His Thirst for Your Response

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author.

How important are you to God? How important are you to God? Are you just kind of a face in a crowd for Him? This Samaritan woman probably didn’t think she was very important. In fact, maybe she often wanted, would have wanted to hide from God. But in a sense, we can see, each one of us can see ourselves in this encounter that she has with Jesus. And so, I think there’s two kind of great perspectives to read this gospel today. One is speaking of God’s love for each one of us, revealing God’s love for each one of us, and secondly, as a model of how we should interact with others, as a model of evangelization with people who may be far away, far away spiritually. And there’s a lot of barriers between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. There’s, the barrier just the fact that she’s a woman, he’s a man. And especially in that culture that was a substantial barrier. And then there’s the fact that she was a Samaritan, and the Jews despised the Samaritans as heretics. And there was so much animosity, hatred between many Samaritans and many Jews. And then on top of that, there’s her own life, her own sins. What we learn from the gospel is that she’s been in a lot of failed relationships, probably bad relationships. She says that, well, Jesus says that she’s had five husbands, and now she’s with another man. So, she’s had a very disordered life, with probably a lot of heartbreak, a lot of bad decisions, which have probably left her cynical and hardened and disdainful as kind of a shell to protect herself. She probably feels often and very judged by other people. And so, in this gospel, she’s not somebody who is what it seems like, she’s not somebody who’s on a spiritual journey. She’s just coming to the well, she’s just doing what she’s done so many times, just doing her ordinary duties. And so just at this very ordinary moment, again, someone who is not looking, as far as we know, not looking for anything spiritual. And it would have seemed that in the very short time that Jesus had, she was not the type of person that He should be spending His time with. She would have seen and she probably felt she would never be worthy of the Messiah devoting special time to Him, especially when we realized that Jesus’ public life was going to be so short. And so, there’s all these barriers between her and Jesus. And so, it’s very striking to see, how is Jesus going to begin this contact, kind of try to pierce through these barriers? Well, one thing He does is He comes to where she is. He didn’t wait for her to come to Him. He went to where she was. And it seemed like it was just the circumstances of the day that they had had to pass through Samaria, and they just happened to be there, but in Jesus, divine providence, He is doing this especially to be there with her. And so, He goes to her, to where she is, and not just physically, but also spiritually. He spends time with her in the short time of His mission; He devotes a substantial time to this conversation with her. In fact, it’s one of the most in depth conversations we have in all the gospel. And if, when the Messiah is coming, if people are saying, well, who will be the ones that will have a record of an in-depth conversation? I don’t imagine anyone would have picked her, but He dedicates time to her, and He does it when she is alone. Maybe so that she’s not intimidated, so that she is freer, and also it’s a sign that He’s not just speaking to her as part of a crowd, but He’s showing her that He’s speaking to her personally, that He came to her personally. He’s revealing to her, He’s already, just doing that is a revelation of His love for her, personally, that she’s not just a face in the crowd.  You know, Jesus talks about the shepherd who goes to find the lost sheep. And here is an example of Jesus seeking, going seeking the lost sheep, not waiting for the sheep to come to Him. She probably never would have, but Him going to her. And as I say, in this time in which they’re alone, so she shall realize that He’s dedicated this time just to her. And so how does He begin this conversation? He doesn’t begin it aggressively. A lot of times, when there’s a lot of well, ethnic or racial or religious tension, the conversations don’t start off very well and they don’t end very well. So how does He begin this conversation? So He doesn’t begin it aggressively. I mean, think, for instance, of all the conversations on social media, so many of them begin with so much aggression. But and also, He doesn’t begin with a theological dispute. He starts off very simple, and He leads her step by step. That’s one of the things that the Lord has come back to a lot in the messages that He’s given Sister. He talks about how He’s the God of order and He does things step by step, things in their proper stages. And so, we see that here with Him. And so how we see a key for Him to overcome these barriers. So, He who is not just the Messiah, but He who is God Himself begins with humility, begins with humility. And that’s a huge lesson for us, the humility that the Son of God Himself had. And so, He begins by asking her for help. He was God, and she would at least see that He is an impressive person, but He begins by asking her for help, putting himself in a situation, and it seems like it’s just coincidence that has done that. But if we realize that He’s God, we realize that He has done this on purpose. He’s put Himself in a situation where He needs her help, and so He’s put Himself In that humble, poor position, needing her help and asking for her help.  