2020년 3월 15일 사순 제3주일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
탈출기.17,3-7
그 무렵 백성은 3 목이 말라, 모세에게 불평하며 말하였다.
“어쩌자고 우리를 이집트에서 데리고 올라왔소?
우리와 우리 자식들과 가축들을 목말라 죽게 하려고 그랬소?”
4 모세가 주님께 부르짖었다.
“이 백성에게 제가 무엇을 해야 합니까?
이제 조금만 있으면 저에게 돌을 던질 것 같습니다.”
5 그러자 주님께서 모세에게 말씀하셨다.
“이스라엘의 원로들 가운데 몇 사람을 데리고 백성보다 앞서 나아가거라.
나일 강을 친 너의 지팡이를 손에 잡고 가거라.
6 이제 내가 저기 호렙의 바위 위에서 네 앞에 서 있겠다.
네가 그 바위를 치면 그곳에서 물이 터져 나와,
백성이 그것을 마시게 될 것이다.”
모세는 이스라엘의 원로들이 보는 앞에서 그대로 하였다.
7 그는 이스라엘 자손들이 시비하였다 해서,
그리고 그들이
“주님께서 우리 가운데에 계시는가, 계시지 않는가?” 하면서
주님을 시험하였다 해서, 그곳의 이름을 마싸와 므리바라 하였다.
제2독서
로마서.5,1-2.5-8
형제 여러분,
1 믿음으로 의롭게 된 우리는 우리 주 예수 그리스도를 통하여
하느님과 더불어 평화를 누립니다.
2 믿음 덕분에, 우리는 그리스도를 통하여
우리가 서 있는 이 은총 속으로 들어올 수 있게 되었습니다.
그리고 하느님의 영광에 참여하리라는 희망을 자랑으로 여깁니다.
5 그리고 희망은 우리를 부끄럽게 하지 않습니다.
우리가 받은 성령을 통하여 하느님의 사랑이 우리 마음에 부어졌기 때문입니다.
6 우리가 아직 나약하던 시절,
그리스도께서는 정해진 때에 불경한 자들을 위하여 돌아가셨습니다.
7 의로운 이를 위해서라도 죽을 사람은 거의 없습니다.
혹시 착한 사람을 위해서라면 누가 죽겠다고 나설지도 모릅니다.
8 그런데 우리가 아직 죄인이었을 때에
그리스도께서 우리를 위하여 돌아가심으로써,
하느님께서는 우리에 대한 당신의 사랑을 증명해 주셨습니다.
복음
요한. 4,5-42<또는 4,5-15.19ㄴ-26.39ㄱ.40-42>
그때에 5 예수님께서는 야곱이 자기 아들 요셉에게 준 땅에서 가까운
시카르라는 사마리아의 한 고을에 이르셨다.
6 그곳에는 야곱의 우물이 있었다.
길을 걷느라 지치신 예수님께서는 그 우물가에 앉으셨다. 때는 정오 무렵이었다.
7 마침 사마리아 여자 하나가 물을 길으러 왔다.
그러자 예수님께서 “나에게 마실 물을 좀 다오.” 하고 그 여자에게 말씀하셨다.
8 제자들은 먹을 것을 사러 고을에 가 있었다.
9 사마리아 여자가 예수님께 말하였다. “선생님은 어떻게 유다 사람이시면서
사마리아 여자인 저에게 마실 물을 청하십니까?”
사실 유다인들은 사마리아인들과 상종하지 않았다.
10 예수님께서 그 여자에게 대답하셨다.
“네가 하느님의 선물을 알고 또 ‘나에게 마실 물을 좀 다오.’ 하고
너에게 말하는 이가 누구인지 알았더라면,
오히려 네가 그에게 청하고 그는 너에게 생수를 주었을 것이다.”
11 그러자 그 여자가 예수님께 말하였다.
“선생님, 두레박도 가지고 계시지 않고 우물도 깊은데,
어디에서 그 생수를 마련하시렵니까?
