3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A
Enkindle in Them the Fire of Your Love archives
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Lectionary Readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A
http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/3rd-sunday-lent-a.html
“…The water I give shall become a fountain
within him, leaping up to provide eternal life”
The gospel for the third Sunday of Lent is from
the gospel of John. It tells us the story of the
conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
In the story, they met at the Jacob’s well. Jesus
was sitting down at the well when the Samaritan
woman came to draw water. What ensued between
Jesus and the Samaritan woman was an exchange of
the difference between Jews and Samaritans that
resulted in the faith and conversion of the woman.
What led to the faith of the Samaritan woman was
the prophetic knowledge Jesus had of her - telling
her about herself and how she had many husbands.
Acknowledging Jesus thus as a prophet, she ran
back to the village to tell her companions. The
villagers begged Jesus to stay with them and now
they know for themselves that Jesus is the Savior
of the world and not only from the testimony of
the Samaritan woman.
The occasion of being in the well gave Jesus
the opportunity to talk of His being able to
give living water - the water that will satisfy
and that anyone who drinks of it will never
thirst again. Since the Samaritan woman needed
something important for her life (water from the
well), this caught her attention. Water is a
basic need for all - especially in a village
like hers which depends on the well for their
drink and for their flocks. Jesus thus spoke
at her level of basic need and invited the
woman to raise her need to something higher -
at a spiritual level. What to the Samaritan
woman was physical water, Jesus spoke of a
living water that “shall become a fountain
within, leaping up to provide eternal life.
One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is water.
And this is what Jesus was alluding to.
In our everyday living, we often are concerned
with the mundane things like the Samaritan
woman. We work for physical food, clothing,
shelter, and an education for our children or
ourselves so that we can earn more to keep up
with the rising cost of living. This Sunday of
Lent, we are called to raise our concerns to a
higher level - to that which shall give us
eternal life. Lent is a time for us to refocus
our attention on the Lord and like the Samaritan
woman be converted and have faith in Him as the
source of eternal life. One way we can do so
is to examine our lives and see where we have
failed to do this and to repent and return to
the Lord with a contrite heart. Only by having
a sorrow for our sins will we begin that step
towards reconciliation with the Lord and once
again strengthen our faith in Him as our
Savior who will lead us to eternal life.
