DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Exodus 17,3-7; Romans 5,1-2.5-8; John 4, 5-42; 3rd Sunday of Lent:
Year A)
The
first impression from gospel narrative of Jesus ’ encounter with the Samaritan
woman is His humanity. The narrative depicts a Jesus who is
tired after trekking under a scorching sun, a thirsty Jesus who like an
ordinary pilgrim requests for a cup of water to refresh himself. On the other
hand, one also sees another side of this Jesus who disregards contemporary
usages, a man who goes decisively against the current of opinions and removes
all sorts of barriers and prejudices. This Jesus, a rabbi discussed with a
woman. The conversation of a rabbi (a doctor of Law) with a woman was
unbecoming and improper. That is even why the narrator, the Evangelist John
remarked: ... his disciples returned and were surprised to find him
speaking to a woman... .Jesus did not allow himself to be affected by the
prevailing opinion of his time. What is even worse, the woman in question was a
Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew. It is to be remembered that there existed an
enormous enmity between the Jews and Samaritans at that time. The Jews regarded
them as schismatic who had different religious rites, from those of Jerusalem,
where the orthodox Jews performed their religious rites. Jesus was unaffected
by the differences in cult and the prevailing hostility between the Jews and
the Samaritans to the point that the woman exclaimed when Jesus
asked her for water to drink: how is it that you a Jew should ask
for a drink from me who is a Samaritan woman. It is also to
be noted that Jesus was conversing with a woman whose
moral life was not commendable and already had five
husbands and the man she was then cohabiting was not married to her. The moral
disorder of the woman did not scare Jesus away. Perhaps it was for that reason
that Jesus discussed with her in order to prepare her to welcome his
message.
Indeed,
he chose to speak with such a woman in order to reveal extraordinary aspects of
his personality. First, Jesus manifested himself before her as a prophet, then
unmasked her past (a woman of five husbands) and the way she was living then
(in concubinage with a man) she declared: I see that you are a
prophet. In those days, one of the attributes of a prophet was that he
had the capacity of knowing hidden facts and can penetrate into the depth of a
person’s mind. Before her, Jesus also revealed himself as
the Messiah. When she mentioned that she knew that the Messiah was to come,
Jesus declared: I who am speaking to you, I am he. Jesus also
revealed top her that he was the one who was to come into the world in
order to bring the living water to the people; the only water that can quell
the thirst for truth and search for love of the human soul, the water of the
Holy Spirit and of the truth, word and grace of the same Spirit of God. Jesus
said to her: Whoever drinks the water
that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will
turn into a spring inside him welling up to eternal life. Finally, Jesus announced to the
Samaritan woman that the time had come to abolish all types of religious
rites and worships except the worship God in spirit and in
truth. This is because from the time of Christ true and worthy worship
of God would be based on the newness of life, which the Holy
Spirit would impart; true worshippers would then be those who would be reborn
of the Holy Spirit and would had become sons and daughters of God by the action
of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus
made all the revelations to the Samaritan woman and through her to the whole
world on that special afternoon at the well of Jacob. Jesus did a wonderful
work on this woman. He changed her from the depth of her being, from being a
sinner to a convert, from being a convert to an apostle and a missionary. That
is why St. Augustine holds the woman to be a symbol of the Church, who receives
revelation from Christ and announces it further to the whole world. Indeed the
gospel says of the woman: The
woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people:
come and see the man who has told me everything I ever did. Also to
us, through the liturgy, Jesus repeats his discussion he had with the Samaritan
woman. I am the Messiah who is speaking to you. Jesus is the
promised Messiah, the Saviour of the world and we do not need to look for our
salvation from anyone else. Jesus also repeats to us what
he told the Samaritan woman: I am the only one who can give the water that
quells thirst that can assuage the deep longings of your heart. Do not seek to
quell the search for truth, goodness, happiness elsewhere lest you meet with
delusion. Things and creatures are useful, if they bring you to me, for I am
the spring of life. The church, using Psalm 94 recommends: If you
listen to his words today, do not harden your hearts. We
are in Lent, and in the heart of it. It is, therefore, time to immerse
ourselves in the word of God and use it to open our hearts completely to
Christ. Just as the Hebrew people in the desert had their difficulties, we also
have our own difficulties of life. But we should be rest assured for
the Lord is with us. In the 2nd reading, Paul brings to our
mind that Christ died for us when we were sinners. Christ is the rock of the
living water which satisfies the thirst of our souls. We no longer need to
doubt his love and his willingness to save us, his nearness
and presence in our midst. Let us, therefore pray earnestly in this
Sunday’s Eucharistic celebration, as Christ who rose from the dead is with us,
to ask for the graces to always be attentive to Christ’s self-revelation,
welcome it and let it transform us into veritable apostles and instruments of
his love and salvation for the whole world. +John I. Okoye
No comments:
Post a Comment