THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
8 MARCH 2015
In the
Gospel of John, Jesus slowly reveals himself.
He first reveals himself at a wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. In turning water into wine, he reveals that
he can change the ordinary water of our human existence into divine partnership
with God. He is the faithful bridegroom
seeking a bride, seeking those who will recognize him as the Christ and who
will follow him.
Today, the
bridegroom travels to seek new followers who will become his bride. At the well, his ancestor Jacob had wooed
Rachel and took her for his bride. But
that well is located in Samaritan territory.
For centuries, Jews and Samaritans had been enemies. At that well, he not only speaks to an enemy,
but to a woman, an action that would be forbidden. In his thirst, he asks for a drink, knowing
that drinking from a Samaritan woman’s bucket would render him ritually
impure. Ritually impure, he could not
enter the Temple or have contact with others.
The woman
is open to how Jesus reveals himself to her.
At first, she recognizes him as a kind man who treats her with
respect. When she finds that he knows
about her former husbands, she sees him as a prophet who speaks the truth
without condemning her. Finally, he
plainly reveals himself as the Christ, the seventh and most perfect bridegroom
who truly loves and can fulfill her deepest thirst for meaning and for love. She leaves her bucket, her most valuable
possession and becomes the first evangelist, announcing the good news to the
people of the town and bringing them to meet Jesus to recognize for themselves
that he is the Christ.
From very
early in the Church’s history, this Gospel has been used
on the Third Sunday of Lent to guide the Elect in their preparation for
Baptism. They are invited to reflect on
how they have come to know Jesus and how they have gradually come to see him as
Christ. No matter how many false
bridegrooms they have been chasing to satisfy their thirst for love and meaning,
the Bridegroom seeks them out and invites them to the well of the Baptismal
Font. Through those life giving waters,
their sins will be washed away. They
will emerge one with Jesus Christ. They
will put on the white garment that speaks of their incorporation in
Christ.
There are
four Elect in our parish preparing for the Sacraments of Initiation at the
Easter Vigil. Those of us who have been
working with them know that they are not terrible sinners. But, they acknowledge their bad choices and
prepare to encounter the bridegroom, who will quench their thirst in the waters
of Baptism. As they open their hearts to
the truths of today’s Gospel, they will go through the first Scrutiny at the
8:45 and 10:30 Masses. We will pray over
them and ask the Lord to strengthen them in their journey.
If the
Elect resemble the anonymous Samaritan woman, the rest of us are more like the
disciples who return and are amazed that Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman in
public. Those disciples have spent time
with him and are trying to learn the truth about him. But they still don’t get it. We too have come to know Jesus in the waters
of our baptism and have listened to him speaking to us in the Word. Like the Israelites in the desert, we too
have complained that the Lord does not seem to be in our midst at times. Like the anonymous woman, we too have chased
other bridegrooms who could never satisfy us.
We have wandered away and tried to find satisfaction in all kinds of
things: pleasure, wealth, success, fame,
and any number of false gods.
This Season
of Lent provides us with an opportunity to prepare to renew our Baptismal
promises at Easter. Through prayer,
fasting, and almsgiving, we can draw closer to the One who has justified us by
his death. In the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, we acknowledge the ways we have chased after other
bridegrooms. Joined with the Elect, we renew
our commitment to the Bridegroom who has given his life of his, his Bride, the
Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment