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Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

23 Mar 2014

SUNDAY SUMMARY Exodus 17:3-7 The people are thirsty. Moses provides the water. The conflict becomes epic. Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Meribah and Massah become synonyms for hardened human hearts. Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 Faith brings peace, peace leads to hope, and hope in God does not disappoint. John 4:5-42 A Jew and a Samaritan have a talk about water, gender, religion, and the truth.

Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Exodus 17:3-7 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

27 Mar 2011

SUNDAY SUMMARY Exodus 17:3-7 Thirst drives the people against Moses and his authority. Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Hardened hearts cannot hear the word of the Lord with its saving power. Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 Jesus dies for a world of sinners that cannot merit the gift they receive. John 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42 Two kinds of thirst bring together a Samaritan woman and the Messiah she awaits.

Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Exodus 17:3-7 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42 John 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42

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Living water

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Occasion: Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42 I MOVED to a desert town some time ago, for reasons that had less to do with the desert than with the city. Urban life had become too expensive, loud, complicated, and distracting. I decided to look for life in the slow lane. After hunting through various communities near the beach, in the mountains, and on the back roads, I wound up on the edge of the Mojave Desert. As far as the eye could see, there wasn't much to see. I stayed. In the desert I have learned a lot about water, more than I knew during the 15 previous years living near the ocean. When you are close to a body of water, it becomes an aesthetic element. You appreciate it enormously: It's part of the view, and maybe a source of entertainment. It could even be your livelihood. But in the desert, the tie to water is immediate, instinctive, and critical. You have to have it close at hand, all the time, or risk injury or fatality. Near the ocean I often felt thirsty and looked around for a place to get a drink. In the desert I don't get thirsty. If you go so far as to feel thirst, it may already be too late: Dehydration has begun. The remarkable heat combined with a novel lack of humidity leeches the moisture from your body around the clock. Water is now a preventative, a staple item in every hour, a thing I resort to long before I am ever aware I need it. When I read scripture about water now, I think I finally get it. These desert people aren't talking about having a drink, as city folk do. They are talking about the difference between life and death. These desert people aren't talking about having a drink, as city folk do. They are talking about the difference between life and death. I used to think of the Israelites in the desert as a bunch of ungrateful children. How they quarrel, forgetful of all God has done for them! They turn up their noses at the spectacle of the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and liberation after generations of slavery. All they know is what they want now. But having walked for an hour on a hot day under the desert sun myself, I realize they could not go forward without water. It wasn't simply that they were thirsty. They were ill. Their heads ached, their eyes burned, their stomachs were wrenched. They were desperately in need of water. But the Israelites were guilty of one thing: They had little confidence in God or Moses. They needed water, but they didn't ask for it. They just complained and accused. If you had asked them the question that appears at the end of the story—"Is the Lord in our midst or not?"—the answer would have been a resounding no. Even then God demonstrates that the power to produce water from a rock is available to those who call upon the name of the Lord. Too bad they didn't call on that name. Too bad the only name they invoked was "Egypt." Today we stand before the Lord as did the woman who encountered him at the well in Samaria. We are thirsty in ways we cannot dream of, just as she was, as all desert people are who live in an environment that is hostile to them. We are made for God's kingdom, yet we live under the tyranny of sin. We hope for eternal life, but our mortal bodies are going the way of suffering and death. We eat and drink and do all we can to sustain health and strength. But all the forces around and within us are heading the other way. No matter what we do, moths, rust and decay are winning. We only have to invoke one name with confidence to reverse the odds and gain the victory. The Samaritan woman struggled to find that name. When she met Jesus, she saw him as a "Jew" and a "man." She knew lots of both: She didn't have much use for either. But he impressed her so much that, in rapid order, she addressed him as "sir" then wondered if he were a prophet and finally if he might be the Christ who is coming. In the end, thanks to her, the entire town came to know Jesus as "truly the savior of the world." When the woman left the well to run back to town, she abandoned her water jar. She had come to that place to get the one thing needful for life. In the encounter with Jesus, she found it. We Lenten people arrive at this point in the desert together. Elect and baptized, we know that the waters of Baptism are the one thing needful, the invitation to eternal life. We know we can leave the jar we brought with us on the outside of this invitation—we won't be needing it anymore, to carry away the empty promises of the world. What we gain in Baptism is life itself, life to the fullest. What we find at this table is food enough to sustain us on this journey. What we have been waiting for is here, in the one whose word is the truth. We are blessed to know his name: Jesus, the Christ who is coming, our living water, the one who saves.

