Tonight’s Gospel (Jn 4:5-42) is one of my favorites:
the Samaritan woman at the well. It is
all about an encounter with Christ. The Church puts this Gospel strategically
on the 3rd Sunday of Lent which is also the first scrutiny for those
coming into the Church at Easter. It is to
emphasize that to be Catholic is to focus on this personal encounter. The Church herself has said that it’s not
about a religion; it’s about a person, Jesus Christ. I can relate to this Gospel story because it’s
one conversation that changes her life.
It was one conversation in college with a priest that changed my
life. We were talking about the
Eucharist and he said, “Greg, this is my body means this is my body”. I don’t know if it was just one line that
changed her life, but it was one encounter that changed her heart and life
forever.
We see it in the way she addresses the Lord. First, it’s “Jew”. Then, it’s “Sir”. Then, “prophet”. And then, “Christ”. She goes from this conversation to tell
others that she has met the Christ and they come to believe. She is seen as the first Christian
evangelizer…she converts a whole town!
It may have been what Jesus said about her personally that changed her
heart about who he is. She could see
that he was a prophet; then told others what he told her about herself.
The encounter begins with and is centered on
water. She comes to Jacob’s Well which
has great significance in the Old Testament.
Water symbolized the life God has given us. When she comes with her water jar to draw
from the well, Jesus offers her greater water…”living water”. She basically asks him, ‘who do you think you
are! Are you greater than our father Jacob?’
He replied by saying that whoever drinks the water from that well will
be thirsty; whoever drinks the water from his well will never thirst. She begins to be attracted to what he is
offering (as anybody would), and asks for that water.
The living water He is offering is the Holy
Spirit. We can see clearly an allusion
to Baptism. For it is in the waters of
Baptism that we first receive the Holy Spirit.
Again, this amazing Gospel is given for those who are preparing to be
baptized at Easter. He is offering them
what he offered the Samaritan woman: the water that wells up to eternal
life! She wants this water, and seems to
drink from it during their conversation.
That is, she gets a taste of the life in the Spirit.
If you noticed, she left her water jar at the well
and went off to tell others about Christ.
That was the very reason she came to the well! This might be the experience of many of you
in coming to GW. You brought your water
jar looking for all of the natural benefits that GW offers with a major,
career, or internships. These are all
good like the water of Jacob’s Well.
But, you have had an encounter with Christ, and have left your water jar
at the well. In other words, you have
seen what the woman saw: that the supernatural transcends the natural. That what you are really looking for is found
in Christ and through His Spirit (for it is only in the Spirit that we know and
live Christ). The living water that He
offers is truly satisfying. It’s on
another level. Life in the Spirit is
supernatural. It transcends the
natural. Just like with her, the natural
leads to the supernatural and is fulfilled by it. This is what Christ offers her. He heroically crosses the lines of gender and
culture to reach her; he wants her soul and heart that much.
I am offering you an experience with the Holy Spirit
this coming Saturday at St. Stephen’s from 1 to 4 pm. This is for GW Catholic students and their
friends. It’s called the “Healing of
Families” seminar. An African priest has
written a book with the same title and brought this to the United States. Over the past
couples of years, many, many people have experienced healing of family
wounds. We all have family
problems. They are intense. This will be intense in looking at the wounds
that are there from childhood trauma, unforgiveness, unhealthy relationships
with friends, involvement with the occult, and family tree issues. The first two hours we will understand where
problems come from in families, and then identify them in our own. The last hour will be to bring all of our family
wounds to the Holy Spirit for him to heal them.
I know this might sound hokey to some of you; it did to me in
college. But, it’s like the Healing
Masses we started here years ago: at first people were wondering, ‘what is
this?’. But, now they are very
popular. Basically, people see it’s the
Holy Spirit and it’s awesome and helpful.
Please be open to coming on Saturday to experience
the power and healing of the Holy Spirit.
It really is the same opportunity that the woman at the well had: an
encounter with Christ and the living water He offers: life in the Spirit that
wells up to eternal life.
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