THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
3 MARCH 2024
In
his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul speaks of God’s incredible love poured out
into our hearts. This love has been
given to us through the Holy Spirit. We
have not earned this love. We do not
deserve this love. In fact, the most
remarkable manifestation of this love is expressed in the willingness of Jesus
Christ to die for us, even though we are sinners.
In the
Gospel, Saint John uses the story of the woman at the well to present this
incredible gift of God’s love being poured out for us. Jesus approaches an unnamed woman, a hated
Samaritan who comes to the well at noon to avoid the other women. He treats her with respect, even though
Jewish men would never converse with Samaritan women. After asking her for a drink from the well,
Jesus speaks of the life-giving water that he will give. As they talk, she is amazed that Jesus does
not condemn her for her previous six husbands.
He is the seventh bridegroom who truly loves her and who will satisfy
her deepest thirsts. She gradually comes
to believe that he is the long-promised Messiah. She leaves her jar, her most valuable
possession, to bring the good news to the rest of the town.
This is
what has been happening to our Elect.
They have been meeting for months to explore the possibility that Jesus
Christ is inviting them to have his life-giving love poured out to them in
Baptism. They have received
catechesis. They have learned that God
has always poured out his love. That is
the point of the first reading from the Book of Genesis. When the Israelites are complaining because
they have no water, Moses strikes the rock to provide water. Instead of throwing rocks at Moses, the
pouring out of water tells them that God has not abandoned them and continues
to pour out his love for them. The Elect
have prayed together and with us at Mass.
They have been formed into the traditions of the Church. Bishop Rhoades elected (or chose) them to
spend this Lenten Season as a time of Purification and Enlightenment to prepare
for the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil.
At the
10:00 Mass, we celebrate the First Scrutiny.
Of all the Rites of the Church, the Scrutinies are the most
misunderstood. In English, we tend to
think of “scrutiny” as a form of harsh interrogation. That is not what happens. The priest calls the Elect forward with their
sponsors. He prays over them and lays
his hands on their heads. The Scrutinies
are celebrated in order to deliver the elect from the power of sin and Satan,
to protect them from temptations, and give them strength in Christ, who is the
way, the truth, and the life. The
Scrutinies are intended to complete the conversion of the Elect and deepen
their resolve to hold fast to Christ and to carry out their decision to love God
above all.
The
Scripture Readings for these three Sundays have been used for centuries to
purify and enlighten the Elect during Lent.
That is why we switch to the A Cycle readings, because we are a parish
preparing these good people for the Sacraments of Initiation. Even though we celebrate the Scrutinies only
at the 10:00 Mass, all of us baptized people hear these readings as a way of
reflecting on our own preparations to renew out Baptismal promises at
Easter. The love of Jesus Christ may
have been poured out in our hearts at Baptism.
But, we have not always lived our baptismal promises. We have tried to satisfy our thirst with lots
of other stuff. We embrace the
disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to empty ourselves of those ways
that do not ultimately satisfy. We join
the woman at the well and our Elect in renewing our desire to be reconciled to
Jesus Christ, who is the Way. Next
Sunday, we join the man born blind to see Jesus as the truth. On the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Lazarus teaches
us to see Jesus as the life. Jesus is
the way, the truth, and the light. Lent
invites us to embrace him more completely.
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