12 선생님이 저희 조상 야곱보다 더 훌륭한 분이시라는 말씀입니까?
그분께서 저희에게 이 우물을 주셨습니다.
그분은 물론 그분의 자녀들과 가축들도 이 우물물을 마셨습니다.”
13 예수님께서 그 여자에게 이르셨다.
“이 물을 마시는 자는 누구나 다시 목마를 것이다.
14 그러나 내가 주는 물을 마시는 사람은 영원히 목마르지 않을 것이다.
내가 주는 물은 그 사람 안에서 물이 솟는 샘이 되어
영원한 생명을 누리게 할 것이다.”
15 그러자 그 여자가 예수님께 말하였다. “선생님, 그 물을 저에게 주십시오.
그러면 제가 목마르지도 않고, 또 물을 길으러 이리 나오지 않아도 되겠습니다.”
16 예수님께서 그 여자에게,
“가서 네 남편을 불러 이리 함께 오너라.” 하고 말씀하셨다.
17 그 여자가 “저는 남편이 없습니다.” 하고 대답하자,
예수님께서 말씀하셨다. “‘저는 남편이 없습니다.’한 것은 맞는 말이다.
18 너는 남편이 다섯이나 있었지만 지금 함께 사는 남자도 남편이 아니니,
너는 바른대로 말하였다.”
19 여자가 예수님께 말하였다. “선생님, 이제 보니 선생님은 예언자시군요.
20 저희 조상들은 이 산에서 예배를 드렸습니다.
그런데 선생님네는 예배를 드려야 하는 곳이 예루살렘에 있다고 말합니다.”
21 예수님께서 그 여자에게 말씀하셨다. “여인아, 내 말을 믿어라.
너희가 이 산도 아니고 예루살렘도 아닌 곳에서
아버지께 예배를 드릴 때가 온다.
22 너희는 알지도 못하는 분께 예배를 드리지만,
우리는 우리가 아는 분께 예배를 드린다.
구원은 유다인들에게서 오기 때문이다.
23 그러나 진실한 예배자들이 영과 진리 안에서
아버지께 예배를 드릴 때가 온다. 지금이 바로 그때다.
사실 아버지께서는 이렇게 예배를 드리는 이들을 찾으신다.
24 하느님은 영이시다. 그러므로 그분께 예배를 드리는 이는
영과 진리 안에서 예배를 드려야 한다.”
25 그 여자가 예수님께,
“저는 그리스도라고도 하는 메시아께서 오신다는 것을 압니다.
그분께서 오시면 우리에게 모든 것을 알려 주시겠지요.” 하였다.
26 그러자 예수님께서 그 여자에게 말씀하셨다.
“너와 말하고 있는 내가 바로 그 사람이다.”
27 바로 그때에 제자들이 돌아와
예수님께서 여자와 이야기하시는 것을 보고 놀랐다.
그러나 아무도 “무엇을 찾고 계십니까?”,
또는 “저 여자와 무슨 이야기를 하십니까?” 하고 묻지 않았다.
28 그 여자는 물동이를 버려두고 고을로 가서 사람들에게 말하였다.
29 “제가 한 일을 모두 알아맞힌 사람이 있습니다. 와서 보십시오.
그분이 그리스도가 아니실까요?”
30 그리하여 그들이 고을에서 나와 예수님께 모여 왔다.
31 그러는 동안 제자들은 예수님께 “스승님, 잡수십시오.” 하고 권하였다.
32 그러나 예수님께서 “나에게는 너희가 모르는 먹을 양식이 있다.” 하시자,
33 제자들은 서로 “누가 스승님께 잡수실 것을
갖다 드리기라도 하였다는 말인가?” 하고 말하였다.
34 예수님께서 다시 그들에게 말씀하셨다.
“내 양식은 나를 보내신 분의 뜻을 실천하고, 그분의 일을 완수하는 것이다.
