Homily for 3rd Sunday
of Lent Year A 2023
Introduction
What a long gospel we have just heard! And to think that it all began with Jesus
making a simple request for a drink of water.
But this is something we also do all the
time. When for example, a friend or
business contact invites you for a drink or a cup of coffee, it is rarely just
about the beverage. The drink is simply
the setting for building friendship, sometimes for making up for a mistake, or
even closing a business deal.
Scripture and Tradition
That's what Jesus is doing when he says to
the Samaritan woman: "Give me a
drink." Of course she takes him
literally, thinking that all he wants is to quench his thirst, since it was hot
and he was probably thirsty. But Jesus
is inviting her to an encounter with him, that will heal five wounds that she
has.
The first
wound is that of ethnic or cultural prejudice. You see, Samaritans and Jews did not like
each other, much like many ethnic and cultural prejudices today. The Jews considered the Samaritans impure,
since they were the descendants of the intermarriage between the ten northern
tribes of Israel and the Assyrians who had conquered them. Worse still the Samaritans had set up their
own religion and place of worship to rival the temple in Jerusalem. That is why the woman, filled with prejudice asks
Jesus: "How can you, a Jew, ask me,
a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
But Jesus offers her the hand of friendship,
offering to give her living water, that quenches thirst forever. Still thinking in literal terms about actual
water, she asks, “Sir, give me this
water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Notice the change? She, who a few moments earlier, had insisted
that Jews and Samaritans could not share a cup of water, wants Jesus to solve
her water problem once and for all. Is
it perhaps because that now she sees beyond his Jewishness and sees him as a
human being? Jesus has healed her wound
of ethnic bigotry and prejudice.
But this is just the beginning.
Jesus also heals her of a second wound, the wound of marital infidelity. Her personal life was in a mess. Jesus leads her to confess that she does not
have a husband, for she has had five husbands, and the one she has now is not her
husband. For salvation is not just about
being good to other people; it must start with good order in our own personal lives,
in our family life. And thankfully as
their conversation progresses, Jesus helps her to reflect on the commitment or
lack thereof in her marriage.
A third wound that needs healing is that of unworthy worship. Both the Jewish and Samaritan religions at
the time were in a mess as Jesus shows throughout the gospels. For this woman in particular, she asks Jesus whether
the true place of worship is in Samaria or Jerusalem.
Jesus explains to her that the little
squabbles between Jews and Samaritans about how to worship God will no longer
matter. He says: ". . . the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. . ."
We know that Jesus was referring to Christian worship, which is not tied
to Jerusalem or Samaria, or this shrine or that shrine, but is the Eucharist
and the sacraments, in which throughout the world all Christians offer the
worthy sacrifice of Christ himself, as we are doing now.
This discussion allows the woman to realize
that she has met the Messiah himself, “the
one called the Christ; [who] when he comes, he will tell us everything.” In
fact, when she goes back to the town she tells the people: “He told me everything I have done.”
That healing of her spiritual life in turn
leads to a fourth healing from the wound
of ostracization by her neighbours. Did you notice that she came to the well
alone and at noon? I can tell you from
my experience in Uganda that women usually do not go to the well when it is
really hot, but rather than in the morning or evening when it is cooler. Also, they usually go in groups, sometimes
for safety, but often to have some girl time and may be to gripe about their husbands
to each other. Her behaviour suggests that perhaps because of her marriage
situation, this woman was isolated from the community. But now, after meeting Jesus, she runs back to
the city, to share her new found living water with her neighbours, who, now welcome
her back.
The final wound Jesus heals is not hers,
but that of the community, which like her is now cured of the wound of unbelief. We heard how on hearing from the woman, they
came to hear Jesus himself speak and in gratitude to her, they say: “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.” The outcast has not only
become a disciple but also an apostle; her days of being an outcast are gone,
and their days of ostracising her are in the past, thanks to Jesus.
And so, what began as a simple request for
a drink of water on the part of Jesus and later on the woman’s part, has not
only reconciled Jews and Samaritans, but more importantly has reconciled this
woman, in her personal life, in her relationship with God and in her
relationship with her neighbours.
Christian Application
Today Jesus still comes to us and with his
encounter, especially through his Word and Sacrament, wants to heal those same
five wounds in us.
He comes to us in our neighbour who asks
for a drink of water. I would hope that we don’t respond like the Samaritan woman
first did, saying, "How can you, a
Jew, Muslim, or Protestant, immigrant, homeless man or refugee, Black man,
White woman or Chinese man, ask me, a Christian for a drink?" I would hope that we would instead respond
like the other Samaritan in the gospels, the Good Samaritan, through whom Jesus
teaches Christians to see beyond divisions of religion, race, nationality,
ethnicity, and others.
Secondly, Jesus teaches us in his Word about
commitment. He teaches that we are to
live ordered lives, seeing our bodies as temples of the Lord, being committed
to each other in marriage. He offers us
the sacraments, especially Matrimony which establishes a lasting bond of love,
and penance which repairs any breach in our relationships. We must let him also heal any wounds that
threaten the health of our families.
Thirdly, the Lord has brought us a new form
of worship, in Spirit and Truth. That is
why we come together every Sunday to the Eucharist he left us. We offer no goat
or sheep, nor cow or ox, but the same sacrifice he offered on the Cross. We come to proclaim his death O Lord and
profess your resurrection, until he comes again. It is because our worship is not limited to
Samaria or Jerusalem, that even in the smallest village in Africa or Latin
America, people still worship the Father in Spirit and Truth.
Fourthly, perhaps our sins have also led us
to be cast aside by our neighbors and friends.
Jesus heals that wound, especially in the sacrament of Penance, which
not only forgives us our sins, but also sets us back on the path of healing and
wholeness. For the Lord has also asked
that after we go to confession, like the woman, we return to those we have
hurt, both individuals and communities, and we seek to mend fences.
Finally, Jesus heals others through us, by
using us to bring the gospel to them.
Now they too come to believe in him, not just because of what we told
them, but because they too encounter him in the Word and the Sacraments. Will you let Jesus use you to heal others, to
heal the townspeople?
Conclusion
And so, although we
must never eavesdrop on the confession of another person, Jesus has allowed us
in this gospel, to eavesdrop on the confession and his encounter with the
Samaritan woman.
At the beginning of
Mass we also confess our sins, in our thoughts, in our words and in our deeds;
we confess what we have done and what we have failed to do. And like this woman, after our encounter with
the Lord in his Word and Sacrament at the Eucharist, let us return home ready
to glorify the Lord by our words, ready to proclaim his gospel to all we meet,
just like she did.
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