Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is very strange not to do Sunday Masses in church and to see your faces. I hope this does not last too long. I would invite you to take this time as a gift from God to remind us of the fragility of life which we usually take for granted. We act as if life was very secure but this pandemic shows us a different reality. It is an invitation to us to pray and take this Lent more seriously and to see the gift of the Eucharist that God offers for us every day. Spend time with the Lord these days and with your family; make it like a time of a retreat, to do the things we normally omit. It can be a time of grace for all of us. Surely, it is not a punishment but a call to hear the Lord.
This wonderful gospel (John 4: 5-42) for me has two themes. The presence of a well always speaks of betrothal in the Bible. There was a well at the meeting of Isaac and Rebecca, at the encounter of Jacob and Rachel, and with Moses and Zipporah. In these scenes there is an encounter, a betrothal, and a celebration, or a meal. And in this gospel we see this is a spiritual sense. It is wonderful how Jesus says; I have eaten already in response to the disciples’ offer of food. Yes, he has eaten, by doing the will of his Father. This is my meal: to do what God asks of me, and then I am very satisfied.
Before the woman at the well can be betrothed she has to be un-betrothed of her five husbands. She is liberated from them by speaking of them; this is what frees her. We have our idols also that have to be taken away before we can encounter Christ. She is a figure of Samaria who intermingled with five pagan nations and for this reason is hated by the Jews.
But Jesus Christ is not put off by her or her situation. He spends time with her and then stays with the people for two days; it is a spiritual encounter or marriage that he wants to make with all of us. The other day in a meeting with priests I was in a corner behind a table when we did Morning Prayer. And for once I was moved to take advantage of the moments of silence instead of wanting to rush the prayer along. It helped me immensely to just close my eyes and pray, and think about the words of the glory be, especially in light of this world-wide situation. In the last year or so my mom’s dementia she usually introduced me as her husband. We all have a deep need to be beloved in a special way by one person. Our mistake is to look for that in others, and not in Christ.
The hour has come to worship in spirit and in truth; it is a new type of worship. What does Jesus mean by this? He tells the woman it is not in Jerusalem or on mount Gerizim where we find God, but our focus ought to be on the Risen Lord. True worship is with Christ, not a particular place or church, only with Christ. In a reading on Friday from Exodus it said be ready for the third day and the words jumped out at me. It means be ready for the resurrection, be ready for Easter. Lent has this purpose and so does this coronavirus; let us be ready to rise from situations of fear or death. This hour has come, not as a punishment but as a reminder of our true home is with Christ.
The second theme I noticed is evangelization. In the first sentence of this chapter, which we didn’t hear, John says “it was necessary” for Christ to go through Samaria. Well, not really, if you know the geography, he could have gone another way. But for his mission and for the apostles, it was necessary, it was fundamental to go that way to meet this woman and her townspeople. It was really imperative. Also we have many situations in life where it is necessary for us to be present, to say something, to give a Word of hope or a defense of the Church or of the Christian way of life.
She is a woman and a Samaritan and even the disciples are surprised that Jesus is speaking to her. She also goes to the well at noon, which no one would do because of the heat. This woman didn’t want to be seen. Christ is not put off by this. He takes a risk. He tells her and us: if only you knew the gift that God wants to give to you. And who it is that is giving this to you. He wants to give us this everlasting life, this living water; he wants to give us his Holy Spirit.
It is touching how she leaves her bucket at the well; she is no longer thirsty. When we go away from the Word of God we get thirsty and even go back to our old watering holes. Christ reaches out to the unloved. If only you knew the gift of God and what he wants to do for you and for me, we would waste time with stupid things or people who lead us away from him. They believe because of her but then because of what Jesus tells them. The Jews only believed if they say signs. The Samaritans believe in the Word of Christ and they recognize him as the Savior of the world.
Let us ask the Lord quietly each day to help us and those who are sick and those in the health professions these days.