3RD SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR A)

1st Reading               Exodus 17:3-7

Psalm                          95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (R. 8)

R:// "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts"

2nd Reading            Romans 5:1-2, 5-8

Gospel                       John 4:5-42

JESUS MEETS US

Friends, Peace and Goodness! Today is the 3rd Sunday of Lent (Year A). Let us look at what the readings offer us. The first reading is from Exodus 17:3-7 and thr Gospel is from John 4:5-42. 

Let us pay attention to the Gospel passage and notice three very important details worth reflecting on. The Gospel passage is the encounter between the Samaritan Woman and Jesus at a Well. On the surface, this narrative sounds simple without weight. A deep dive into it will reveal tragedy, a heart struggling to survive, and God's intervention. 

The first detail I suggest is the posture and state of Jesus at the Well. Thus, "Jesus, tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well" (Jn. 4:6). We mostly find the Gospel of John laying much emphasis on Jesus' divinity. Here in this passage, he speaks subtly about his humanity. We read about a tired and thirsty Jesus. It is human to experience these. Coming to the well in that region of the Samaritans tired and thirsty could point to something. It is not normal for a Jew to use the Samaritan route up north to Galilee. To avoid using that route, Jews from Judea would go around Samaria. In fact, going through Samaria was a shorter route. Why would Jesus use a shorter route and even get tired and meet a woman at a Well? 

The author of the Gospel said Jesus NEEDED to go through Samaria (Jn. 4:4). The Greek word used there is EDEI. This word points to a divine necessity. It indicates in the narrative that there is an occasion of utmost importance to be attended to. The divine necessity points in the direction of the woman. Jesus came because of the woman. He was tired and in need of water, yet more than that, he needed the woman. He needed her, particularly in her brokenness. 

It is true of us, too. Jesus sees us in our struggles, tiredness, and needs (whatever that may be for you). He does bypass us; He intentionally meets us where we are. Nothing hinders Jesus from making plans to meet us in our confusion. He goes beyond cultural, historical, and religious boundaries to meet us. It shows how each one of us is carefully thought of by God. Every day there is a divine necessity in our favour. 

The second details is that the Disciples "Went to Buy Food". Thus, "for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food" (Jn. 4:8). This might appear as an apparently useless detail. It might, at first glance, appear to be a merely narrative background. However, it serves a great purpose. It explains why Jesus is alone speaking with the woman. In the Jewish cultural context of the first century, a Rabbi speaking privately with a Samaritan woman would have been highly unusual. The absence of the disciples allows the conversation to happen freely. Second, it prepares the later misunderstanding about food in John 4: 31-34. When the disciples return, they urge Jesus to eat, but he replies, saying, "My food is to the will of him who sent me". Just as the Samaritan woman misunderstood water, the disciples misunderstood food. John uses this pattern repeatedly in the Gospel. Nicodemus misunderstood the issue of birth (Jn. 3), and there is misunderstanding about bread with the crowd (Jn. 6). The disciples' trip to buy food therefore becomes part of the Johannine motif of misunderstanding leading to deeper revelation.

What do we make of this? In contemporary times, especially in the crisis of faith, this tells us that God often works through unexpected moments and people. The disciples' absence created space for a divine encounter. Similarly, our own "absences", like moments of doubt or vulnerability, can become opportunities for Jesus to reveal Himself.

It also informs us that misunderstandings can lead to deeper revelation. When we face crises of faith, we might be misunderstanding God's provision or presence. Like the Samaritan woman or the disciples, we can encounter Jesus in unexpected ways. These ways transform our struggles into pathways to deeper faith.

The third detail is that the woman is said to have had five (5) husbands, and the one she is with now is not her husband. Notice that the woman in view is a Samaritan. I want to suggest that the whole of Samaria is seen in this woman. How? This relates to the Samaritan religious system. The Samaritans accepted only the five books of the Pentateuch as Scripture. It suggests that the Samaritan faith is incomplete. In fact, the sixth husband is not someone she is legally and rightfully married to. Samaria does not have a full covenantal system like the the Jews. 

Jesus brings completion where there is brokenness, healing where there is imperfection. He offers the living water that satisfies the thirst of both body and soul, bridging gaps of culture, history, and religion. Where our faith or our communities are incomplete, Jesus offers the living water that restores, fulfills, and completes.

Pax et Bonum