Sunday 27 March 2011

Homily – Third Sunday Lent Year A

Homily – Third Sunday Lent Year A

Notes All about thirst and Living Water

Reading
Old Exodus 17:3-7
Psalm 94:1-2, 6-9, R8
New Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
Gospel John 4:5-42


What is the longest you have every gone with out drinking anything. No water, no tea, no coffee, no lemonade, no orange squash, no beer, no wine. Can you remember that thirst you would have had. Or after playing a fast paced game of football or going for a long walk on a hot day. How thirsty does that make you feel. Can you remember the feelings, your month is so dry your lips stick together, your throat is parched and feels like sandpaper, your stomach feel empty and hollow, your legs and arms get heavy and tired, your head starts to pound with a headache that wont leave you.

Can you recall your desire for water. Clear, cool, sweet water.
And can you recall again the taste of the first drink, the wetness hitting the back of your throat, the compulsion to keep drinking even when you have to stop to take a deep breath air.

Those feelings are what today's readings are all about.

Except, they are not about water. They are about thirst, desire and compulsion, but they are not about water. They are about Living Water and that's a completely different thing. Living water is God's Love being poured into our hearts by the holy spirit.


The scene of our first reading is a desert, with him Moses has 600,000 men, their families and their herds and flocks of livestock. They have left their homes in the middle of the night, been chased by an army, escaped literally through a the middle of a vast sea, they have been hungry and have just been feed on Manna and Quails and now the are complaining bitterly that they have nothing to drink. In some ways they seem ungrateful but they also seem human. Scared and in a strange place, they are striking out against their leaders. What they are after isn't just water to quench their thirst it's, it's love and care. And that's what they get, God doesn't direct them to a water hole or stream, but gives them water that can only come from him. He shows them he is with them. He gives them the cuddle they need. But like any loving parent he must have been hurt by their challenge “Is the Lord with us or Not?”

Our Psalm today is a reflection on that challenge. It's a sorrowful reflection on that doubt, that challenge, that test of a loving God. When we said together the response, we are asking that today, right now, we all listen to the Lord's voice. We have no need to challenge him, to test him. But we have great need to just listen. Which brings us nicely to our Gospel reading.

We find Jesus on a journey between Judaea and Galilee. The quickest route goes through Samaritan territory and it's here next to a well we encounter Jesus. He is joined by a women and for a few minutes they have a rather disjointed conversation about drinking water. To start with the women is surprised that Jesus talks to her at all. He is a Jew and Jew's don't talk to Samaritan's. Then Jesus reverses the conversation and talks of living water, she misunderstands and probably get insulted. Living water to her would have been a stream or river, free flowing water, which was considered much better than well water. If Jesus could find living water here he was claiming to be greater than Jacob who first dug the well. Then Jesus describes his living water and she still misses the point, maybe even laughing at him as she asks him for this magical water. It's not until he demonstrates that he really knows her that she takes him seriously. Her eyes begin to open, and she starts to listen. She realises that the water Jesus is talking of is spiritual water, God's Love. She realises Jesus is someone special, maybe even the Christ.

There is a strong lesson here for us. When Christ speaks to us through our lives, though scripture, through our prayer, we may think we know what he's talking about, but we could so easily have got it wrong and be missing something special. It's worth taking the time to really listen, and to understand that He is talking to us because He loves us.
The Samaritan woman listened and was filled with His Living Water and then she introduced others to Christ so they could listen as well. And they were all filled with His Living Water. The work He started here, or the harvest as He described it, is to bring all people to God, not just the chosen race the Jews but everyone.

And now in the middle of Lent it’s worth reflecting on how Jesus brings all people to God. He brings people to God through his sacrifice, through his death, on a cross. He looked at us, saw everything we do wrong, the wars, the hatred, the poverty, the greed, and he loves us. He loves us so much he allowed us to kill him. He offered himself as our sacrifice for all that is wrong is in us. And through that sacrifice he offers us forgiveness, offers us grace, offers us his love.

So now it is by our faith in Christ Jesus that we can be judged righteous and at peace with God. It’s our faith that lets us accept the gift of grace. And it’s by that Grace that we can hope to enter the kingdom of heaven.

And as Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “This hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the holy spirit which has been given to us.”

Are you thirsty?

Do you need the love of God poured into your heart?

Christ is sat next to a well waiting for you, to talk with you and to give you a drink of his Living Water.

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