A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 4:5-42
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” —For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.— Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one speaking with you.”
At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or “Why are you talking with her?” The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” They went out of the town and came to him. Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”
Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I have done.” When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”
REFLECTION: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Hope has only four letters but carries with it a big punch. Without hope or desire one would just wither away in self pity, would wallow in resignation, and perhaps grow in envy or hatred. I once had the opportunity to participate in a support group that was nondenominational. After a few sessions, I was overcome with the negativity, the loss of hope, the disbelief of blessings and the never ending questions of "if there is a higher power why have we no answer yet." Many resorted to their own superpower, their own resilience, and energy to help solve their problems to attain goodness, wholeness and love. Their solution was unidirectional and under their control. Never was God the source of their hope.
It seemed that everytime the Israelites came across a problem, they would lose hope and test God. In Exodus, in Meribah and Massah, the Israelites grumbled for lack of water. Moses, following God's command, struck the rock, and behold there was water. In the gospel, Jesus promises the "living water" to all who would believe in Him. Water is needed to live and therefore is the symbol of life and the salvation of man. This faith in God's promises and hope in our future is only available through God's gift. And who gets this gift? All of us who accept God's love.
Many times as we have learned over and over again, we need to love God more than anything that we desire or hope for. If our dreams, our problems, our children, our job, our family, our possessions, or our material things are loved more than our love for God, we will indeed lose hope. For now, find a quiet place, surrender to the one who loves you more than your mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, spouse or friend. Surrender to the one who desires your love in return. Wait for the "living water" that will fill your needs, and desires to eternal life.
Praying for our Priests not to lose hope. To always be searching for that spring water that wells up infront of the temple, and becomes a great river. Prayer for Priests
God Bless You