35 너희는 ‘아직도 넉 달이 지나야 수확 때가 온다.’ 하고 말하지 않느냐?
자, 내가 너희에게 말한다. 눈을 들어 저 밭들을 보아라.
곡식이 다 익어 수확 때가 되었다. 이미 36 수확하는 이가 삯을 받고,
영원한 생명에 들어갈 알곡을 거두어들이고 있다.
그리하여 씨 뿌리는 이도 수확하는 이와 함께 기뻐하게 되었다.
37 과연 ‘씨 뿌리는 이가 다르고 수확하는 이가 다르다.’는 말이 옳다.
38 나는 너희가 애쓰지 않은 것을 수확하라고 너희를 보냈다.
사실 수고는 다른 이들이 하였는데, 너희가 그 수고의 열매를 거두는 것이다.”
39 그 고을에 사는 많은 사마리아인들이 예수님을 믿게 되었다.
그 여자가 “저분은 제가 한 일을 모두 알아맞혔습니다.” 하고
증언하는 말을 하였기 때문이다.
40 이 사마리아인들이 예수님께 와서 자기들과 함께 머무르시기를 청하자,
그분께서는 거기에서 이틀을 머무르셨다.
41 그리하여 더 많은 사람이 그분의 말씀을 듣고 믿게 되었다.
42 그들이 그 여자에게 말하였다.
“우리가 믿는 것은 이제 당신이 한 말 때문이 아니오.
우리가 직접 듣고 이분께서 참으로 세상의 구원자이심을 알게 되었소.”
March 15, 2020
Third Sunday of Lent
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
In those days, in their thirst for water,
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?”
So Moses cried out to the LORD,
“What shall I do with this people?
a little more and they will stone me!”
The LORD answered Moses,
“Go over there in front of the people,
along with some of the elders of Israel,
holding in your hand, as you go,
the staff with which you struck the river.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it
for the people to drink.”
This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.
The place was called Massah and Meribah,
because the Israelites quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
“Is the LORD in our midst or not?”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that 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.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
to this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
And hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
Gospel
Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.”
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
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.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
“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.”
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?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?”
Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
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.”
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.”
Jesus said to her,
“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.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus said to her,
“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
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.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him,
“I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
Jesus said to her,
“I am he, the one speaking with you.”
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?”
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.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.”
But he said to them,
“I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
So the disciples said to one another,
“Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment
and gathering crops for eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’
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.”
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.”
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
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.”
http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow
«Give me a drink»
Fr. Julio César RAMOS González SDB
(Mendoza, Argentina)
Today, just as in that Samarian afternoon, Jesus comes into our life, halfway through our Lenten journey, telling us, as He did to the Samaritan woman: «Give me a drink» (Jn 4:7). «His material thirst —says John Paul II— symbolizes a far deeper reality: it expresses his ardent desire that his dialogue partner and her fellow-citizens will open themselves to faith».
The Preface of today's Eucharist celebration speaks to us of this dialogue that ends up in a salvific barter where the Lord, «(...) “so deeply thirsted” for the salvation of the Samaritan woman “he set on fire in her the flame of God's love”».
Even today Jesus continues to “thirst”, namely, to desire humanity “thirst” for our faith and love, “thirst” for our response of faith before so many Lenten invitations to conversion, to change, to reconcile to God and our brothers, to prepare ourselves, as much as we can, to receive a new life of resurrection in the nearing Easter.
«I who am talking to you, I am he» (Jn 4:26): this direct and clear acknowledgment by Jesus of his mission, which He had never done before with anybody else, shows likewise God’s love, a love that undergoes more in quest for the sinner and promise of salvation, that will abundantly satiate the human desire for true Life. This is why, further down in this same Gospel, Jesus will proclaim: «If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water» (Jn 7:37b-38). So, your commitment today, is to go out of yourself and tell all men: «Come and see a man who told me…» (Jn 4:29).
