Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Today the readings are talking about water. Water is an element and symbol of life. In Israel except for the area around the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan Valley, the land of the Jews is arid, dry, and has lifeless salt deserts at the Dead Sea. From their experience of seeking water, people know that water means life, being without water is deadly.
The theme of "water" runs through the whole Gospel of John. In the beginning, in Cana, water is turned into wine. Then there is talk of the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit. In baptism, the washing and pouring of water is the visible sign that brings about humans sanctification and incorporation into Christ. At the pool of Bethesda, Jesus heals a man who has been sick for 38 years and who could never climb into the water by himself. At the Shiloach pond, Jesus gives sight to a blind man. On the cross, blood and water flow from Jesus' heart. Water and blood were understood from the beginning as symbols for the Eucharist and baptism.
In today's Gospel, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman in Samaria. There was the Jakob’s well, which the progenitor Jakob had given to his son Josef. Because Jesus was tired, he sat down at the edge of the well. He's thirsty too. He speaks to the woman who drew water and asks her for water. The woman was amazed because the Jews avoided meeting the Samaritans. The Jews of Judea and Galilee viewed the Samaritans as "half heathen."
In our story, the conversation about water takes a different direction. Jesus tells her, "If you knew what the gift of God is and who it is that says to you, 'Give me a drink! then you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman misunderstands Jesus. She cannot pick up the new content of the conversation. She replies that wouldn't work, he didn't have a jar and the well was very deep. Jesus sticks to his suggestion. However, the living water does not mean to quench the body's thirst. Jesus answered her: “Whoever drinks of this water will get thirsty again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again; Rather, the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water, the water of which gives eternal life.” Then the woman said to him: “Lord, give me this water so that I won't be thirsty anymore and won't come here anymore must to draw water."
The woman hasn't understood yet, she's still thinking about the tiresome task of drawing water. But Jesus' spirit slowly begins to open the depths of her searching heart. She suspects that it is about her thirst for life, acceptance and love. A merciful love flows from Jesus himself and fills her.
The Samaritan woman had her experiences in life. Instead of the happiness she was looking for, disappointments came. She never found true love with any of the five men she had. Maybe she wasn't capable of it either. Jesus accepts it. She finds God's mercy and grace. She is filled with his spirit, she drinks the water of the merciful God.
And look how close Jesus and the woman are! How Jesus leads the conversation until she understood. We find that closeness in several parts of the gospel. For instant when Jesus talks to Peter, to Thomas. Very private, very close until they understand.
We humans all thirst for love. We often have to see through false promises of happiness that arise from our desire to have. We need time to learn and mature. It is a grace when we recognize and align ourselves accordingly that true love gives itself away and first seeks the happiness of the other. A person who discovers this source of love is already drinking from God's grace and mercy. The Samaritan woman ran into the city and confessed Jesus as the Messiah.
May the encounter with the true depths of love become an encounter with God, which we continue to proclaim. Let's not keep the water to ourselves. We can and should become witnesses of the hope of the Gospel through the celebration of Lent.
~Prior, Fr. Anastasius Reiser, OSB