Give me a drink, requesting a drink, He’s very thirsty. It’s hot. He doesn’t have anything to get the water. But from this very simple, concrete situation, the Gospel shows that there’s a much deeper meaning. There’s a deeper meaning to it. But He starts off with this very simple need. So, she doesn’t realize yet who it is, but God Himself asking her. That’s very, very there’s a great lesson just in that – God Himself asking her for something that only she can give. And we’ll come back to that point a little bit later. And so, she is now free to respond affirmatively or negatively. She has the power given by God to respond to God, to this man who is speaking to her. And here we see the God of mercy, who is already asking for a first cooperation, a first act of trust from her. He is trying to lead her to trust. And so, He begins with this act of humility. And so, she responds again. There is all this antagonism that’s been built up over generations. So, she responds, “how is it that you a Jew ask a drink of me a woman of Samaria?” So, she’s shocked that He would do this. And so, Jesus responds, now He’s taking her a step farther. “If you knew the gift of God and who was saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” I mean, think of what He could have said. He could have said, I knew you would act like that. All Samaritans are like that. I you know, it’s worthless dealing with you Samaritans. I mean, that’s the way we would often respond humanly, but He doesn’t. He’s leading her deeper. But so, He says words which are leading her to the next step. They’re mysterious. She doesn’t understand it very well, which is oftentimes our relationship with the Word of God. We don’t understand very well. St John the cross emphasized that point that we often understand in a superficial way, a word of God which has a deeper meaning. And that’s the case here. She says, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the cistern is deep. Where then can you get this living water, like this flowing water?” So, she doesn’t understand, and she’s still pretty hostile. But Jesus is patient:and that’s another key, humble and patient. Jesus said to her, – He’s humble, He’s patient, and He’s also gentle, dealing with her – He could have responded much more aggressively, but He says, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. The water that I shall give him will become in him, a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” So there’s this beautiful but mysterious words of Jesus, and she doesn’t really understand, but it’s drawing her. She says, “The woman said to Him, Sir, give me this water that I may not thirst and not have to come here to draw water.” So, He’s awakened into her something, like He has something, but you still misunderstand it, like this is just give some maybe magical water so I don’t have to come getting water every day, and so –  but still, her attitude is still very superficial, and she doesn’t understand. But at least what’s changed here is now she is asking Him for something. So, He’s already awakened into her, a sense that He has something that she wants. And so that’s already a little step. And so, Jesus says to her, “Go call your husband and come here.” The woman answered Him, “I don’t have a husband.” Jesus said to her, “you are right in saying I have no husband for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you said, truly.” And so, notice Jesus didn’t start with this point, and He didn’t just say, well, it’s worthless talking to this woman, I know how she’s lived, and so it’s just worthless. But He also doesn’t ignore it, and He doesn’t justify it; because it needs to be addressed. And so He doesn’t start there, but again, He doesn’t avoid it; gently, with love and mercy, but also with truthfulness, with firmness. He reveals that to the woman, and at the same time He’s revealing also something special about Himself, that He has a knowledge of her, that is beyond human and she can probably sense also, by the way He’s saying it, that He’s saying it in a different way than most people have – said it in a way which is more loving than most people have. And also, He doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t say, “Well, you have five husbands, and so I was going to try to help you, but I can see it’s no use. So goodbye. Our conversation is over.” He doesn’t say that. He keeps on going, because this revelation, even though it’s painful for the woman, it’s humiliating for her. And that’s also an advantage that she’s just alone there with Him. It would have been worse if there were more people, but, it’s also awakened something in her. So, she says, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.” And so now she’s going to change the conversation. She says she’s going to start talking about something deeper, not just water that you can get without coming to the well. She says “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” And so she’s speaking of something deep, the question of how to worship. But there’s also this very painful, painful wound, because there’s a division, a religious division, she’s learned from her people, from her ancestors, that she probably reveres, that this is the way to do it. And then these other people, the Jews, say, No, you’re supposed to do in Jerusalem. You all are completely wrong. You’re heretics. And so this is touching a very painful point of their belief in God and which she shares with her people, but then the sense that, is that right or is that wrong? And then Jesus responds, and Pope John Paul highlighted this as kind of how striking that some of these, some of the deepest words we have in the Gospel, are Jesus’ words to this Samaritan woman. Jesus said to her, and again, He doesn’t say, “Well, you wouldn’t understand these type of things. You haven’t studied enough. You’re not a theologian. You’re not even, you haven’t even lived a decent life. So you know, you know, why don’t you try to go out and do penance, and then maybe someday we can talk about this?” He doesn’t say that. He talks to her about this.  