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Today’s readings reflect themes of water and thirst. When you are thirsty, your cells are crying out for water! Thirst is a healthy sign that signals the need to hydrate our body. But we also hear today about living water. Are we thirsty for this water? Can it permeate our souls to rejuvenate us?
In the first reading, one sympathizes with the people of Israel as they wander in a desert country with livestock and children in tow. It may seem easy to pull out a bottle of water for the family. But how do you satisfy thirsty cattle and flocks with water? A cow can drink over ten gallons of water a day – and more when it is hot. We recently installed a standby generator on our farm to ensure that our well is always able to pump water for our cattle. A power outage could lead to disastrous results if tanks go dry. Our ancient predecessors in the faith found themselves in a similar situation.
But their healthy desire for water also revealed an unhealthy disposition. By blaming Moses and accusing him of treachery, they show a loss of faith. They experienced miracle after miracle in their journey out of Egypt, but they apparently needed more assurance. As it says in the Psalm, “they tested me though they had seen my works.”
From the safe perspective of hindsight, this may sound childish. But I have been there, done that, too. God was patient with them. He did not smite them, but instead provided another miraculous sign of His love and care. Nevertheless, we recount their story as a lesson about hardness of heart, a loss of faith that seems to form an impermeable membrane between the water of God’s love and our thirsty souls. Fear and doubt keep the water from refreshing us, and we stay thirsty. Or worse yet, we may lose our sense of thirst entirely and go about as though we are satisfied, when instead we are dying from our lack of living water.
How different is the reaction of the Samaritan woman in today’s Gospel! She likely had a hard-knock life. She was getting her water alone rather than with friends, a sign of alienation within her community. This alienation led her to a unique encounter with Jesus. Jesus put some uncomfortable truths before her. Instead of making excuses or blaming others, she responded with openness. In doing so, she allowed the living water to enter and change her life.
Paul’s letter to the Romans further affirms truth that we must hold: God’s love is poured out in our hearts to bring life to our thirsty souls. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. When we forget God’s love, this sign reminds us. The Holy Spirit is at work within and among us to refresh this truth.
In this Lenten season, let us open our hearts to life-giving water. When uncomfortable truths emerge, let us respond with repentance, not excuses. And if we doubt God’s love, let us pause and recall the many signs that God has placed in our lives, the greatest of which is the gift of his Son to bring us life with Him forever. Thanks be to God.
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
JESUS' MERCY FOR THE DESPISED | ||
| "God proves His love for us." �Romans 5:8 | ||
The Samaritan woman came to Jacob's well at about noon after all the other villagers had come to use the well (see Jn 4:6). She was possibly trying to avoid meeting people who despised her. She may have even despised herself and wanted in her self-hatred not to be seen in public. However, Jesus was already at the well � waiting all by Himself to give amazing revelations to this most unlikely candidate. He spoke to her of God's gift of living water (Jn 4:10), becoming in her "a fountain ... leaping up to provide eternal life" (Jn 4:14). After beginning to reveal to her the Holy Spirit and Baptism, Jesus told her that He is the Messiah (Jn 4:26). The Samaritan woman then became an effective missionary, as she led many of her fellow villagers to faith in Jesus (Jn 4:39). Jesus, in His mercy, chose this despised woman to receive some of the greatest revelations ever given. Jesus made her His witness and graced her missionary work with power. God "chose the world's lowborn and despised, those who count for nothing" (1 Cor 1:28). If your life is such that hardly anyone respects you, if you have ruined your life, you can still have "a future full of hope" (Jer 29:11), for Jesus is "rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4). Lord Jesus, have mercy on us. | ||
| Prayer: Father, during this Lent may I enter as never before into the depths of Jesus' heart of mercy (see Mt 11:29). | ||
| Promise: "They told the woman: 'No longer does our faith depend on your story. We have heard for ourselves, and we know that this really is the Savior of the world.' " —Jn 4:42 | ||
| Praise: Praise You, Jesus, for never abandoning us. Lord Jesus, You are the beacon for all who "worship in Spirit and truth" (see Jn 4:24). All praise to You! |
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
A spring of water welling up to eternal life
Would you do a favor for someone who snubbed you or treated you like an enemy? Jesus did just that and more! He treated the Samaritans, the sworn enemies of the Jews, with great kindness and respect. The Samaritans who lived in middle region of Israel between Galilee and Judaea and the Jews who lived in the rest of the land of Israel 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 tired from the journey 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 her local town? She was an outcast and not welcomed among her own townspeople. Jesus then did something no respectable Jew would think of doing. He reached out to her, 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 treated the woman like he would treat one of his friends - he greeted her and spoke at length with her. Jesus' welcoming approach to her was scandalous to both Jews and Samaritans because this woman was 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 (170-236 AD), an early Christian writer and theologian who lived in Rome, 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 (330-379 AD), a great early Christian teacher and Greek bishop of Caesarea, 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."
