation that will inhabit the promised land is raised up. As time will tell (books of Joshua and Judges) this new generation didn’t have the urgent sense of having been saved from the bondage in Egypt or of the miraculous delivery by God. But, still, God’s plan is intact and they are saved physically and politically.

The other readings speak of spiritual salvation, with the water symbolizing a flashback to the desert experience. The encounter with Christ creates a sensation among the alienated Samaritans.

Thematically, there are echoes here of the book of Jonah. Jonah didn’t want to preach to the people of Ninevah, and here there’s some ethnic overtone to Jesus speaking with a Samaritan woman–what in the world is Jesus doing talking to this woman?

I didn’t dig up the cross references, to check out what if any symbolism there is about being at Jacob’s well. I suspect that the well reminds us of the constant supply of water the Israelites had in the desert. This well (cistern?) had been there for a long time, reminding us of God’s promises for this lifetime and the next.

 

[Fidelis]

The incident described in the first reading troubles me somewhat. The people were without water and grumbling about it. Why did God let them get into that situation in the first place?

I think it’s in Deuteronomy that the text describes the wandering in the desert as a testing period. Well,it’s right there in the scripture, so you can’t argue about it, but the 40 years was really a punishment for the sin of the Israelites in worshipping the golden calf.

God had resolved that most of the members of that generation were going to die in the wilderness and not reach the promised land, for this very great transgression.

Yet, God’s mercy prevails in this unusual situation, in that at the same time, the new generation that will inhabit the promised land is raised up. As time will tell (books of Joshua and Judges) this new generation didn’t have the urgent sense of having been saved from the bondage in Egypt or of the miraculous delivery by God. But, still, God’s plan is intact and they are saved physically and politically.

I think you’ve pretty much been able to resolve your own opening question. Yes, the 40 years in the wilderness were a testing period for the Israelites. Just as they were allowed to be tested, God also allows us to undergo trials and temptations to bring us to a point where we are able to trust him and love him wholeheartedly.

BTW, the 40 year sojourn was not a punishment for the golden calf incident (which had it’s own repercussions); rather, it was as a result of the failure of the people to trust that God could deliver the Promised Land into their hands. See Numbers 13 and 14.

The other readings speak of spiritual salvation, with the water symbolizing a flashback to the desert experience. The encounter with Christ creates a sensation among the alienated Samaritans.

Thematically, there are echoes here of the book of Jonah. Jonah didn’t want to preach to the people of Ninevah, and here there’s some ethnic overtone to Jesus speaking with a Samaritan woman–what in the world is Jesus doing talking to this woman?

I didn’t dig up the cross references, to check out what if any symbolism there is about being at Jacob’s well. I suspect that the well reminds us of the constant supply of water the Israelites had in the desert. This well (cistern?) had been there for a long time, reminding us of God’s promises for this lifetime and the next.

From what I can gather, most of the early Church Fathers equated Jacob’s well-- with it’s drinkable but stagnant water-- to the old Law (or any inferior way of approaching God). While the Law was good (since God created it) it was greatly surpassed by the living water-- that is, the graces that came from Christ and his Blood on the Cross-- that that is available to us now, through the Gospel and the Sacraments.

 

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A meditation on the Readings from Dr. Scott Hahn at the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology:

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Eyesight to the Blind**

God’s ways of seeing are not our ways, we hear in today’s First Reading. Jesus illustrates this in the Gospel - as the blind man comes to see and the Pharisees are made blind.

The blind man stands for all humanity. “Born totally in sin” he is made a new creation by the saving power of Christ.

As God fashioned the first man from the clay of the earth (see Genesis 2:7), Jesus gives the blind man new life by anointing his eyes with clay (see John 9:11). As God breathed the spirit of life into the first man, the blind man is not healed until he washes in the waters of Siloam, a name that means “Sent.”

Jesus is the One “sent” by the Father to do the Father’s will (see John 9:4; 12:44). He is the new source of life-giving water - the Holy Spirit who rushes upon us in Baptism (see John 4:10; 7:38-39).

This is the Spirit that rushes upon God’s chosen king David in today’s First Reading. A shepherd like Moses before him (see Exodus 3:1; Psalm 78:70-71), David is also a sign pointing to the good shepherd and king to come - Jesus (see John 10:11).