Authors Alice Camille

Special occasion Lent Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A scrutinies rcia rite of christian initiation of adults catechumens Exodus 17:3-7 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

19 Mar 2017

SUNDAY SUMMARY Exodus 17:3-7 Unless they get their daily proof of God’s favor, the Israelites refuse to trust. Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (8) The voice of God cannot be heard unless our hearts are soft and open. Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 If our hope is in the love of God, we will not be disappointed. John 4:5-42 The identity of Jesus unfolds in the conversation of one who is thirsty enough.

Exodus 17:3-7 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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Preaching the News for the Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

19 Mar 2017

SUNDAY SUMMARY Exodus 17:3-7 Unless they get their daily proof of God’s favor, the Israelites refuse to trust. Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 (8) The voice of God cannot be heard unless our hearts are soft and open. Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 If our hope is in the love of God, we will not be disappointed. John 4:5-42 The identity of Jesus unfolds in the conversation of one who is thirsty enough.

Exodus 17:3-7 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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Love is the trump card

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Occasion: Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42 WE'RE HALFWAY through Lent. It might be a good time to ask ourselves: What are we doing in church? I don’t mean today. I mean ultimately. What is the purpose of our being here, part of this community of faith, engaging in the spiritual quest, looking for God, striving after holiness, embracing the moral life, seeking answers to life’s questions in a religious context? That is a big question: We probably can’t answer it in a sentence. But by this time we should have some idea how to begin to address the question of why we are here, as opposed to the thousands of other places we could be on the weekend. What is the essence of our God-quest, which has led us to this assembly? Our RCIA elect have spent the past many months asking themselves questions like this, and hopefully they’ve been coming up with answers that have been personally satisfying and publicly convincing. The rest of us in our community of faith are not off the hook, however, just because we’ve got baptism and confirmation in our “mission accomplished” files. These sacramental hours may be behind us, but the unfolding of their meaning is still ahead of us. And, of course, there’s still that final sacrament of initiation, Eucharist, which is the divine gift that keeps on giving. The RCIA crowd has been working hard and purposefully toward the goal of being completely “incorporated”—that is, “taken into the body” of Christ. They’ve been faithfully studying and praying and discerning what the call of this identity in Christ entails. Some of us who have been Catholic “forever” may take this privileged identity in Christ for granted. We might all need to take this opportunity to consider what we are doing here and what we hope to learn here. The RCIA crowd has been working hard and purposefully toward the goal of being completely “incorporated”—that is, “taken into the body” of Christ. The secular well may not have much to offer the leadenhearted, but not for lack of trying. Consider the smorgasbord of consumerism, entertainment, addictions, the sexualization of almost everything, the steady wall of sound that forms the backbeat of our environment. If we grow dull from the gnawing purposelessness of our days, there is always some stimulant put before us to snap us out of the malaise. But the problem with the worldly well is that its water does not bring life. Its influence wanes, and we find ourselves needing more. We have to turn on the TV tonight and tomorrow, eat that pizza, pour that drink, or buy that new sofa. Will it bring the happiness the ads promise? How many sofas will we buy before we wake up to the realization that we’re drawing water from the wrong well? When Israel thirsted in the desert, it was an earthly well they were looking for. Their complaint betrayed a lack of trust in God and dissatisfaction with the leadership of Moses. “Why did you make us leave Egypt?” they asked—though no one made them do anything, of course. They remained in a slave-mentality, unwilling to accept responsibility for the road they were on. After water miraculously flowed for them, however, their query took an abrupt shift: “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” That was the right question to ask. It is the question people of faith must answer. If we decide that God is with us, then we have to stop going to the worldly well for the water that will never satisfy. That is why we come to church, and why we are church: to learn how to be a community of faith, hope, and love—to cultivate these three virtues. We might believe alone, and we might keep the flame of hope alive alone. But no one loves in isolation. Love is not a game of solitude. Just as God’s love seeks us, so our love seeks expression in special relationships, in commitment to the common good, and in solidarity with the last and the least. Love will not always be a joyful or painless undertaking—as Jesus on the cross reminds us—but it is one of the few things that last, and the only thing that will satisfy. The Samaritan woman instinctively knew that love was the answer. That’s why she kept returning to the well time and again, seeking communion however brokenly with this husband and that. In Jesus she found what she was looking for, and she was able to leave her bucket behind at last. She also had good news enough to share and sought out her whole village to share it with. That’s why she has become one of the classic Lenten examples of discipleship. When we’re ready to take the good news to the village, we’ll know we’ve arrived.