Psalm 95:1-2,6-9
1 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would hearken to his voice!
8 Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
A Daily Quote for Lent: The Living Water of the Spirit, by John Chrysostom, 347-407 AD
Sometimes Scripture calls the grace of the Spirit "fire," other times it calls it "water." In this way, it shows that these names are not descriptive of its essence but of its operation. For the Spirit, which is invisible and simple, cannot be made up of different substances... In the same way that he calls the Spirit by the name of "fire," alluding to the rousing and warming property of grace and its power of destroying sins, he calls it "water" in order to highlight the cleansing it does and the great refreshment it provides those minds that receive it. For it makes the willing soul like a kind of garden, thick with all kinds of fruitful and productive trees, allowing it neither to feel despondency nor the plots of Satan. It quenches all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (HOMILIES on THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.1)
More Homilies
3 Lent
Third Sunday of Lent - A Cycle - John 4:5-15,19-26,39,40-42
A British princess was treated graciously by a shopclerk. She told his employer of his deference to her station. The puzzled shopkeeper said, "Princess, he treats everyone the same way."
one reason the Father humanized His Son in the person of Jesus was to allow us to find a divine person eminently approachable. Thus we can latch onto Him in happy days but also in blue ones. one can prove this thesis by using today's Gospel.
The first point to notice is the woman is not named. John wanted her to be a type for us sinners. Slip your name into the blank spot. There is room for every mother's child of us.
The Christ painted here by the artist John is sensitive and warm. The reader can just about extend a hand and feel the Teacher. When the Gospel opens, Jesus and His people are on the run from southern Palestine. John the Baptist had just been arrested. Christ did not want to wait around until the authorities decided to round up the usual suspects. He and His party were heading quick march into the safety of the northern Palestinian mountains. He knew that territory better than the south. There nobody would lay a hand on Him. He would campaign again but on His own terms.
one of the great charms of Jesus, who owned nothing but a toothbrush bought at Wal-Mart, is that He could break camp anytime and at any place. He did not own enough to fill even a brown paper bag. John is asking us why we need to have so many possessions. We need a fleet of trucks to move us. After all, we can only wear one pair of shoes at a time.
For safety reasons, Jesus was moving through Samaria. The Samaritans disliked the Jews then as much as many Arabs do today. The Jewish police would not dare follow Him lest they be murdered. Ironically, events would prove the Nazarene received a better hearing from the Samaritans than from His own fellow-Jews.
He and the twelve were only into the second of their three day journey. They had covered thirty blistering miles and with no bottled water. The party finally came to a deep well fed by a fresh spring of delicious cool water. It was near the town of Sychar. There was a problem. Jesus had no rope or bucket. The well was one hundred feet deep. Shrewd John is faxing us the message that the clever Jesus began His journey without a jar. John here is asking all of us, "Isn't this a Christ you can identify with? Have you not yourselves made similar dumb mistakes?" His apostles rush off to Home Depot to buy rope and a bucket. But the Teacher is too dehydrated to join them. His get up and go had got up and gone. His feet were killing Him. His wet clothing was sticking to His skin. John is shouting to us, "Jesus knew what exhaustion was." Do you feel you cannot relate with Him?" John too is telling us the Messiah gave others the opportunity to do favors for Him. He knew that others are anxious to be generous. Do we accept favors reluctantly?
