Third Sunday of Lent – Cycle AExodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8;
John 4:5-42
I must confess that this is one of my favorite stories in all of scripture.
Jesus meets a Samaritan woman and asks for a drink of water. By the end of the story, Jesus has a new town that believes that he is the son of God. Jesus chooses this person to carry the good news to her people. And the fact that she is a woman, a Samaritan, a sinner, does not bother Jesus in the least. Along the way we see this woman’s progression of faith. Through the eyes of this new disciple, we see that Jesus goes from being a stranger, to a Jewish man, to a prophet, to possibly the Christ, to the promised savior of the world. In this simple encounter, this woman hears about living waters. By the time that she runs and tells the townspeople, she has discovered her own living water that has been trapped inside her hardened heart.
So where does this living water come from? I used to believe that we received living water at our baptisms. I know better now. After working with the RCIA team this past year, I can truthfully testify that these men and women that are about to join our church already possess living water. I understand now that the gift of living water is bestowed on all of us by God. The real question that we all must ask ourselves is this – Where does it go? And how do we find it again?
Back when my sons were in grade school, I tried to teach them a lesson about Jesus. We had just heard Matthew’s Gospel about “what you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me.” As we were leaving church, I pointed out the homeless man in the parking lot and told them that THAT was Jesus. It became a little game between my son Michael and me. We would go into church and I would ask if he had seen Jesus in church today. Michael would look to the back of church and exclaim “There he is!” I was proud of the lesson that he had learned. Time passed and the game was forgotten. Then a few years ago, I had what I will describe as a “living water moment.” It was a Friday evening, and Susan and I were in a rush. We had to be at a weekend retreat and we were running behind schedule. You know how it is – leave work, stop by the bank, get home and throw some clothes together, stop at McDonalds for a quick bite and then hit the road. Frankly, I was not looking forward to the retreat. I was not in the right frame of mind. We had just gotten our food and sat down at our table when who should walk in but the homeless man from our church. Suddenly an overwhelming sense of calm came over me. I literally felt my blood pressure go down. I made eye-contact with this man and it was like rediscovering Jesus all over again. It was the highlight of the retreat, and we hadn’t even gotten there yet! I had found God not in the Word, not in the Eucharist, but in the eyes of a man whose worldly possessions fit inside a shopping cart. Talk about a wake-up call.
We can all look back over our lives and remember times when we felt alive in the spirit of God. The living water inside us gushed forth and nourished all those around us. That’s because living water is best when it’s shared with others. But there are other times in our lives when divine inspiration is lacking. We may still pray, still go to church, still volunteer our time, but it seems as if we are just going through the motions. I know it sounds a little mushy, but at times like these, it takes a personal encounter with Jesus to break open our hardened hearts and let the living water spring forth again. The problem is that we cannot schedule a “living water moment” with Christ. We cannot say, “Today I will see Jesus.” So, how does it happen? We can start by making a conscious decision to look for Christ in other people. It may be easy for us to see Christ in the people we see giving food to the poor, but what about the person receiving the donated food? What about the person who honks their horn at us because we stop at the light too long? How about the person who was just released from prison and is now living in our neighborhood? We may have to look harder to find the Christ in people where His love is not so obvious. But, keep looking! Most things become easier with practice, and we can increase our awareness of Christ in others by practicing. We can open our hearts and allow it to happen. During this Lenten season, let us all open our hearts and minds and allow a personal encounter of some kind with God. Let us all strive to rediscover the living waters in each of us.
Deacon Darryl J. Diemer
3rd Sunday of Lent
March 15, 2009