Authors Alice Camille

Special occasion Lent Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A scrutinies rcia rite of christian initiation of adults catechumens Exodus 17:3-7 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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This well is deep

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Occasion: Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42 THE HUMAN BODY is mostly water, so it’s no surprise that thirst is a primary concern. But the thirst of the body is only one of the aches we experience when we speak of being thirsty. Thoreau pointed to another kind of thirst when he said, “The majority of men [sic] lead lives of quiet desperation.” Aldous Huxley was even more explicit about the need for something beyond food, clothing, and shelter when he wrote, “Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful, at the least so monotonous, poor, and limited that the urge to escape, the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments, is and always has been one of the principle appetites of the soul.” Many of us experience the longing for transcendence from the weary routines of work, childcare, laundry, and standing in lines. At times even our most significant relationships grow stale. When love seems barren and life’s pursuits meaningless, church may be the last place we expect to find the transcendence we are waiting for. The secular well may not have much to offer the leadenhearted, but not for lack of trying. Consider the smorgasbord of consumerism, entertainment, addictions, the sexualization of almost everything, the steady wall of sound that forms the backbeat of our environment. If we grow dull from the gnawing purposelessness of our days, there is always some stimulant put before us to snap us out of the malaise. But the problem with the worldly well is that its water does not bring life. Its influence wanes, and we find ourselves needing more. We have to turn on the TV tonight and tomorrow, pour that drink, or buy that new sofa. Will it bring the happiness the ads promise? How many sofas will we buy before we wake and realize that we’re drawing water from the wrong well? But the problem with the worldly well is that its water does not bring life. When Israel thirsted in the desert, it was an earthly well they were looking for. Their complaint betrayed a lack of trust in God and dissatisfaction with the leadership of Moses. “Why did you make us leave Egypt?” they asked—though no one made them do anything, of course. They remained in slave-mentality, unwilling to accept responsibility for the road they were on. After water miraculously flowed for them, however, their query took an abrupt shift: “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” This was the right question to ask. This is the question people of faith must answer. If we decide that God is with us, then we have to stop going to the worldly well for the water that never satisfies. The Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at the well has had her fill of a lot of things. She’s had enough of foreigners, for one; men, for another; husbands, most of all. When Jesus asks her for a drink, it causes her pent-up dissatisfaction to explode. Jesus sees someone he can work with here. Here’s someone who has exposed the lie of the secular well and can’t be fooled. Yet she nurtures an interior hope that “the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Her faith is so strong in this hope that when Jesus says, “I am he, the one speaking with you,” it’s enough for her to abandon her water jar and run to share the good news. And through her story, she shares this news with us. If we have grown tired of the lies that our society tells—about making money, acquiring the dream house or a better spouse, getting the promotion or the home entertainment center—then we can take heart at her story. If we’ve made the mistake of stacking up jobs and bills and pills and calories and partners in the relentless search for something to kill this thirst, we don’t have to feel ashamed, we just have to quit this fruitless behavior right now. What we are looking for is already here. It takes one trip to this well to be sustained for a lifetime, and more. It’s not easy to turn down the super-sized meals, that next drink, the wall of media pounding in our heads that keeps us from thoughtful reflection. Worldly pleasures are not bad, but they cannot provide meaning to our existence. Only sincere grounding in our baptismal commitment can do that. Our catechumens have stood before us all year reminding us of the living water we yearn for. Now our elect share with us a resolution to stop drinking from the wrong wells and to ask ourselves: “Is the Lord in our midst, or not?” If Christ is among us, then our service of love imbues every hour with rich purpose. Christ answers our deepest thirst, tells us everything we need to know, as the Samaritan woman says. The more we listen to his voice, the less power the cry of the world will have over us.

