Homily Woman at the well
This morning we all turned on water in our taps to boil the kettle, wash the dishes or go for a shower. We have such easy access to water and we take it for granted.
Each day across the world millions of people walk on average 6km to collect water for their home, many of them women and children.
We hear a lot these days of trying to get close to 10,000 steps as part of good exercise.
In many parts of the world, they walk close to 20,000 steps each day for survival and many of these steps are done collecting water.
And even though we have got so much water in recent months as rain, it is still such a precious gift.
We have the beautiful gospel of the woman collecting water at the well. It is the source of life for her and her family at home
But as the conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well unfolds, the chat turns to living water. She thinks he is talking about the clean water in the well.
But Jesus is talking about something deeper.
There is a thirst within every human heart for love, acceptance, forgiveness, healing and peace.
We try to quench this thirst in many ways – success, possessions, shopping, rushing and racing, endless scrolling on our phones and yet the thirst often remains.
But Jesus says whoever drinks his water will never be thirsty again. He is the one who can satisfy our deepest inner longing. Our world is limited in what it can give us to us spiritually but with God there are no limits.
And that is why this chat between Jesus and the woman is so powerful and yet also so gentle and beautiful. It is placed here on our journey through Lent as a reminder, that spirituality is one of our most precious gifts to us.
The main message is that God also meets us where we are, at our own wells, in our own tiredness, in our own searching and in our own broken places. The fact that you are reading this means that you have come to the well also and because you know that there is also something more.
We all search of the something more. Sometimes we find it easy and other times we are unsure and uncertain. Jesus reminds us beautifully to keep searching, to keep coming to the well and every time we do we will always come away with something more than when we came.
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Thought For The Week
A feature of any mountain road is that it usually winds its way up. It never goes from the bottom to the top in a straight line. This makes sense too as it is so much easier to climb the mountain if the path meanders gradually, rather than go straight up. It is a reflection on the journey of life too. It has to be done slowly and gradually.
The views from any part of a mountain allow us to see things from a different perspective. What we see up higher is very different to what we see below in the valley. It is sometimes good to get perspective in life. It is sometimes good to step back and away from the busyness of life, to recharge and find balance again. This really is what Lent is all about.
The Gospel story of the Transfiguration is always shared on the second Sunday of Lent which was last weekend. Transfiguration is a word that is rarely used today but it means to be changed. Jesus brought his friends up a mountain to pray. There they saw him shining with light or surrounded in light. It was one they would never forget. When difficult, challenging and upsetting days would come, the Transfiguration would give them hope and courage. Jesus became the source of light and hope. We too need light and hope on our daily journey.
We all know that even with beautiful views up on a mountain, we must come back down. But one thing is fairly sure, we come back down changed and changed for the better. We come back to where our story continues to unfold. We pray that as our story unfolds, that it will unfold in new ways this Lent, in good ways and in ways that give our lives meaning and purpose.
Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
