Reflection for March 8 Third Sunday of Lent: John 4:5-42

Gospel: John 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."

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Reflection:

Do we seek out the lost and those who do not believe?

Considering that Jews and Samaritans were not supposed to associate with each other—much less talk with one another—why did Jesus speak with the Samaritan woman and converse with her at Jacob’s Well?

Jesus wanted to introduce Himself as the Living Water. More than that, He desired that the woman from Samaria would come to believe in Him and become His follower.

It was Jesus who patiently initiated the conversation with the woman from Samaria. She did not seek Him first. She had no idea about the true identity of Jesus. Yet she listened and even conversed with Him. Why? Because Jesus did not condemn her, nor did He belittle her. Instead, He welcomed her with patience, kindness, and understanding.

In this long Gospel episode, we receive important lessons from Jesus on how we too can seek out the lost and those who do not believe. First, we must be patient and gentle with those who struggle in their faith. Second, we should never judge them for who they are or where they have been. Third, we must be willing to listen to their life stories, for within those stories are wounds, burdens, and longings that only God can truly heal.

When we are patient and gentle, when we refrain from judging, and when we sincerely listen to those who do not believe or whose faith may be weak, something beautiful begins to happen. Slowly and quietly, hearts begin to open. From the depths of their inner struggles—even from the darkness of their sinful world—we begin to draw them toward hope and new life.

And in God’s time, we can help lead them to their own Jacob’s Well, where they may finally encounter, up close and personally, Jesus—our Living Water, who alone can quench the deepest thirst of the human heart.

But this Gospel also invites us to look within ourselves. Are we willing to step beyond our comfort zones, cross the boundaries that divide people, and patiently walk with those who are searching, doubting, or lost?

Or will we allow fear, pride, or judgment to keep us from leading others to the Living Water?

As followers of Christ, let us ask ourselves: Are we willing to seek out the lost with the same patience, compassion, and love that Jesus showed the Samaritan woman—and will we help lead them to an encounter with Him who alone can satisfy the thirst of every human heart?— Marino J. Dasmarinas