DEACON TOM ANTHONY

Saturday, March 25, 2017











Third Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 28

Reading 1 Ex 17:3-7

In those days, in their thirst for water,
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, "Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?"
So Moses cried out to the LORD,
"What shall I do with this people?
a little more and they will stone me!"
The LORD answered Moses,
"Go over there in front of the people,
along with some of the elders of Israel,
holding in your hand, as you go,
the staff with which you struck the river.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it
for the people to drink."
This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.
The place was called Massah and Meribah,
because the Israelites quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
"Is the LORD in our midst or not?"

Responsorial Psalm Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2 Rom 5:1-2, 5-8

Brothers and sisters:
Since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
to this grace in which we stand,
and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

And hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
For Christ, while we were still helpless,
died at the appointed time for the ungodly.
Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,
though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.
But God proves his love for us
in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Verse Before the Gospel Cf. Jn 4:42, 15

Lord, you are truly the Savior of the world;
give me living water, that I may never thirst again.

Gospel Jn 4:5-42

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
"Give me a drink."
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
"How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
"If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink, '
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to her,
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Jesus said to her,
"Go call your husband and come back."
The woman answered and said to him,
"I do not have a husband."
Jesus answered her,
"You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.'
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus said to her,
"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him,
"I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything."
Jesus said to her,
"I am he, the one speaking with you."

At that moment his disciples returned,
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,
but still no one said, "What are you looking for?"
or "Why are you talking with her?"
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and said to the people,
"Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?"
They went out of the town and came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, "Rabbi, eat."
But he said to them,
"I have food to eat of which you do not know."
So the disciples said to one another,
"Could someone have brought him something to eat?"
Jesus said to them,
"My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment
and gathering crops for eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.'
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for;
others have done the work,
and you are sharing the fruits of their work."

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
"He told me everything I have done."
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
"We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."

MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

We are all thirsting for something in this life. There are many different ways to quench this thirst. Some find it the material allures of this world while others find it in the many different ways that we can occupy ourselves, experiencing entertainment and stimulation of the senses. We all are individuals and with that uniqueness come certain preferences on how we spend our time and develop our lives. We each have a unique set of talents and abilities which influence our decisions. As we get older and have gained more knowledge and wisdom, our tastes and behaviors will change. Certain patterns will also develop and habits will be formed. Undoubtedly, there will be good ones and bad ones which will have a lasting impact on our life experience. Each day brings about options regarding how we are going to satisfy our thirst and how long it will be quenched.

Our physical bodies demand hydration and our brains require mental titivation. As these demands are satisfied it is spiritual aspect of our existence which can easily be denied the same nourishment that is necessary for it to grow and not die. An indication that this is happening is the emptiness we feel like something is missing. We try different things so as to satisfy this urge but stubbornly it comes back. It masks itself in different ways coming in the form of boredom, hunger pains, sexual urges, and other wants that we think we need at that moment. Once these are appeased, the emptiness then returns. It is a cycle that can arguably repeat itself for a lifetime. There are even those who think they are fulfilled in all aspects of their lives when in fact they are the ones who lack the most nourishment. The more we focus on the material, the more time we will feel the emptiness.

In Paul’s Letter to the Romans, he describes the Love of God being poured into our hearts. This is what has been given to us to fill that emptiness and quench that insatiable thirst which has plagued us for what feels like forever. With the revelation of Jesus Christ and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, we have already been given all that is necessary to make us complete. The answer is before us, we just need to take the time and realize it. Our lives are so regimented to the fact that we have to work for everything. We set goals for ourselves to obtain what we want when we want it. When something is given to us undeservedly, such as the unquestionable love of God for us, we tend not to recognize it and even take it for granted. We only need to accept the gift and let it do the work that it is supposed to do. Jesus Christ died for us and has proved His love for us. The challenge is for us to let that love do its work and quench our thirst.

We have a blueprint before us. Jesus Christ has mapped out a plan for us to follow. This plan is offered freely and with no stipulations. If we follow it, then we will become fulfilled in everything that we do. We must stop struggling against what is the most obvious choice to make. If we choose to embrace what is being offered then the Waters of Salvation will envelop us and pour forth from us at the same time. We can relive our baptism every day just by being open to receive the Love of Jesus Christ. The imagery can be very powerful: The start of every day can become a renewal of the spirit and a rebirth of sorts.

As Christians, we have so many opportunities presented before us. All of them are wonderful. It is an offering to us from Jesus Christ that shouldn’t be taken lightly. When we do everything with Him in our hearts and recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit, then the floodgates of love are open. Living life with the Living Water of Our Lord Jesus Christ becomes the obvious choice. Receive the water and receive Jesus Christ.

Deacon Tom


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