No doubt Christ sat in the shade offered by the well. The energies He had left were spent fighting off the mosquitoes looking for lunch. He was feeling sorry for Himself. Can you not identify with Him?
The Samaritan woman found herself attracted to this Christ. Why was she so swept off her feet by the Man at the well? This was not the first man she had met. If anything, she was an authority on men. She could have written her own Dear Abby column. As Christ gently reminded her, she had six lovers. She had forgotten more about men than most women will ever know. Professional prostitute though she might be, Christ engaged this woman as an equal. He showered her with kindness and treated her as a princess. This type of deference she had never received from any of her Johns. They had treated her like white trash. He realized the truth of the aphorism that while words can't break bones, they can break hearts. Christ saw in her not the evil she had done but rather the heroine she could become with His encouragement.
Do you believe Jesus will not forgive your sins? Recall the sinner who asked the monk: "Will Jesus really forgive me?" The monk asked: "Do you throw away dirty clothes?" "No." "Then neither will Jesus throw you away. No matter what your past, your future is spotless."
Come and drink a glass of cool well water with Christ and confess your sins.
Frjoeshomilies.net
3 Lent
Third Sunday of Lent: Thirst No More
She really was quite intelligent, this Samaritan Woman that Jesus met at the well. She engaged Jesus in discussion about Jews and Samaritans. She asked him, "Why do you bother talking to me? Jews don't speak to Samaritans." She even delved a bit into theological argument, "We worship on the Mountain; you worship in Jerusalem, so who's right?"
She was also a hard worker, not a lazy woman. She was at that well probably to get the water she needed to care for her livestock, clean her home, and, perhaps, prepare the afternoon meal. Her life was difficult, but no more than any other woman of her time and place. However, her life was different. She had gone through five husbands and now was living with a man she had not married. No one respected her. She did not respect herself. She had given up on herself and just gone with whatever the immediate situation presented. Another husband, another man. Another child. Who's the father of this one? Of that one? She had learned to live with the emptiness that comes from accepting sin in her life.
She was thirsty. It may have been her sheep or her home that needed the water, but she herself was quite thirsty. She was dry. Internally, spiritually, she was thirsty. She had led a sinful life but had refused to acknowledge her sins and seek forgiveness. Perhaps, like many of us, she felt that the past would go away if she just did not think about it. However, that didn't quench her thirst. She went about her daily routine, doing her best to ignore the emptiness within herself. But it was still there, that thirst, that dryness.
on the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink." (John 7:37)
A thirsty Jesus goes to the same well. He sees the woman and thirsts even more. He also is dry, but he is not empty. He thirsts for the people who need Him. one of his last words from the Cross would be, "I thirst." He was not talking about water. He was speaking about the overwhelming desire within him to bring God's love to the world.
At the well, Jesus simply tells the woman that she will remain dry unless she confronts her past and changes her life. These are the words she needed to hear. She submits to the Love of God. From that moment on she is absolved, transformed. Her thirst is quenched. Now she has a spring of water within her, a reservoir really. She is overflowing with the Love of Jesus the Christ.
She goes into the town. Her joy is on her face. The townspeople experience her peace and want this for themselves. So they go out to the well to meet Jesus. They go to investigate. They experience God.
This wonderful drama, the first of three we will hear the next few weeks, is really a drama about our lives. We thirst for God. Sometimes we drink Him in. Often we ignore Him. Sometimes we downright reject Him. But He doesn't give up on us. Perhaps we finally give in and let Him transform our lives. We confront our sins, take responsibility for our actions, and allow the compassion of the Lord into our lives. Then we have that joy that pours out from us to everyone around us. And then others seek out and find Christ.
