3rd Sunday of Lent: February 24, 2008

If you don’t have water and you’re so thirsty, that’s painful. What more if you’re traveling in the desert. That’s what the First Reading this Sunday is all about. God is the life-giving water to his people Israel.

The second reading tells us that through Jesus, the love of God has been poured out into our hearts.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks personally to a Samaritan woman, an outsider. It was a personal encounter between two people belonging to groups that hated each other. He reveals to her that he is the living water, that is, the giver of new life.

Reflection

Ordinarily, we don’t want to talk to and listen to people who look down on us. We’d rather speak with those who respect us and accept us. Jesus goes beyond our human bias and prejudice and engages the Samaritan woman into dialogue. In spite of constantly falling short of Christian acceptance and welcome of one another, the Lord always holds us in great respect and deep esteem. He sees all the possibilities and potentials that are in us. It is this same outlook and life of Christ that we need to allow to keep growing in us. We thirst for unconditional acceptance and unbiased welcome. It is Jesus, the living water, that quenches our thirst for all that is good and meaningful, most especially our longing for God himself.

Response

Dispose yourself to meet the Lord from person to person that you encounter. This way, He fills our thirst for real life and become more like Him each day. May we learn He is speaking to us in the people who we encounter especially those who cry for help.