The water Jesus gives become a spring of eternal life
Third Sunday of Lent
Collect
O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving have shown us a remedy for sin, look graciously on this confession of our lowliness, that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Reflection
In the early Church, those who requested to join the believers were required to take part in a series of Rites called the scrutinies. Amongst other things, those who were to take part in these rites and were employed in certain types of work, some of which are no longer considered immoral, were required to cease their employment before they were accepted as catechumens. Those who worked in certain types of occupations were prohibited from becoming catechumens. Another scrutiny took place during Lent, before the Easter Vigil, at which time the Catechumens were to be Baptised. During this period, not only their social status was examined, but also the progress they had made in the Christian community. The bishop would ask the members of the community to communicate to him how the catechumens had grown in their faith and in their service to their brothers and sisters during the months or years that had been catechumens.
Although the criteria for examining the catechumens have changed over time, the principle that their faith must be examined has remained. The Church also desires that, in these Rites, those chosen to become members of the Christian community are joined by those who have already been Baptised. Therefore, these scrutinies, which take place on the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sunday of Lent, are also tools for our conversion, because they help us recognise how genuine our faith really is and reveals to us where we may be going astray.
The theme in today’s Liturgy is Christ as the water of eternal life. This is expressed through the passage from the Gospel according to St. John in which Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. In this dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, we witness a genuine conversion. The woman, who’s name is unknown to us and therefore represents each of us, begins by calling Jesus a ‘Jew’ in a disparaging manner. Later she calls Him ‘Lord’, then ‘Prophet and finally she calls Him ‘Messiah’. What caused the transformation in her thinking was the water that Jesus was offering her. At the outset she thought He was speaking about physical water, but she soon realised that He was speaking about water that quenched a thirst that was far deeper than bodily thirst; the existential thirst of those who search for someone that accepts them as they truly are. This is the thirst that we all experience, a thirst that only Jesus can satisfy.
During the exorcism prayer that the bishop prays this Sunday, water is mentioned several times. He prays that, like the Samaritan woman, those who have been chosen to receive the Sacrament of Baptism may long for the living water that Jesus desires to give them. The bishop continues praying to God so that “they recognise and declare that they are weak and sinful; do not allow their hope to be in vain nor the devil to deceive them; save them from error, help them recognise the evil they have committed so their soul may be purified, and that through Your grace they may walk in the way of salvation.”
Prayer
Lord, quench my thirst with Your water, so that I may never thirst again. Amen.