It is Sunday, March 8th, the third Sunday of Lent and, for us catechists and Elect in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) process, it marks the First Scrutiny leading up to the Elect’s baptism at the Great Easter Vigil.  The Scrutinies (over three consecutive Sundays) consist of Scripture passages which help us to look inside and see the truth about ourselves, our predominant faults and habitual sins; and the divine love and mercy that God bestows on us when we repent and learn to trust in Him. 

Today’s Gospel was Jn 4:5-42, Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well.  In this passage there are numerous messages that help us see our brokenness, our need for spiritual fulfillment, and our futile efforts for finding happiness outside of a relationship with our Lord.  But, thankfully, it shows us the joy we will find when we accept the “Living Water” that Christ offers to quench our spiritual thirst, replacing all the other things we’ve tried which failed to satiate us.

As I prepared to facilitate a discussion on this gospel, focusing on our sinfulness and the grace and mercy we receive from God in spite of that sinfulness, I couldn’t help but see a message about evangelization, as well.

In verse 4, the line before the selected passage, we read that Jesus, “had to pass through Samaria” on his way from Judea to Galilee.  Jesus didn’t have to pass through Samaria, He could have crossed the Jordan and gone around Samaria like any other cautious Jew. Passing through Samaria was risky business since Jews and Samaritans hated each other.  Thus, Jesus must have had a purpose in mind that was worth risking His and His disciples lives. That purpose must have been to encounter the woman at the well.

Jesus set an example for us – even in the face of fear, we should still evangelize and be intentional about it.  It’s unlikely any of us are at risk of losing our life by proclaiming the gospel and bringing Jesus to those who don’t know Him.  In Jesus’ case, He already knew the woman’s history, that she had failed to find happiness in her relationships, and that she was a pariah in her village.  In spite of her sinfulness, Jesus met her where she was and spoke to her heart.  We, unfortunately, don’t have that supernatural luxury. Instead, we have to explore and learn more about the people we encounter through intentional friendship so we can meet them where they are when we do present the gospel message to them.  It can feel awkward at first, but, with practice, you get the hang of it.  The perceived risk lies in our expectations of whether we will succeed or fail.  But what matters is simply that we try.

Another verse in this passage, verse 16, plays to evangelization where Jesus tells the woman, “Go call your husband and come back”.  When she responds that she does not have a husband, Jesus reveals that He knows she has been married five times and that the man she is presently living with is not her husband.  The absence of judgment and condemnation from Jesus is seen by the woman as mercy, a loving acceptance of who she is, and the essence of an immediate conversion. The woman ran home and told her whole village about Jesus, instantly becoming a missionary disciple.  When we encounter others, it is our hope that, by accepting and loving them for who they are, and sharing the gospel message that God is infinitely more gracious than our efforts could ever be, they will also become missionary disciples who will then lead others to Christ.

Tradition tells us that the name of the woman at the well is St. Photina.  She and her sons were martyred for their faith during the persecutions of Nero.  Her feast day is Friday, March 20th.  St. Photina, pray for us as we evangelize!

“My loving Jesus, may I always come to You seeking spiritual fulfillment from the Living Water that You give, and that it will be a spring that wells up within me for eternal life.  I pray for the grace to love and accept those I meet as true spiritual brothers and sisters and lead them to You so that their spiritual thirst may also be quenched.  Amen.”

(Jesus and the Woman at the Wellwas first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

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