Exodus 17:3-7 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42
Most of us never face real thirst. And if that should happen, we can find clean water to slake our thirst. But what if that wasn't true? What if there was no water, or if the water at hand was not drinkable. Just ask people in Flint, Michigan or Jackson, Mississippi or East Palestine, Ohio. Water… ordinary, safe drinking water… is one of those things we don't appreciate until we don't have it. And water is vital for life.
So when Jesus, speaking to the Samaritan woman, describes himself as living water, they both understand what that means. She must come every day and draw water from this well to sustain her life. And, as Jesus points out, “ Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again.” Even water from this well will not satisfy her deep thirst.
And so it is with us. Saint Augustine writes, "You have made us for yourself, Oh Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.“ Nothing else will satisfy our deepest thirst. Not financial security, nor the respect and admiration of others, nor power and influence. We see the examples all around us, those people for whom there is never enough power or money or “likes” on social media to satisfy their deepest thirst.
May our Lenten practice of fast and abstinence remind us of our deepest thirst, our relationship with the Lord, and strengthen us against the temptation to put anything else in its place.
Living the gospel.
The gospel tells us, "Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified.“ The words we speak and the lives we live will draw others to Christ if they are shaped by love.
by: Pat Schnee