HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR A
Exodus 17:3-7/ Psalm 95/ Romans 5:1-2,5-8 /John 4:5-42
AGORSOR Aaron Agbeshie
THEME: True witnessing requires patience
It takes a deep moment of reflection to remember the blessings of the Lord in our lives. Whenever we face difficult situations in our lives, it is proper that we ponder anew what the almighty has done for us, is doing for us and will do for us. Let us not be quick to complain. God deserves our gratitude.
In the First Reading of today, the people of Israel complain vehemently against Moses to the point of stoning him. Their reason was that they were thirsty. “The people quarreled with Moses and said ‘Give us water to drink…” (Exodus 17:2a). Yet they forgot so soon that God provided them manner from heaven in the previous chapter (Exodus 16). Ungrateful as they were, they sought to stone Moses. The prophet Jeremiah will describe such an attitude so aptly “ For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living water and dug out cisterns for themselves that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).We too usually abandon Jesus the fountain of living water in search of water in desert places.
The story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well is read every year on the Third Sunday of Lent. This story is only found in the Gospel according to John. John assures us that Jesus is that fountain of living water that never abandons his own.
By moving to Samaritan towns, Jesus breaks the barriers of division between Jews and Samaritans. Thus he fulfills what St. Paul says “There no longer distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free but Christ is all and in all!”(Colossians 3:11).
Jesus’ way of witnessing is worthy of emulation. He created a friendly environment for dialogue. He did not allow the Samaritan woman’s question “How is it that you a Jew ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria” to deter or discourage him (John 4:9)? This question seems insulting and could have annoyed Jesus to leave. But Jesus was patient because he wanted to give the woman life.
When Jesus assured the woman that the water he will give her was living water so that she does not come to draw water at the well again, her desire for novelty made her ask for that water. She said “Sir give me give me this water so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water” (John 4:15). From every indication, she did not know what she was asking for. The seed of the Word fell on shallow soil and the shoots that sprang up had no root (Matthew 13:20-21). She had made progress but she still had a long way to go, so Jesus patiently dealt with her.
Jesus proved to us that the only way to prepare the soil of the heart for the seed is to plow it up with conviction. That is why Jesus told her “Go call your husband and come back” (John 4:16). Jesus as it were forced her to admit her sin. Indeed, there cannot be conversion without conviction. There must first be conviction and repentance and then there can be saving faith. Jesus had aroused her mind and stirred her emotions but he also had to touch her conscience and that meant dealing with her sin.
Having been convicted of sin, the Samaritan woman began to witness to Christ. She went to the village and told the whole town that she had seen the Messiah. She said “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done. He cannot be the Messiah, can he? They left the city and were on their way to him” (John 4: 29-30). Thank God she at least heard about the fact that the Messiah will come and perhaps that was the living water she has been longing for.
In this season of Lent, we are called to break the barriers of division, injustice and discrimination in our offices, schools, hospitals, market centres, even in our Church. It is only when we respect and treat each other as dignified persons created in the image and likeness of Christ, can our witnessing be fruitful. We are like fishermen who cast their net into the sea not knowing the type of fish they will catch. The public sinner is a potential witness of Christ.
St. Paul in the second reading justifies why Jesus will break all social and religious barriers and enter into a Samaria in search of a lost soul namely the Samaritan woman. St. Paul says “But God prove his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). This is our hope as Christians. God fulfilled this promise to humanity by becoming man. Thus the Word of God is true when it says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life” (Proverbs 13:12). So we can all appreciate the fact that at the heart of the Samaritan woman was a seed of immortality; a longing for a day of salvation.
In conclusion, are you in a seemingly hopeless situation? Are you a public sinner? Like the Samaritan woman, it is you Christ wants to use to witness to our generation. There is no hopeless situation at all. This is because we have Jesus, the source of living water, the living water that does not run dry. This woman did not come to faith in Christ immediately. Jesus was patient with her and in this, he sets a good example for us in our personal work and all in the work of evangelisation. Certainly, she was the least likely prospect for salvation, yet God used her to win almost an entire village.