It is a story that we know reasonably well. The Samaritan women at the well. We hear it at least once every three years – and it is optionally ready every year during Lent. A lot is going on through this gospel – What is one to preach about? There are many options – all excellent and worth meditating on.
One could preach about how the woman is an outcast. – Noon is the hottest part of the day; usually, one would get water in the morning or the evening when it is cooler – but why is the woman at the well at noon? Because no one else will be there – except that Jesus is – and he talks with her. He meets the outcast.
One could also preach about the conversion of the Samaritan woman – She is a sinner – having had five husbands and currently living with a man who is not her husband. – She is an outcast for a reason. – But she finds in Christ someone more significant than she thought – comes to recognize who Jesus is – the Messiah. Christ brings the conversion of the sinner.
It is also possible to preach about evangelization – for it was not just the woman who had a conversion – but the whole town. – The woman did not just come to believe – she proclaimed that news to the town, outcast that she might have been. – when we proclaim the good news, we do not know who will respond – the town would not have heard and believed if she did share what she came to believe about Christ.
And what did they come to believe about Christ? A homily could be given on the nature of who Christ is. The town converted because they believed Christ was greater than their father, Jacob. Jesus declares that “I am he, the one who is speaking with you” – “I am” – “ἐγώ εἰμι” – It is grammatically odd because this is claiming the divine name – “I am” – the name God gives to Moses from the burning bush – Christ is a man who needs food and water – but is also God – it is by this that he can save us.
Another homily might be about never knowing who will respond to the gospel. The Samaritans are hated by the Jews, and they are not in line with the Old Testament Law – They refuse to worship in Jerusalem. There are pagan rituals intermixed with their religious practices. Yet the disciples have no clue what Jesus is talking about, and the Samaritans respond and see conversion. One never knows who will respond to the gospel; sometimes, it is the least expected, such as the samaritans.
All of those are possible homilies – but what is at the center of all of these? Thirst – The Samaritan woman is thirsting – desiring for something – not just water, which leaves us thirsty again – but for something more. She has a desire that she cannot satisfy. Neither the 5 husbands nor the man she is living with who is not her husband.
And we are not all that different. – we, too, thirst – We might not be an outcast from society or have the same sins as the Samaritan women – but we are looking for satisfaction – for happiness - in various places – and everywhere we look in the world – it might satisfy for a little while – but we are always thirsty again.
Thinking of the athlete who wins the championship – They are at a high – yet next season – it is time to start over again – it does not last. A business owner makes it big – yet there is always the next business venture – always looking for something more – it does not satisfy – Political elections, no matter how good things go, there is always what is next.
Nothing wrong with these things – but they cannot satisfy forever – we will be thirsty again. We desire something beyond what the material can give – we thirst for that living water that meets our desires. Our genuine desire is for God – and only he can satisfy it.
That living water is only found through Christ, God, the second person of the Trinity, becomes man – come to bring us back to God. It is Christ who can allow us to “worship the Father in Spirit and truth” – It is here that we find what we truly desire – that which will satisfy us for eternity. Just as the women at the well came to believe – so too should we look to our own conversion
And as it is not just us who thirst – but everyone does – This desire for something beyond the material – this religious sense – it is part of being human – and the answer for what we seek is only found in Christ – for we desire God, the living water which only comes from Christ – and so we proclaim the gospel – we evangelize. Just as the women at the well revealed it to her town, the same town she was an outcast from – and who will listen if we do? We never know – the Samaritans of that town heard and responded – bringing their conversion. – The disciples did not understand – and many Jews did not – we never know who will respond – and so we still share the good news.
That thirst for something beyond the material is central to the story about the Samaritan women at the well. It is also at the center of Lent - We are now several weeks into Lent – for some, our Lenten practices and fasting are going great – for others – not so much. But the very idea of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is not self-improvement to reach material gains – but to focus on Christ – to seek out the living water that genuinely satisfies our souls – the material, as good as it is, it is never enough, we desire something more – but if we turn to Christ – if we worship God in Spirit and truth? - well, God is never out down in his generosity.