Homily for Holy Hour
Using Readings for 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Exodus 17:3-7
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
John 4:5-42
March 2, 2013
These readings that we are using for our Holy Hour tonight are taking from the Third Sunday of Lent which we celebrate this weekend but they are the readings from Year A while we are in Year C.
In the story from Exodus, the Israelites are grumbling but they have a legitimate complaint, they have no water. Water is essential for life and God provides water for them in a way only God can, by making it flow from a rock.
With this in mind, as the gospel begins, Jesus is sitting at the well (no ordinary well. It is Jacob’s Well).
While Jesus is sitting there, a Samaritan woman comes to draw water. Jesus asks her for a drink of water. She is shocked. He’s a Jew and she’s a Samaritan. They aren’t supposed to talk to each other for the Jews and the Samaritans hate each other.
Yet even though she knows not to talk to Jews, she is. She is open.
Jesus then speaks of living water and tells her that if anyone drinks of this living water they will never thirst. So she asks for this living water. The problem is that she is taking Jesus very literally. She’s probably thinking, “Wow, if I drink this water I won’t have to come to the well again.”
Jesus knows she is taking this literally and he wants to invite her to a deeper faith.
So he speaks to her about her husband. She replies that she doesn’t have one to which Jesus replies that she has had five. Now, we might have questions about how she came to have five husbands but that isn’t the question here. Jesus is saying things about her that he shouldn’t know.
Because of this she comes to realize that Jesus is a prophet.
Then Jesus speaks of the hour that is coming. She responds that she knows the Messiah is coming and he identifies himself as the Messiah.
What was her reaction, disbelief, praise, thanks?
She had been taken Jesus literally. We can’t fault her for this. At this point the disciples return and are amazed that he is talking to a woman and then he speaks of the food he has to eat. Doing no better than the Samaritan woman, they all take him literally.
The Samaritan woman, who is still trying to make sense of this, goes off to the town and tells the people about Jesus. Because of this people begin to believe in Jesus. They go to Jesus and come to believe in him because they have heard for themselves.
Great story with a great ending, people come to believe in Jesus.
But it isn’t just a story. We read this story to see where we are at in our faith. There are several questions we can ask ourselves. The Samaritan woman came to faith in Jesus. Where are we in our own journey of faith?
The woman was a Samaritan but open to speaking to a Jew. Are we set in our ways or are we willing to grow in our relationship with Jesus?
At first, the Samaritan woman took him very literally, only seeing his words in physical terms. When he spoke of living water and thirst, she thought of water to drink. Do we understand that in living water, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit?
We might like to say that since we are in church right now that of course we are open. How open are we? Are we too set in our ways or are we open to change? Do we take what Jesus says at face value or are we open to something more? When we look for something more, do we forget about the basic (face value) things?
Because she is open, she comes to realize that Jesus is a prophet. Do we understand that Jesus is a ‘prophet”, meaning his words are good and come from God?
Because of her openness, Jesus reveals himself to her as the Messiah. At this she goes off and tells others about Jesus.
Do we tell others about Jesus? We might feel that we don’t understand enough about Jesus and we won’t know what to say. The Samaritan woman didn’t wholly understand either, yet she shared what she did know with others.
Because of her sharing others came to faith. Do we share our faith? We don’t have to know everything to share? Jesus can pick up for what we don’t know.
Where are you in your faith journey? Is Jesus just another Jew? A prophet? The Messiah? What does it mean to you to say Jesus is the Messiah?