We will probably be thirsty again. With the distractions of our lives, it is easy for us to lose sight of the fundamental reason for our existence, to know love and serve God. With the pressures of our society, the responsibility to provide for the family financially, the mission to raise our children, the fight against sickness and suffering in our lives, it is easy to lose sight of why we are doing what we do. As a result, we feel thirsty, dry within. With the pressures of the anti-Catholic, anti-theistic, immoral aspects of our society, it is easy for us to give in to arguments that justify improper or immoral behavior. It is easy for us to return to dryness.
We will thirst again. And in one way, this is good, very good. It is part of the human condition to thirst for God. St. Augustine wrote, "Our hearts are made for you, O God, and can not rest until they rest in you." We will always thirst for a greater presence of God. We seek His Presence throughout our lives, particularly in the love of others, in the love of our families, in the love of those reaching out to us for help. Many of you seek God in the love of your marriages, and your children or, for the children, in their parents' love. We will all always thirst for a greater presence of God in our reading the Word of God and our sharing in the Eucharist.
We need to take this thirst with us wherever we go. We need to bring the longing for Jesus with us so others can experience the joy that the very longing for His Presence forms in our lives. Remember, the townsfolk only experienced Jesus because they first experienced the joy of His Presence in the woman who had just returned from the well of God's Love and Compassion. We cannot be afraid to let all know that Jesus is the joy of our lives.
Sometimes people ask me, "How do I bring Jesus to the school, to the workplace, to my family, to the neighborhood?" If we focus on His Presence in our lives, if we recognize the Mercy and Compassion we have received, others will experience Him within us.
There is a famous Latin ｅxpression, "Nemo dat quo non habat." It means, "No one gives what he does not have." We cannot bring God to others if we do not have Him ourselves. The opposite of this ｅxpression is also true. It is powerful and life transforming. "We cannot help but give Him whom we have." If we have the Lord, then we cannot keep Him from others. Our very being will not allow us to keep the joy within us secret. The spring of water within us will well up to Eternal Life.
Today's Gospel calls us to remember the Source of our Joy. It reminds us that we do not have to settle with putting up with life. Jesus has given us mercy and compassion. Jesus has transformed our lives. Like the woman at the conclusion of the reading, we live in the joy of the Lord.
If we drink the water that he gives us, we will thirst no more.
Stmaryvalleybloom.org
* Available in Spanish - see Spanish Homilies
3 Lent
The First Scrutiny (March 15, 2020)
Bottom line: Those spiritual powers are personal - Satan and the demons. We need the power of Jesus to combat them.
This Sunday we have the First Scrutiny: an exorcism prayer based on the Gospel we just heard where Jesus offers the Samaritan woman "Living Water" that is, the Holy Spirit.
"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 then dialogues with the woman about the state of her soul. She admits she has had five husbands. Bishop Barron says: "Think of the five husbands as five errant paths the woman has taken. She has 'married' herself to wealth, pleasure, honor, power, material things, etc.""Or think of them as five ideologies or gurus she has followed hoping to find joy."
It was not easy for the woman to accept Jesus. She had become cynical about men in general and as a Samaritan she bears a hostility to Jews. Think of the aversion some Democrats feel about Republicans - and vica versa - and you will have a tiny idea of the hostility between Samaritans and Jews.
Jesus knows all the issues involved but he knows something else - the spiritual powers that turn us away from God and from each others. Those spiritual powers are personal - Satan and the demons. We need the power of Jesus to combat them. As we will hear in the First Scrutiny:
"Grant that these catechumens, who, like the woman of Samaria, thirst for living water,may turn to the Lord as they hear his word and acknowledge the sins and weaknesses that weigh them down. Protect them from vain reliance on self and defend them from the power of Satan...Amen."
Alexmcallister.co.uk
3 Lent
The First Reading and the Gospel on a Sunday are usually related to each other and this Sunday is no exception. Both of these readings are about water. The First Reading is about Moses striking the rock from which flowed water at Massah and Meribah, sufficient to assuage the people's thirst. In the Gospel we hear the wonderful story of the Woman at the Well.