Authors Alice Camille

Special occasion Lent Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A scrutinies rcia rite of christian initiation of adults catechumens Exodus 17:3-7 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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Love well

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Occasion: Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42 YOU MAY NOT have noticed it while we were standing for the long gospel reading today, but we were eavesdropping on a love story, actually even a betrothal story. How do we know? The tip-off is right there at the beginning when we hear that Jesus has come into the town of Samaria, the place of Jacob’s well. Tired from his journey, he sits down. It is about noon. The ancient Jewish audiences hearing this story would have immediately remembered the other wellstories, the boy-meets-girl-at-the-well stories wherein the faith heroes meet, marry, and alter the course of salvation history. Way back in the Book of Genesis, Abraham sent his servant to fetch a wife for his son Isaac. After a journey of over 500 miles, with ten camels hauling the dowry for the bride-to-be, Isaac’s beautiful cousin Rebekah introduced herself by drawing up the hundreds of gallons of water needed for those camels. Her generosity—and strength!—touched Abraham’s servant deeply. Rebekah left the next day to build a new life with Isaac, the promised son of Abraham and Sarah. In his exchange with her he invites her to ask him for living water. That’s what those who are coming into the church this Easter will ask of him today, too. In a few moments they will stand before us, asking us to pray that they will always thirst for Jesus. Fast-forward a generation, and Jacob, the younger of Rebekah’s twin sons, arrived at that same well after making that same 500-mile trip. The beautiful shepherdess Rachel appeared. She and her sister Leah became his wives, and, along with two concubines, would go on to be the mothers of the ten tribes of Israel. Four hundred years later, Moses met his wife Zipporah at a well in the desert. So, when Jesus sits at a well far from home—a well Jacob himself dug centuries before—and initiates a conversation with a woman, we know that a love story is beginning. For it’s there at that well that Jesus the Bridegroom engages the Samaritan woman, whose ancestors had been uprooted by five alien tribes—the five “husbands”—Assyrian conquerors had imported into Samaria 700 years before. She is a victim, still, of that long-ago oppression because she is a “half-breed” Israelite, and a woman at that. But Jesus speaks to her! He invites her, and by extension all who are wounded and alone, into a love affair. And that love comes with eternal strings attached. In his exchange with her—by far the longest recorded conversation anyone has with Jesus—he invites her to ask him for living water. That’s what those who are coming into the church this Easter will ask of him today, too. In a few moments they will stand before us, asking us to pray that they will always thirst for Jesus, and as we pray for them we pray for ourselves as well, that the Jesus who meets us in the heat of the day, in our isolation and estrangement, will draw us ever nearer into the living water welling up into eternal life.

Authors Kathy McGovern

Special occasion Lent Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A scrutinies rcia rite of christian initiation of adults catechumens Exodus 17:3-7 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

15 Mar 2020

SUNDAY SUMMARY Exodus 17:3-7 Israel is in the desert—let the grumbling begin! Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Either we listen to the Lord or harden our hearts. Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 I might not die for you, but Jesus died for both of us. John 4:5-42 A glorious conversation ensues when Jesus sits at a Samaritan well.

Exodus 17:3-7 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A

12 Mar 2023

SUNDAY SUMMARY Exodus 17:3-7 In the desert, the people grumble about the God who ignores their thirst. Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 God is the Rock of salvation from which flows living water. Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 Jesus did not die for a just people, but for sinners. John 4:5-42 Jesus offers living water to a woman who dares to ask a few questions.

Exodus 17:3-7 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42

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