The Lord is our shepherd, as we sing in today’s Psalm. By his death and Resurrection He has made a path for us through the dark valley of sin and death, leading us to the verdant pastures of the kingdom of life, the Church.

In the restful waters of Baptism He has refreshed our souls. He has anointed our heads with the oil of Confirmation and spread the Eucharistic table before us, filling our cups to overflowing.

With the once-blind man we enter His house to give God the praise, to renew our vow: “I do believe, Lord.”

“The Lord looks into the heart,” we hear today. Let Him find us, as Paul advises in today’s Epistle, living as “children of light” - trying always to learn what is pleasing to our Father.

 

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A meditation on the Gospel from the Daily Scripture Reading & Meditation website:

**“Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give will never thirst”

Gospel Reading: **John 4:5-42

Meditation: Would you give water to somebody who snubbed you or treated you like an enemy? Jesus did just that and more! He treated Samaritans, the sworn enemies of the Jews, with great kindness and respect. The Jews and the Samaritans who lived in Israel between Galilee and Judaea, had been divided for centuries. They had no dealings with one another, avoiding all social contact, even trade, and inter-marriage. If their paths crossed it would not be unusual for hostility to break out. When Jesus decided to pass through Samaria he stopped at Jacob’s well because it was mid-day and he was both exhausted and thirsty. Jacob’s well was a good mile and a half from the nearest town, called Sychar. It wasn’t easy to draw water from this well since it was over a hundred feet deep. Jesus had neither rope nor bucket to fetch the water. When a Samaritan woman showed up at the well, both were caught by surprise. Why would a Samaritan woman walk a mile and a half in the mid-day heat to fetch her water at a remote well rather than in the local town? She was an outcast and not welcomed among her townspeople. Jesus then did something no respectable Jew would think of doing. He reached out to a Samaritan, thus risking ritual impurity and scorn from his fellow Jews. He also did something no strict Rabbi would dare to do in public without loss to his reputation. He greeted the woman and spoke openly with her. Not only was she a woman, but an adulteress and public sinner as well. No decent Jew or Samaritan would even think of being seen with such a woman, let alone exchanging a word with her!

Jesus broke through the barriers of prejudice, hostility, and tradition to bring the good news of peace and reconciliation to Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles alike. He demonstrated the universality of the gospel both in word and deed. No one is barred from the love of God and the good news of salvation. There is only one thing that can keep us from God and his redeeming love – our stubborn pride and wilful rebellion.

What is the point of Jesus’ exchange with the Samaritan woman about water? Water in the arid land was scarce. Jacob’s well was located in a strategic fork of the road between Samaria and Galilee. One can live without food for several days, but not without water. Water is a source of life and growth for all living things. When rain came to the desert, the water transformed the wasteland into a fertile field. The kind of water which Jesus spoke about was living, running, fresh, pure water. Fresh water from a cool running stream was always preferred to the still water one might find in a pool or resevoir. When the Israelites complained about lack of water in the wilderness, God instructed Moses to strike the rock and a stream of fresh living water gushed out (Exodus17:6 ). Even though the Israelites did not trust God to care for them in the wilderness, God, nonetheless gave them abundant water and provision through the intercession of his servant Moses.

The image of “living water” is used throughout the scriptures as a symbol of God’s wisdom, a wisdom that imparts life and blessing to all who receive it. “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 13:14). “Living water” was also a symbol for the Jews of thirst of the soul for God. The water which Jesus spoke of symbolized the Holy Spirit and his work of recreating us in God’s image and sustaining in us the new life which comes from God. The life which the Holy Spirit produces in us makes us a “new creation” in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Do you thirst for God and for the life of the Holy Spirit within you?