In this meeting at the well the conversation between Jesus and the woman seems to be operating at two different levels. She takes his words at face value and yet Jesus means his words to be understood at a much deeper level. He is talking not so much about the water in the well as of the waters of Baptism. The waters that Jesus talks about will not just relieve ordinary thirst but will quench that much deeper thirst which is our yearning for salvation.
The fact that this is a Samaritan woman is no coincidence. Jesus often has dialogues of great significance with people who are not Jewish. We know that his mission is not only to the Jewish people but in fact to all the people of the world.
This woman would be socially marginalised at a number of different levels. Firstly, she was a woman and so regarded as a second-class citizen; feminism took another two thousand years to make an appearance. Then she is of dubious reputation since she has had five husbands and the man she was currently with was not her husband. Moreover, her appearance at the well in the middle of the day when most people would be at home resting during the hottest part of the day makes one wonder what she was doing there. We are being invited to think that she might have been there for an immoral purpose.
Then there is the fact that she was a Samaritan and therefore considered to be an outcast by the observant Jews. The Samaritans were regarded as an heretical sect and therefore even more hated by the Jews than ordinary Gentiles. But, of course, Jesus has previously spoken about this group when he told the story of the Good Samaritan as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. There is also in Luke an account of the Ten Lepers of which only the Samaritan returned to thank Jesus when he discovered he was cured.
Then there is the matter of all the husbands this woman has had. When she discovers that Jesus knows all about them, she is surprised and this leads her to presume that Jesus is a prophet. This knowledge that he has convinces her that here is someone special, someone who knows so much more than the ordinary person, someone who can speak about spiritual things and do so with real authority. It leads her to talk a little about the differences between the Jews and the Samaritans
Jesus uses the fact of her being a Samaritan to demonstrate that he certainly knows all about the animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans. He says, "You worship what you do not know but we worship what we do know for salvation comes from the Jews." But he then goes on to tell her that the day is soon coming when believers will worship in spirit and in truth. We understand very well that Jesus is blind when it comes to questions of race and religion. He looks into a person’s heart and not to the outward observance of matters of faith or questions of heredity.
Jesus doesn't often reveal directly to anyone that he is the Messiah but he does so to this Samaritan woman despite her dubious reputation. This is an example of how Jesus favours the poor and despised. We don't know for certain whether she was poor but we certainly can conclude that she was despised. Even his disciples reproach Jesus for talking to her in such an open way. It says that though they didn't say anything they were surprised to find him speaking to her. I think they we not so much surprised as appalled.
The upshot of the story is that this woman goes back to her village and rouses all the people and tells them that Jesus has revealed to her that he is the Messiah and many come to believe in him. This shows that she understands her new role to be that of an Evangelist and on the strength of her testimony she is able to bring other people to faith.
In this the woman is like us because this is our role too, to speak in a convincing way that Jesus is the Lord of all and that we should believe his words because he is the true son of the Father. We need to bring the Gospel message to the people we live and work among. Primarily this is, of course, to our children but also to all those we meet. Maybe we don't always have to do it with words but perhaps more effectively by our example.
We cannot ever underestimate the importance of this duty to evangelise others. After all, we would not want it to lie on our conscience that a particular person did not come to faith because we were too lazy to tell them the truths of the Gospel.
Jesus stays in the village for two days and explains his Gospel of love to the people there. They are obviously entranced by his words and his insights and they come to a deep understanding of what God wants from them. Jesus doesn't convert them to Judaism but rather explains the much deeper truths that he has to offer. We can imagine that he taught them about the salvation that he was soon to bring to the human race and the importance of love as the driving force of our lives.
The people then admitted to the woman, "Now we no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the Saviour of the World." After listening to our testimony we would be very happy if other people could say those same words to us.
More Homilies
March 19, 2017 Third Sunday of Lent
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