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| Woman at the Well: Sieger Koder |
It's never too early to open the scriptures for the coming weekend and begin to let the Word steep in our minds and hearts.
March 27 will find us at the Third Sunday of Lent in Year A of the Lectionary.
In the first scripture, from Exodus, Moses strikes the rock at Horeb and from it flows water for the thirsty Israelites to drink in the desert. Imagine how sweet such water must have tasted, what refreshment it brought... For what do we thirst, you and I, as we read this lesson?
St. Paul, writing to the Romans, reminds us that God's love is poured into the hearts of all, that Christ died even for the ungodly. That's right, folks: Jesus loves sinners even when they are still in their sins! Jesus loves jerks even when they are at their most annoying! Jesus loves our enemies, even when they are persecuting us! And Jesus calls us to love the sinner, to love the jerks and to love our enemies...
The gospel is lengthy: the story of Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar. Water flows here, too - the saving waters of faith.
Especially when the scriptures are familiar to us (as would be the case with the story of the woman at the well), it's important for us not to take them for granted ("Oh, I know that one!") but to spend even extra time reading and preparing to encounter them as they're proclaimed in the liturgy.
The texts and commentary on them can be found here and if you're bringing children to Mass with you, look here for hints on helping young ones prepare to hear the Word.
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I love this picture of the woman at the well. So many of my dreams are haunted by water. When I go to sleep tonight, I will try to imagine this picture in my head. She sees Jesus in the water. I will try to, too.
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