Hippolytus, a second century Christian writer, explains the significance of the Holy Spirit’s work in us: “This is the water of the Spirit: It refreshes paradise, enriches the earth, gives life to living things. It is the water of Christ’s baptism; it is our life. If you go with faith to this renewing fountain, you renounce Satan your enemy and confess Christ your God. You cease to be a slave and become an adopted son; you come forth radiant as the sun and brilliant with justice; you come forth a son of God and fellow-heir with Christ.” (From a sermon, On the Epiphany)

Basil the Great (c. 330-379) speaks in a similar manner: “The Spirit restores paradise to us and the way to heaven and adoption as children of God; he instills confidence that we may call God truly Father and grants us the grace of Christ to be children of the light and to enjoy eternal glory. In a word, he bestows the fullness of blessings in this world and the next; for we may contemplate now in the mirror of faith the promised things we shall someday enjoy. If this is the foretaste, what must the reality be? If these are the first fruits, what must be the harvest?” (From the treatise, The Holy Spirit)

*“Lord Jesus, my soul thirsts for you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may always find joy in your presence and take delight in doing your will.” *

 

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From “The Word Among Us” magazine:

“Give me a drink.” (John 4:7)

Today’s Gospel gives us a glimpse into the power of God’s mercy and love. When Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well, he brings up her past: She has had five husbands and is now living with another man out of wedlock. But he doesn’t bring this up to condemn her or make her feel guilty. Rather, he uses this intimate knowledge about her private life to reveal himself to her.

Jesus wants to prove to this woman that he is not just a Jew (John 4:9), not just a great man like Jacob (4:12), not even just a prophet (4:19). He is the Messiah and Savior of the world (4:29,42)! He wants to show her that nothing she has done could prevent him from offering her his living water.

What a beautiful image of the Sacrament of Reconciliation! This woman comes to Jesus not even knowing how burdened, thirsty, and alone she is, but she leaves excited, fulfilled, and surrounded by fellow believers. She knows that her sins are forgiven and her guilt removed. She has tasted the living water of his mercy, and her life is transformed! Going even further, she doesn’t keep this good news to herself. She goes back to her village and invites her neighbors to come meet Jesus for themselves.

This is what Confession is all about. It’s about coming to Jesus and letting him set us free. It’s about letting Jesus gently probe us and bring our sins into the light so that they can be washed away. It’s about experiencing a mercy that goes far beyond our expectations and being so transformed by it that we want to share it with everyone around us.

Brothers and sisters, we all need the grace of Reconciliation. We all need to meet Jesus and his limitless mercy. So no matter how serious your sin—whether it be adultery, abortion, or even murder—know that Jesus is waiting for you by the well, ready to give you living water. There truly is no unpardonable offense!

“Jesus, I need your living water. Come and fill me with your mercy!”

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

1. In the Mass readings, we hear a lot about thirsting and quenching our thirst with living waters. In the first reading, the people’s response to thirst was grumbling against God and Moses. What is your heart like when faced with difficulties? Do you have a complaining and blaming spirit? How do you think God wants you to respond when facing trials? What steps can you take to cause this to happen?

1. In the responsorial psalm, we are instructed not to harden our hearts and not to put God to the test. What are some of the circumstances that can cause you to harden your heart and not turn to the Lord in expectant faith? What practical steps can you take to help thaw such a hardened heart?

1. In the second reading, St. Paul tells us the love of God has been “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”. Specifically, at Mass you have an opportunity, through the Eucharist and prayer, to have the very life and love of God “poured” into you hearts through the Holy Spirit. How can you better prepare yourself to receive such a gift?

1. In the second reading, we are also given the example of Christ’s love for us who died and forgave us while we were still sinners. Is there someone or some relationship you are holding hostage until the other person takes the first step? What actions can you take to be the first to reach out with the gift of forgiveness? It is a gift none of us deserves.

1. In the Gospel, we return to the metaphor of water. Jesus promised living water to the woman, and she ran to the townspeople so that they too could share in the life of God. What can you do this week to bring others to Jesus, the fountain of life? Can you identify one person in your family, neighborhood, or at work that you can reach out to this week with the love of Christ? Are you willing to do it?

1. The meditation speaks of the Sacrament of Reconciliation with these words: “It’s about coming to Jesus and letting him set us free. It’s about letting Jesus gently probe us and bring our sins into the light so that they can be washed away. It’s about experiencing a mercy that goes far beyond our expectations and being so transformed by it that we want to share it with everyone around us.” Has this always been your experience with this Sacrament? Why or why not? What steps can you take to strengthen your experience of the graces of this Sacrament?

1. Take some time now to pray to receive a deeper infilling of the living water of the Holy Spirit. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as a starting point.

