This image, “The Women at the Well,” is from 2020. It seems like years ago, from the depths of COVID 19. It still speaks.

Sorry to have been absent this week. I was on the road preaching two retreats in Austin, Texas. I also traveled with a cold. I am home safely tending to my voice and health. So, I thought I would write my reflection for today.

The Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A, March 12, 2023

John 4:5-42

A Samaritan woman drew water daily at high noon at a local well. In the hot sun she was hidden. Most people collected water in the early morning. The community cistern served as a central meeting place before the heat of day.

She encountered Jesus in the sun. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink”. This moment caught her off guard. She questions him about being a Jew and asking her, a Samaritan, for a drink. She becomes so confused about living water. She is overwhelmed by what sort of water Jesus is referring to. The heart is deeper than the community cistern.

Jesus numbers her husbands. He knows she has been through much suffering and confusion. She ultimately leaves the jug at the well and goes into the village to tell others this man could very well be the Christ. He had within him all the knowledge of her past, her decisions and sins. Jesus knew her thirst for eternal life.

In daylight or early dawn, what do we desire from Christ? In Lent, we search the deep well of our hearts to encounter him. We hearken to his voice and to his invitation to sit in his tender presence. He offers us a fountain of eternal life.

In this Lent, we capture our thirst for heaven, for salvation. The waters of baptism flow within us, still healing us from within. We bath in his merciful presence, always. There is no inner dryness that will destroy our encounter with Christ Jesus. The desert of Lent shall flow into the joy of Easter morning and we shall not hide in the noonday sun because the Risen Christ knows everything about us.