HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Third Sunday of Lent (Year A)

Mar 8, 2026

454

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Exodus (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?"

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9)

(R) 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)

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)

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)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (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 while we were still helpless, Christ 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.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to 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 from 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 to 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 well is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well 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 again; 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 worshipped 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 worshippers 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 who is 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 and 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." 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."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

There were two close friends. One was a Christian and the other, a Muslim. Sometimes they would pray together even as they remained aware of their differences as Muslim and Christian. Some schools of thought in both Islam and Christianity warn against shared or combined prayer, fearing that it would imply all are praying to the same God. So, sometimes, especially when other people were around, these two friends said their prayers quietly in silence. On one such occasion while praying to God to alleviate a water shortage in their village, instead of praying aloud, they imagined themselves "digging a well together".

After their silent prayer the Christian asked his Muslim friend, "When we get to the bottom of the well, what will we find - Muslim water or Christian water?" The Muslim, half-amused but still deadly serious, replied, "My friend, we've spent all this time walking together, and you're still asking me this question! Both of us know well that at the bottom of this well, we'll find neither Christian nor Muslim water but God's water."

Water is an essential, life-sustaining gift from God and nature. It is vital for all living beings on earth. We all know that there can be no life without water, but at the same time water cannot really keep us alive forever. We drink water throughout life. Yet we end up being thirsty again or dying. Today's first reading from the Book of Exodus (17:3-7) tells us of the ordeal of the Israelites in the desert. When God led the Israelites through the desert after freeing them from slavery in Egypt, they quarrelled and grumbled against Moses and consequently against God due to lack of water. Thirsty and distrustful, they even questioned if God was truly among them and if God brought them and their children out of Egypt to die in the desert. God responded by commanding Moses to strike a rock which miraculously provided water and satisfied their physical thirst.

In the Old Testament, water is also a common metaphor for spiritual satisfaction, representing divine nourishment, cleansing, and life-giving refreshment that quenches inner thirst. For instance, the prophet Isaiah portrays salvation as water drawn from a well with joy, representing God's freely given grace, Isaiah (12:3), invites all who are thirsty to "come to the waters" to receive satisfaction, representing the spiritual nourishment found only in God, Isaiah (51:1). The prophet also describes God turning the barren, dry, and desolate land into a lush, well-watered land, symbolizing God's provision, restoration and transformation, Isaiah (41:18-20), and contrasts the "quiet waters" of God's peace with the "troubled sea" of the wicked, which represents chaos, restlessness, and lack of peace, Isaiah (57:20).

Thus, these metaphors on the one hand point out God as the sole provider of spiritual life, contrasting human spiritual dryness with the abundance of His grace; and on the other hand, prefigure Jesus Christ as the source of eternal life, spiritual cleansing, and divine power that quenches spiritual thirst.

In today's gospel, John (4:5-42), Jesus contrasts physical water, which only temporarily quenches bodily thirst, with God's living water which can satisfy our far greater spiritual thirst. According to the narrative, Jesus, tired and exhausted from travelling between Judea and Galilee, sat down at a well, known as Jacob's well, while His disciples went into town to buy food. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. The woman was shocked because Jesus, a Jewish man, broke all social, religious, and cultural barriers by speaking to her and asking for a drink. Of course, she had no idea who Jesus was and asked Him how He could ask her for water since He was a Jew. Whereas Jesus knew the woman intimately - her shameful past of five husbands and current unmarried relationship - despite being the fact that she was a stranger.

At the time of Jesus, relations between Jews and Samaritans were strained. Samaritans originated from the intermarriage between the gentiles and the remaining Israelites after the Assyrian conquest of Israel. Hence, they were considered ethnically and religiously unclean and despised by Jews. By asking her for a drink, Jesus broke the social, racial, religious, and gender barriers of his day. First, Jesus defied cultural norms and rabbinical tradition by interacting with an unknown woman in public alone. Secondly, He spoke to a Samaritan, breaking through intense historical animosity between the two groups. Thirdly, He consciously disregarded strict ritual purity laws that deemed Samaritans "unclean" and social outcasts.

So, Jesus bypassed the woman's focus on social prejudice to address her spiritual need. He told her, "If you only knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water," John (4:10). Moreover, Jesus indicated that while she looked for water that would quench her physical thirst, He could provide water that would give her eternal life and that she would never be thirsty again. At this point, Jesus explicitly revealed Himself to the woman as the source of "living water", stating that He offers water that leads to eternal life and satisfies spiritual thirst, John (4:10). Later, during a festival in Jerusalem, Jesus identified this "living water" as the Holy Spirit, which believers receive, John (7:37-39).

Thus, by going against the social customs and prejudices between Jews and Samaritans, Jesus became the gift of God to this woman and her people. Many Samaritans came to believe in Jesus because of the woman\’s testimony. They asked Jesus to stay with them and He did. As a result, many more people came to believe in Him. But they declared, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man is truly the Saviour of the World”, John (4:42

What is the message for us?

Jesus\’ love transcends all gender, cultural, social, racial, and religious barriers, breaking down the walls of fear, prejudice, insecurity, and division and offering hope, security, transformation and salvation to everyone, specifically to outcasts and sinners.
Jesus intimately sees every detail of our life. He knows all about us - our past, present, and future thoughts, actions and struggles. He lovingly seeks out and saves us despite our broken, hidden, or sinful pasts. This unconditional love means we do not need to hide from Him in fear, shame, or guilt.
Jesus offers us grace and "living water" that satisfies our deep spiritual thirst, unlike physical water that leaves us thirsty again. Instead of condemnation, He offers us a chance for new life and relationship with God.
Jesus turns our personal stories of brokenness and redemption into powerful testimonies. The Samarian woman's experience shows that genuine encounters with Jesus empower us, regardless of our past or reputation, to become witnesses who lead others to "come and see" Him.
We should abandon prejudices, social standing, and shame to engage in life-changing conversation with others. Sometimes we may have to take risks. We should break down walls, unjust rules of social structures and norms that exclude people and open up possibilities to others. So that they, too, can experience Christ.
Like the people of Sychar, we must invite Jesus to stay with us so that we can move beyond hearsay, experience Him personally, and truly know Him as the Saviour of the world. By welcoming Him, we deepen our faith, allow Him to satisfy our spiritual thirst and transform our daily lives.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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