 

[Fidelis]

Just a Little Talk With Jesus Makes it Right – A Meditation on the Gospel of The Third Week of Lent
By: Msgr. Charles Pope

As we examine the Gospel for this weekend’s Mass we do well to understand that is fundamentally a gospel about our desires and how the Lord reaches us through them. Prior to looking at the text, consider a few things:
**

1. What it is that really makes you happy?** There are endless ways this question could be answered. We desire so many things: food, water, shelter, clothing and creature comforts. We long for a sense of belonging, affection, & peace. Sometimes we hope for stability and simplicity, at other times we yearn for change and variety. Our hearts are a sea of desires, wishes and longings. The gospel today says that a woman went to the well to draw water. She is each one of us and her desire for water is a symbol of all our desires.
   ** 2. Have you ever considered that your desires are in fact infinite?** Can you even think of a time that you were ever entirely satisfied, a time when you needed absolutely nothing? Even if you can imagine such a time, it didn’t last did it? In fact our desires are infinite, without limit.
   ** 3. The well in today’s gospel symbolizes this world. Jesus says to the woman and to us: “Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again.” The world cannot really provide what are looking for. No matter how much this world offers us, it will never ultimately satisfy us, for the world is finite and our desires are infinite. In this way our heart teaches us something very important about ourselves: We were not made for this world, we were made for something, for someone, who is infinite, who alone can satisfy us. We were made for God.
   ** 4. The Water offered is the Holy Spirit – Jesus says elsewhere: If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive…(Jn. 7:37-39).
   ** 5. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about the meanings of our longings: The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for…With his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God’s existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual soul. The soul, the seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material, can have its origin only in God (Catechism # 27, 33).
   ** 6. Scripture too speaks to us our desires: Of You my heart has spoken: “Seek His face.” It is your face O Lord that I seek; hide not your face! (Psalm 27:8-9). Or again, Only in God will my soul be at rest, he is my hope, my salvation (Psalm 62:1,5) St. Augustine wrote classic words to describe our hearts’ truest longing: *Thou hast made us for Thyself O Lord and our hearts are restless till the rest in Thee. *(Confessions 1,1).

With this in mind, let’s look at the journey that this woman (this means you) makes to Jesus. Things start out rough but in the end she discovers here heart’s truest desire. The journey is made in stages.

Rendezvous – Notice that the initiative here is Jesus’ As the Lord teaches elsewhere,* It was not you who chose me, It was I who chose you *(John 15:16). Jesus encounters a woman from Samaria at Jacob’s well. She desires water, but Jesus knows that her desire is for far more than water or anything that the world gives. Here desire has brought her face to face with Jesus, a holy and fortunate rendezvous, if you will. Jesus begins a discussion with her about her heart’s truest longing.

Request – The discussion begins with a request. The text says:* It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”* Imagine, God asking you for anything. What a stunning thing! What can she or we really give God? The answer is simply this, the gift of our very self. God has put a threshold before our heart that even he will not cross, unless we say yes. This request of Jesus initiates a discussion, a dialogue of two hearts. As we shall see, the woman, like most of us, struggles with this dialogue. It is, to be sure a delicate, even painful process for us to accept the invitation to self-giving the Lord makes. Something in us draws back in fear. Scripture says,* It is an awesome thing to fall into the hands of living God!* (Heb 10:31).

Continued on the next post…

 

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**Rebuke – **Sure enough, she draws back with fear and anger. She says, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” –For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans. In our journey to God, we do not always trust or understand Him at first. Some fear to relate to God because they think their freedom will be lost, or too many changes will be required. Others loathe the commandments, or fear they cannot keep them. Still others are angry at the unexpected twists and turns of this life and do not want to trust a God who doesn’t always play by their rules. The woman’s anger, in particular, is based on the prejudices of the day. Her anger is not really at Jesus, it is at “the Jews” to whom Samaritans are hostile. This is sometimes the case with God as well. It is not always the Lord Jesus, or God the Father, that people hate or distrust, it is Christians. For it remains true, some have been hurt by the Church, or by Christians. Others have prejudiced opinions influenced by a hostile media and world. But, praise, God, Jesus is willing to stay in the conversation, and so we next see:
**
Repetition – *Jesus repeats his offer for a relationship. He says, If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. * I don’t know about you, but I am mighty glad that the Lord does not merely write us off when we say no. Jesus stays in the conversation and even sweetens the deal by making an offer to give her fresh, living water. The Lord does the same for us. First he gave the Law, then he gave the prophets, now he gives his Son. It just keeps getting better. First he gave water, then he changed it to wine, then he changed it to his blood. And, despite our often harsh rejection of God, he keeps the dialogue open and going.

