The Woman at the Well
Rev. Mr. Arthur Nave Jr.
Readings: Ex 17:3-7; Rom 5:1-2, 5-8; Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42
The Gospel today focuses in on the Woman at the well. Who is this woman? First, she is a samaritan. Jesus is a Jew along with most of his disciples. This is a key cultural point to this gospel text. At the time of Jesus, as is seen today in Modern Israel, the Jews did not get along with the samaritans and vice versa. You could not even eat off the same plate or the same food as a samaritan, because that would make you unclean. However, Jesus interacts with this woman and ask for a drink of water. Her response is you are a Jew. For Jesus, this is the converstation starter. He then tells her that if she knew who He was, she would be asking for living water. She then asks,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
For her, the eternal waters first only mean a new water thirst so that she does not have to go out to the well. For her, going to the well was difficult and embarassing. She had to go out to the well at noon because she does not want to deal with the ridicule of the village early in the morning or late at night because of her marriage status. Thus, if she went to the well at noon, no one would be there to bother her because of the scorching heat. However, this was not what Christ had in mind. She soon learned that this person she was talking to was the Christ that she knew would come and she believed. The beauty of the calling of Christ. In the preface from mass, we hear that Christ prepared the way so that she could come to faith. Each one of us has a path prepared for us by Christ that brings us to the eternal spring of Life.
Thus, what is this living water that Christ speaks of? This living water is the waters of baptism that the catechumens are preparing to be baptized in. These living waters, once given by baptism, cannot be taken away, cannot be destroyed. This living water within us is the font that our spiritual life flows from. These living waters lead us to Christ whenever we renew ourselves in them. These waters are what leads us to desire to be fed, nurtured and go out on mission for Christ each and every day. These waters of baptism do not just mark us, but cleanse us from all of our sin committed before baptism. In the case of the woman with five husbands, she is forgiven. She then takes up her baptismal call to participate in the priestly, prophetic and kingly offices of Christ and she goes and proclaims Christ to Sycar. Then all the people come out to see who this person that the village sinner is running around causing a stir about and many came to believe in him. How do we thirst for Christ? How do we share the eternal spring that we gained in baptism with the world? How do we nurture our eternal spring within us?
While, this is not the whole homily, it is the main thoughts and themes behind my ten minute homily that I gave this morning :)
