Almost fifteen years ago ( I cannot believe it was that long ago!!), in the summer of 2002, the Holy Father traveled to Toronto, Canada for World Youth Day. There was a great deal of excitement among North American Catholics for this opportunity to see the great (now St.) John Paul II so close to home. Many people drove, others flew, but a number of priests and seminarians from St. Louis, including me, decided to go by a different way; --- we rode bicycles. And during the 13 days that it took to travel from St. Louis to Toronto, we all experienced a number of things like sunburn, soreness, hunger, weariness, and a general feeling of discomfort in posterior region from sitting on a bike seat for hours at a time. We also enjoyed incredible sights, camaraderie, inspiring examples of faith and kindness from the people who hosted us and general sense of how good people are and how beautiful our country really is.
But the overwhelmingly universal experience we had during that 1000 mile bike ride was thirst. We were drinking water all the time: while we were riding, during our breaks, while we prayed, and even hours after we had finished riding. I just remember experiencing a deep, persistent thirst-----a thirst that took hours and gallons of water to quench.
This experience of thirst is what our gospel is all about; man’s thirst for God, God’s thirst for us, and the living water of God’s grace that he wants to give us to satisfy all of our desires.
First, let’s take a look at the woman at the well. She is quite a character with a checkered past; according to the social norms of the day, there is no reason Jesus should have been talking to her. This is for two reasons: first of all, she is a Samaritan. Samaritans were scorned by the Jewish people and Jews were not allowed to eat or drink with them. Even the use of their dishes was forbidden because that would make the Jewish person “unclean.” The woman knows this and that is why she is so surprised when Jesus asks her for a drink. The second reason that Jesus should not have been chatting with this woman is the fact that she appears at the well around noon. In the ancient world, women would go to the well early in the morning to get the water, while the sun was low in the sky and before the heat of the day was at full strength. Those who went at noon would likely be people who made their living in the night, people who were known to be public sinners.
But these reasons didn’t stop Jesus from talking with her. He knew the Samaritan woman was thirsty. And he knew that each and every day, she endured the shame of drawing water from the well late in the day in an effort to alleviate her thirst. But her thirst was much more than a bodily desire for water. This woman had been married five times and the man she was with now was not her husband!! She was clearly searching for some---thing, some---one that she was unable to find in her husbands. Day after day she would come to the well, parched in body and spirit and draw water. And day after day she would return, still thirsting. She had spent her life looking for love, compassion, attention and salvation but still was not satisfied.
Then Jesus comes and asks her for a drink. Jesus intrigues her with his offer of living water. The woman wants her thirst to go away and seeks to understand his offer. When he tells her that his water will take away her thirst forever, she says, ‘sir, give me this water so I will not have to come back here again and draw water.’ As the conversation continues, Jesus makes it clear that the water he is speaking of is spiritual. And slowly but surely the woman comes to believe in him.
But the Samaritan woman was not the only thirsty one here. Christ is also thirsting; thirsty to share the good news of the Gospel with those he meets. In addition to his physical need for water, Jesus is thirsty for souls. He wants all to experience his saving grace and he longs to give living water to those who would believe in him. Jesus gently draws the woman at the well to the living water of eternal life. He satisfies her thirsty heart with the saving grace that comes from the well of his most sacred heart. And once she has received this gift from Jesus, she goes and shares it with the people of her town, who drink it up eagerly.
We aren’t so different from the Samaritan woman at the well. And while we may not have not been married five or six times, we are all thirsting in our hearts for love, acceptance, and fulfillment. Like the woman in the gospel, we can try to satisfy this longing in ways apart from God himself. How often do we return to the wells of this world day after day in an attempt to satisfy our thirsty hearts? How often we believe that if we can just buy this one thing, get that one promotion, or achieve a higher status, then we can be happy, our lives finally complete. Perhaps it is our career,-- saving money,-- experiencing pleasure, -- acquiring material possessions, or keeping ourselves constantly busy. Whatever the case, all of these ultimately fail to satisfy us; and inevitably we find ourselves wanting more.
Jesus offers us the same living water that he gave to the Samaritan woman in today’s gospel. Christ’s love is the only thing that can ultimately satisfy our hearts. He wants to take away our spiritual thirsting with his grace; his grace which never fails, never goes away. But we have to believe and we have to be willing to leave our sins behind.
As we continue to journey through this Lenten season, let us ask Jesus to give us the living water of the gospel. Let us allow him to satisfy the thirst in our hearts by spending time in prayer, going to confession, and doing good things for others. After he has filled our hearts with these good things, let's not be stingy in sharing those blessing with others. Finally, as we prepare to approach this altar and receive the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ here in the Eucharist let us remember that we are coming face to face with Jesus himself, the source of this wonderful and eternal living water.