**Ridicule – *The Woman is still hostile and now even ridicules Jesus: Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks? *To the world, the teachings of God often appear to be foolishness. People often dismiss religious faith as fanciful and unrealistic. But here too the Lord is patient and continues on.

Concluded on the next post…

 

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**Reminder – **Jesus now re-frames the question by reminding the woman of the obvious: Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. What she is relying on can’t come through for her. The world’s water does not satisfy us, the world’s delights are transitory. They promise ultimate satisfaction, but twenty minutes later we are thirsty again. The world is the gift that keeps on taking, it takes our money, our loyalty, our freedom, our time, and gives us only transitory, and ultimately unsatisfying pleasures, in return. It’s a bad deal. Every one who drinks from this well be thirsty again.
**
Re-upping the offer – **Jesus says, *But whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. *Here the Lord speaks of happiness and satisfaction that he will give, that grows in us and makes us more and more alive. The “water” he offers, as we saw above, is the gift of the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit lives in us, and transforms us, we become more and more content with what we have. As the life of God grows in us we become more alive in God and joyful in what he is doing for us. This is what the Lord offers us: the gift of a new and transformed life, the gift to become fully alive in God. I am a witness of this. How about you?

**Result – **The woman has moved in Jesus’ direction. She has warmed to his offer and so she says: Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water. Here is the result of the Lord’s persistence. Thank God that he does not give up on us, he keeps calling, even when we say no, even when we sin, he just keeps call our name!

Requirement – Jesus want to give this gift, but first he must help her make room for it. For the truth is, she has unrepented sin. A glass that is filled with sand cannot be filled with water. The sand must be emptied first and then the cup cleansed. Only then can the water flow. Thus Jesus says, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” Now she does what most of us do when we are in an uncomfortable spot, she changes the subject. She attempts to engage in a discussion about what mountain to worship on. Jesus is patient with her and answers her, but ultimately draws her back to the subject, which is her heart and what her desires are really all about.
**
Reconciliation -** Now here the conversation gets private, we are not permitted to listen in. It is just between Jesus and her. But whatever it was, she in elated and will later declare: “He told me everything I ever did.” And there is no sense in her tone that Jesus was merely accusatory. Rather it would seem that Jesus helped her to understand her heart, and her struggle. And old song says, I once was lost in sin but Jesus took me in and then a little light from heaven filled my soul. He bathed my heart in love and he wrote my name above and just a little talk with Jesus made me whole. Here Jesus reconciles her with God and with her own self.

**Rejoicing – **The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” They went out of the town and came to him. Do not miss that little detail: she left her water jar. The very thing she was depending on to collect the things of the world is left behind. What is your water jar? What do you use to gain access to the world and to collect its offerings? For most of us, it is money. And scripture says, *For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs *(1 Tim 6:10). At any rate she is joyfully empowered to leave this enslaving water jar behind. Now, freed from its load, she is able to run to town and declare Jesus to others. Her joy must have been infectious, for soon enough they are following her out to meet the Lord!

So here is the journey of a woman who is ultimately each one of us. This is our journey, out of dependence, out of a kind of enslaving attachment to the world, and unto Jesus, who alone can set us free. Here is our journey to understand that our desires are ultimately about God.

 

[Fidelis]

From Speaking of Scripture, the blog of the New Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture:

**“Quenching the Thirst of God” **by Professor Mary Healy

Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4, one of the longest dialogues in all Scripture, is full of Johannine symbolism and hidden layers of meaning.

The setting, Jacob’s well, provides an initial clue to the meaning of the story. As ancient Jews steeped in the Old Testament would recognize, a well is the place where, in a seemingly chance encounter, bridegroom meets bride. Isaac, Jacob and Moses all found their brides-to-be at a well (Gen 24; 29; Exod 2:15-21). These parallels suggest that so too, Jesus’ meeting with the woman of Samaria is a divinely appointed encounter, a meeting of love.

Jesus, thirsty from his long journey, asks the woman for a drink—thereby breaking the powerful social barriers that stood between men and women, Jews and Samaritans.