He says, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming and now is when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such the Father seeks to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” And so, this beautiful, deep teaching He is giving to her. And the woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming.” So just listening to Him has made her think about the Messiah. “I know that the Messiah is coming. He was called the Christ. When He comes, He will show us all things.” And Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you, am He.” And so, notice He started from where she was not at all spiritually inclined, not at all. And He’s led her now to this teaching and now to the revelation of who He is, the Messiah. And so what happens? So, the apostles at that point come back and it says, “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?” So, think of that. They know her. When she says, who’s told me everything I have done – they say, “Oh yeah, well, we know a lot of what you’ve done.” You know they’re very aware and so, she probably, you know, you would usually maybe avoid running into all these people and especially making any reference to her life. But now she is using her own sinful past, as a means to draw people to Jesus. What had earlier been something that she had, out of humiliation and shame she had probably hidden. Now she is using that to draw people to be, to be a witness, an apostle for Jesus. And in fact, it says a little bit later, “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.” And so, this woman has used her past to bring people to Jesus, and not just bring anybody to Jesus, but to bring Samaritans to Jesus.  There were all these barriers between the Jews and the Samaritans, but Jesus also loves the Samaritans, but there’s these barriers, but she has had a special role. Something that the apostles probably couldn’t have done, or at least couldn’t have done in the same way, because she is one of them.  And also, because they had known her past, she can give a special testimony, and she can draw this people that had been separated, draw them to Jesus. And so, this is an extraordinary lesson of how to evangelize, beginning where she is. Jesus begins humbly, respectfully, patiently. But He also, when necessary, speaks the truth about sin at the proper time, in the proper way, with love and firmness, and He patiently, with the Holy Spirit, leads her to the Lord. And not, just as I said, to believe, but also to give witness. And so, I want to give one final lesson from this passage. It began with Jesus saying, “Give me to drink.” And on the cross, at the end of Jesus’ ministry, He says, “I thirst.” And that’s also in John’s gospel, and certainly there was an extreme physical thirst. But we know that his thirst was more than thirst for water. It was thirst for souls, souls who would believe in Him, souls who would accept His mercy and receive His mercy to be forgiven and liberated from their sins. And so, Jesus spoke those words to her, and He says to each one of us this invitation to motivation to give Him to drink. Respond to His thirst by our trust, by our response, by our faith. And just as when Jesus says, “Give me to drink” to her, He was asking her for something that nobody else could give. And even God couldn’t take, because God respects her freedom, which is her free response, and He wanted it from her. And so, each one of us has that privilege, that responsibility, that dignity, to be able to decide whether we will respond to Him asking you personally, “give me to drink. I thirst. Give me to drink.” And like her, we can realize that we’re unworthy. But He reveals to this woman how important she is to Him, and through her, He wants to reveal that to each one of us. He knows that we’re not capable of this love by ourselves. So, first, He asks us to receive His love, to receive His Holy Spirit, to receive His mercy, to open our door. So, the first action to be able to give Him to drink is first of all to open the door, to let Him first give us this gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we can respond to Him. And so, none of us are too poor to be able to give Him. Because Jesus is a Savior, the thing He wants most of all is to save. And so, no matter what our sins are, if we accept, to open our door and accept His mercy, we’re satisfying His thirst, of giving His mercy, of saving. And so, with our Blessed Mother in this Mass, is an opportunity for each one of us to hear Jesus saying to you personally, to know that Jesus is saying to you, personally, “I thirst. Give me to drink.” Amen. 

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
John 4:5-42
Exodus 17:3-7
Romans 5:1-2. 5-8