Every day of Lent, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
In the first reading, the Israelites still do not trust in God. He had taken them out of slavery in Egypt. He had led them in the desert during the day by a pillar of cloud and at night by a pillar of fire. When they were about to be overtaken by the Egyptians at the Red Sea, the Lord parted the waters for them to walk through to the other side. And they still did not get it. The Lord wanted to take care of them, but they were lacking hope. They are thirsty and complain to Moses, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst?”
Once again, the Lord provides for them. He makes water run from a rock for them to drink.
The hopeless expect that God will not help them, but we must not despair. God has given us his only Son, Jesus, to save us. What else could we ask for?
In the second reading St. Paul says, “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts.” God will provide! This must be the basis of our faith, and even more, because “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
And now we turn to the Gospel. It would seem to us that the Samaritan woman had lost hope. She had at least seven failed relationships. She was an outcast. She could not come to the well in the cooler morning hours with the other women of the village. She would have been rebuked by them. She came to get water later in the day — and she met Jesus. He had been waiting for her.
At first, she was reluctant. But minute by minute Jesus drew her into a relationship with him, so intimate that he eventually told her own life’s story. He knew her like no one else ever had.
At the end of the day, he pulled faith from within her, a faith that would come to believe that he was the Christ and savior of the world. Hope was restored to her. She trusted Jesus and the Father that he had come to proclaim. She became one of the world’s first evangelists, going back to the village to tell the people all that he had done for her. They too came to him and found hope in the Lord.
This Lent let us lift up our hearts in hope that the Lord will always provide for us, just as he always has. We may be thirsty as we walk through the heat of the day, but God will not leave us without what we need for our salvation. After all, in our baptism he has planted within us a well of living water that springs up to eternity. We will survive — even death itself.
Also, let’s not forget to tell the world what we have come to believe. Jesus is the Messiah that God promised to provide for us.
Have a blessed week everyone.