When the woman expresses her surprise, he answers:

“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

This makes clear that the real purpose of Jesus’ request was that he might quench her thirst with “living water.” Living water (or flowing water) is a biblical image for the divine life for which human beings yearn, as in Ps 42:1-2:

As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?

The Samaritan woman is intrigued.

“Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?”

She thinks Jesus is referring to flowing spring water in contrast to stagnant water. Like Nicodemus (3:4) and later the disciples (11:11-12), the woman misconstrues Jesus’ words about a spiritual reality in a literalistic way. But this gives Jesus an opportunity to explain further:

“Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Later in the Gospel, John explicitly identifies the “living water” as the Holy Spirit.

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now he said this about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive (John 7:37-39).

The feast mentioned here is Tabernacles, when the Jews commemorated the water that miraculously came forth from the rock that Moses struck (Exod 17:1-6). Jesus, then, is himself the life-giving Rock (cf. 1 Cor 10:3-4), the source of the Holy Spirit, and the way we drink his living water is by believing in him. The passion narrative portrays how this Rock is “struck”: after Jesus had died, “one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:34). From Jesus’ wounded heart flows divine life, the Holy Spirit, given to us in the sacraments of baptism (signified by the water) and the Eucharist (signified by the blood). As Paul expressed it, “God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5).

Jesus promises the Samaritan woman that his water will not only quench her thirst but become “a spring welling up” within her. This suggests that to the degree we drink from the inexhaustible fountain of God’s love, we become a fountain of life for others.

Concluded on the next post…

 

[Fidelis]

At this point the woman is finally ready to ask for the gift Jesus longs to give her:

“Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

She still does not understand; she is glad at the prospect of never again having to trek out to the well. Yet her request, like that of the Jews for the bread of life (John 6:34), is sincere. On a symbolic level, without knowing it she is asking for baptism (cf. John 3:5).

But Jesus’ reply is unexpected.

“Go, call your husband, and come here.”

Why this apparent digression? Now that her request has provided an opening, Jesus probes this woman’s heart, uncovering the place where she is wounded. Only the truly thirsty, who are willing to acknowledge what is parched and lifeless within them, are able to drink the living water. This woman’s brokenness, like that of so many others, is in the area of love. In fact, her life is a history of broken relationships.

Her reply, “I have no husband,” is somewhat evasive, but Jesus brings to light her true moral state.

“You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly.”

Although this revelation is painful, the woman recognizes Jesus’ total lack of condemnation (cf. 4:39). He exposes sin not for the sake of condemnation but forgiveness and freedom.

At this point it is becoming clear that the dialogue is not merely personal. The woman’s life story, in fact, embodies the history of the people of Israel. According to 2 Kings, when the Assyrians invaded the Kingdom of Israel they planted precisely five foreign nations there, each with its god (2 Kg 17:24-31; cf. Josephus, Antiquities, 9.288). Through the prophets, God had revealed himself as the bridegroom of Israel, the true God whose love for his chosen people was passionate and utterly faithful. Yet instead of being reciprocated, his love had met with continuous betrayal in the form of idolatry, the worship of alien gods. The gentile nations imported into Samaria had only intensified the infidelity.

Surely, as a faithless wife leaves her husband, so have you been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord (Jer 3:20).

But God had promised that he would use even the national calamity of conquest and exile to eventually bring about the healing of Israel’s adultery.

In that day, says the Lord, you will call me, “My husband,” and no longer will you call me, “My Baal.” For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be mentioned by name no more. And I will make for you a covenant on that day…. And I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord. (Hos 2:16-20)

Against this biblical background the deeper significance of the story comes to light: Jesus, the Word made flesh, is the divine Bridegroom proposing marriage to Samaritan people! He is inviting this woman, and her whole nation, to return to their first and true husband, the living God.

At the end of the dialogue, after discovering that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah, the woman hurries back into town bursting with the news of what has happened to her. Her encounter with Jesus has overflowed in a desire to share with others what she has experienced. The narrative thus portrays the movement from personal encounter to evangelization, a pattern that remains foundational to the Church’s mission today. By making ourselves present to this story, we too can be drawn into the same movement, experiencing more deeply the “gift of God” and being empowered to proclaim it with a new dynamism.