THIRSTY? ~ CookingFood.Org

“GENEROUS LENT 2017”

Lenten Reflections

Sunday, 19th March 2017.

Third Week of Lent

Ex 17: 3-7;

Ps 95: 1-2, 6-9;

Rom 5: 1-2, 5-8;

Jn 4: 5-42.

THIRSTY?

“Gods must be crazy” is a movie about bushmen in the Kalahari desert. The movie shows the extremities of the desert. One of the bushmen later visited the Tugela Falls (Highest Waterfall in Africa) in South Africa. He was stunned to see so much water falling from heaven. He stood there for hours in amazement. In the Kalahari, the bushmen used to gather dew collected from leaves or juices from underground tubers to quench their thirst. Like in this illustration, today’s liturgy of the third Sunday of lent shows us that we all thirst. Man thirsts for money, pleasure, power and possessions, and even if he amasses a lot, it is still less. On the other side, there is the abundance of “Life-giving” water at our disposal in the Lord Jesus Christ. As we prepare ourselves to enter into paschal mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ during this Lent season, we are today invited to prepare ourselves to quench our spiritual thirst and quench the thirst of Jesus who longs for our soul and eagerly waiting for us. The Lord Jesus thirsted for man to return to God, hence he said on the cross, “I THIRST”.

In the first reading we see the grumbling Israelites. These same people were released from the severe bondage of the Egyptians, and who were walking in freedom towards a promised land. First they grumbled for food, and the Lord provided them manna, a bread tasting like honey. Even when they witnessed this miracle, they did not trust God’s love. They started collecting more than they required, but it all rotted and had worms the next day. Then they grumbled for water. The lord however performs another miracle to quench their thirst. But Israel never learnt to trust the Lord. Human being is a creature who is never satisfied. Our needs are never fulfilled, they keep adding on or growing each moment. It is just like eating salt, we get thirsty again, and then we again eat salt again and we are thirsty again.

In the gospel, we see a Samaritan woman who also was one who lived an objectionable life. She was at the well to quench her thirst each day. She was trying to quench her bodily desires with all sorts of pleasures. Yet each day she would return to the well for water. She like every human must have stopped and asked: “Is there a type of water which will never make me thirsty again?” St. Augustine gives an answer: “our hearts our restless…until they rest in the Lord Jesus.”

Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem through Samaria. The people of Samaria, the Samaritans were considered unclean Jews or mixed-race Jews. They were not taken as part of the Jewish society. There is an encounter of Jesus with a Samaritan woman. The woman came alone to draw water at the sixth hour (noon). This was unusual, since women came in groups and they came either in the morning or in the evenings. This woman’s behavior shows that she wanted to avoid others, may be due to her objectionable lifestyle. Jesus being a Jew asked her for some water to drink. He then has a dialogue with her leading her from mere water to ‘life giving’ water, from earthly thirst to spiritual thirst. She is unable to understand Jesus at first, Jesus then pierces her conscience and reveals to her, the reality of her life. This makes it much easier to accept the grace of God. She was wounded and sick, yet she did not realize or accept it. Jesus helps her to grow in her understanding of worship and she encounters Jesus as the Messiah. Once she encounters Jesus, she brings the whole village to Jesus. The woman who was rejected by the society becomes the instrument of God to bring the villagers to the true messiah. She came to take material water but went back taking living water. Jesus did not drink even a drop of water, yet his thirst was quenched for he had one soul for himself.

Jesus knew all about her but wanted to give her Living Water nonetheless. He wanted to satiate the thirst that she was feeling in her soul. As He spoke to her, and as she experienced His gentleness and acceptance, that thirst began to be quenched. It began to be quenched because what she really needed, what we all need, is this perfect love and acceptance that Jesus offers. He offered it to her, and He offers it to us. Interestingly, the woman went away and “left her water jar” by the well. She never actually got the water she came for. Or did she? Symbolically, this act of leaving the water jar at the well is a sign that her thirst was quenched by this encounter with Jesus. She was no longer thirsty, Jesus, the Living Water, satiated her thirst.

In our day to day living, we too have left God for material and temporary things. We went behind them to find meaning, but we only found void, dearth and emptiness within. Let us reflect upon the undeniable thirst that is within us. Once we are aware of it, make the conscious choice to let Jesus satiate it with Living Water. If we do this, we too will leave the many “jars” behind that never satisfy for very long.

Prayer: Lord, You are the Living Water that my soul needs. May I meet You in the heat of my day, in the trials of life, and in my shame and guilt. May I encounter Your love, gentleness and acceptance in these moments, and may Your Love become the source of my new life in You. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.

Holy Habit for Lent: QUENCH THE THIRST – Lord, May I offer water to quench the physical thirst of people, may it be a salesman, may it be a beggar, may it be my worker. May I also quench my own spiritual thirst by meditating on your Living Word and by drawing grace from your Life-giving sacraments. May I also draw others to quench their spiritual thirsts as well. Amen.