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March 12, 2023: The Life-Giving Water from Jesus' Well
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Well, that was predictable. After enjoying summer weather in Massachusetts for January and most of February, Old Man Winter reared his head in late February into March, reminding us he does not want us to enjoy the fruits of an early spring. This, of course, is bad news for golfers. Golfers know how this stuff works. We’re now expecting a blizzard of some sorts in April. Hopefully the Red Sox are playing at home at the time when it happens, and they can play “snowball” instead of baseball.
The good side, the upturn, is a winter runoff so we do not end up in severe drought stage for the summer, rationing water for lawns, showers, and whatever else. If need be, now that I know the area of Shrewsbury a little bit, I’ll just wander down to Jordan Pond and scoop up some of that clean water for drinking and boiling purposes. At night, of course, dressed in my black work clothes so no one can see me, making sure I remove the white Roman collar.
Water is the topic for the 3rd Sunday of Lent. Poor Moses. Last Sunday he was on top of Mt. Tabor with his buddy Elijah and the Savior of the world, appearing for the Transfiguration of Jesus. These three make a great triangle of God’s holy intention for the world he so beautifully created, don’t they? Moses was on the top of his game, so to speak, when he appeared with the Lord on the mountain, witnessing to the words of God the Father, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.” If only our world could heed this advice, we would be at peace.
But this week we find Moses in the desert while still alive, listening again to the Israelites grumble about the fact they have no water to drink in the desert. Who does? Only mirages appear in deserts. The only water I’ve seen in a desert is the Dead Sea, which contains the highest amount salt of any body of water in the world. This translates into it being undrinkable. So, even if Moses had led the Israelites to this part of the Judean desert, they would have still complained to the one who handed them the Law from God after tasting the salty water of the Dead Sea. They wanted clean, good-tasting water, and they wanted it yesterday. Nothing but the best for God’s Chosen People.
And this is what God gives them to quench their thirst, the best water. Moses is instructed to take the staff that caused the Nile River to turn to blood, and touch the rock at Horeb, which he does, causing the best-tasting, cleanest, cold and delicious water to flow forth in buckets and buckets from a desert rock, enough to quench the thirst of hundreds of thousands of people, an entire small nation recently escaped from Egypt. It’s surprising Moses, Aaron, and Joshua did not drown when the force of so much water gushed forth. I wish I had been there that day to witness this event. But if I was, I wouldn’t be with you right now. How blessed I am either way.
The water that gushed forth in torrents throughout the desert floor, creating the cleanest lake in world history, was enough of a miracle for the Israelites to be silent in their complaining against God and Moses, for the time being. More difficulties and more complaints about desert living would arise in the coming days and years. But for now, their thirst was sated. The water that poured forth that day, of course, symbolizes more than the quenching of thirst for a people chosen by God to be his own. This covers only the physical aspect of what water does for us. I must say, on a hot summer day with the temps in the 90’s, trying to reach the 100 mark, there’s nothing like a cold glass of clean water (which leaves Shrewsbury water out) from the “rock at Horeb” to quench my thirst. Some people like beer, or even a lemonade. I’ll take the cold water over all other liquids on a hot day. It’s a satisfaction that cannot be beat.
But, as we see in this week’s Gospel, the physical part of water is extremely limited when it comes to permanent satisfaction for the human person. Camels we are not. On a hot, humid day, it’s best to have another glass of cold liquid nearby after the first one is consumed. The physical need for water is like a broken record; it plays the same small section of a tune over and over again, never moving on to lasting satisfaction that plays the entire song. And this is not only true for humans, but also for nature as a whole. Without continuous water, green grass would be brown grass and dust, red leaves would be some weird color no one has ever seen before, and watery ponds would become muddy swamps.
The physical need for water is great and necessary for physical life, but, not as great as the spiritual for everlasting life. And this is where we meet Jesus this week; at Jacob’s Well. The Samaritan Woman at the well who confronts and converses with Jesus about the issue of water is a woman who stands in for the rest of us, both women and men. She asks Jesus the obvious questions about quenching physical human thirst. She represents the importance of caring for our physical needs. She’s thirsty, and she arrives to pick up her water.
Jesus tells her that she will get thirsty again, which she already knows. But he presents to her – and to us – another option that has always been. The Samaritan Woman, and the rest of us, were not aware of how this other type of water worked within the human person. Not only the body, but the soul too. Jesus offers the Samaritan Woman the type of water that settles a person and their lifestyle into the arms of God. A type of water that embraces and loves, forgives and extends mercy; a type of water that searches for peace in our world, in our relationships, and within our person. Water that will quench the thirst of a human being in search of the deepest meaning and purpose of our lives. Water that gushes and flows us through the gates of death, and into a place prepared, just for us, of perfect peace and joy.
And the Samaritan woman, whom we can consider open to all this and more, brilliantly says, “Sir, give me this water so I don’t have to keep coming back to this well. Give me, sir, a snowstorm the size of a blizzard, and rainstorm the strength of a typhoon that will hold me over for a very long time so I don’t have to come here thirsty again and again and again.” Well, she got it half right in her half brilliant comment. This comment of not wanting to return day after day to retrieve the heavy bucket of water is more along the lines of trying to limit physical labor. If Jesus has water that will quench her thirst and she doesn’t have to go get it and carry it back a thousand times, then, let’s do it. I’m all for it.
The beauty of this event at Jacob’s well on the topic of water is twofold; first, we’re blessed to witness Jesus bring someone who knew about the potential coming Messiah, to him. Is there anything better in the faith than witnessing someone return to their faith, or be introduced to Christ and watch them embrace him wholeheartedly? There may be a couple things better, but not many. The joy realized by a person of devoted faith when they see God working hard on someone they love who had no previous interest in loving and worshipping God is one of the great joys of life for those blessed enough to witness such a holy change right before us. This is the Samaritan Woman, and the entire Church is blessed to be a witness to her spiritual alteration, as her physical sins are cast away, replaced by the love that God has for her in her newfound holiness. How blessed is the Samaritan Woman to have the Savior of the world speak to her in Person about her life, inviting her into a new lifestyle realized in her newfound goodness and holiness! The good news is that Jesus has not stopped such conversations with us and our world.
And second, the beauty of the scene at Jacob’s well is the Samaritan woman’s willingness and honesty to recognize the rottenness of her former life, and move forward to the beauty of a life lived for God and all the virtues that come with it. All her personal profanation is left behind as she now walks ahead, toward her new village, where she will become the disciple for Christ Jesus we are all called to. The profound transformation of the Samaritan woman in a matter of minutes at Jacob’s well, and her acceptance of it, is stunning and shocking. Stunning and shocking in the sense of grave sin (live-in boyfriend to start) to a life of holiness lived for her Messiah. This is what happens when we let Jesus get close. The values we live, the choices we make, and the lifestyles we choose, reflect how authentically close we are to Christ. Are we centered in the spiritual water of Christ that quenches the human soul always, without having to return for water that makes us thirsty again? I’d rather a thirst that is forever quenched through true faith in Christ, over and above water that can potentially lead me away from my Lord. One is of God, the other is of the world. May we choose the water that Christ gives freely. Jesus’ well, and not Jacob’s well.