Today and for the next two Sundays, our Gospels have a special message for those whom the Church calls the elect, folks who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil. Today, we heard the story of the woman at the well. Next Sunday we will hear the story of the man born blind and on the following Sunday, the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. These stories are not just for the Elect, they are vitally important for the rest of us as well. The Church is using these gospels to help all of us look into our lives, examine our hearts, to know and name where we thirst, and to ask ourselves, “Is God there for us?”
Lets consider the woman at the well. None of us have literally traveled her path. We haven’t had to trek many miles to any well at high noon to tote water back to our homes. Instead, we take water for granted. With the turn of the tap, we have clean safe water for drinking, bathing, cooking and washing. Unlike the Israelites in the desert, I doubt any of us ever experienced thirst that left us grumbling.
On the other hand, we may relate to the thirst expressed by the Samaritan woman. She is craving for something more than plain stagnant water to quench her physical thirst. Scandalized at first that Jesus, a Jew, would converse with her, much less ask a favor, she listens to what he has to say and realizes that what he has to offer is of more value that all the water she could ever draw from the cistern.
Jesus points out that the water he has to offer is living water, even better than the flowing water she first envisioned, which sounded so refreshing beneath the midday sun. “Everyone,” Jesus asserts, “who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst.”
Jesus is making a point that is often ignored. Our souls thirst just as our bodies do. If you are feeling spiritually empty, you are yearning for God. We may not realize that because our lives are filled with many distractions, which we are tempted into believing will bring us the lasting satisfaction we seek.
If you are feeling empty, despite all that you have (a place to call home, clothes to keep you warm and dry, food to nourish and sustain you, and companions who journey with you), that means there is a gaping hole in your heart, a hole that only God can fill.
Since this encounter at the well, human nature hasn’t changed much. We spend much energy and time trying to fill the emptiness of our hearts with something other than God, as though we are trying to plug a round hole with a square peg. Whatever our indulgences may be, sooner or later, we will learn that they can’t quench the thirst of our inner being.
Trying to quench our spiritual thirst with material things is like trying to satisfy our physical thirst with salt water. The more we drink, the thirstier we get. Describing this as spiritual restlessness, St. Augustine points out, “Our hearts are made for God, and they will not rest, until they rest in God.”
One doctor, known for the Christian principles he practiced, was seldom seen without a beautiful fresh rosebud in the lapel of his suit. It remained fresh for a long time because he kept the stem in a small vial of water hidden behind the lapel. The doctor would explain that just as the rose was kept fresh with the water in the vial, the secret of beautiful and fragrant Christian living lies in drawing refreshment from the living water of Jesus.
That is a message many people across the country have been discovering. Invited by someone in their lives “to come and see” what believing in Jesus is all about, they are now discovering for themselves through prayer, discernment and instruction, the joy of becoming a Catholic. Like the Samaritans in the gospel, those preparing for baptism at the Easter Vigil are realizing that Jesus is the source of living water that will bring them eternal life.
We who are already Catholic may have forgotten just how refreshing the living water of Jesus can be. We come here to have our hunger satisfied in the Eucharist, but are we giving Jesus the opportunity to quench our spiritual thirst the rest of the week?
Lent calls us to reflect and scrutinize seriously on our own faith journey. Are you striving to draw closer to Christ through prayer, alms giving and fasting? Are you giving witness to the Gospel in what you say and do?
If not, what’s stopping you? Perhaps your faith is a head-trip, rather than a journey of the heart. Our relationship with Jesus, however, demands more than simply knowing the principles for being a Catholic. Jesus is inviting us to a deeper faith that calls for holding on to values and moral choices, however counter-cultural they may be.
Admittedly, drawing closer to God isn’t easy. Moving into a mature faith relationship confronts our usual way of acting and thinking. But just think, if we would truly accept the challenge Jesus gives us, we would no longer find ourselves thirsting for what really matters. Like the Samaritans, we would say to others what some have said to the elect, “We know that this is truly the savior of the world.”