3rd Sunday of Lent

That was the short version of today’s Gospel. Jesus has a lot to say to us today. The first reading from Exodus and today’s Gospel both talk about water. In the Old Testament story, Moses is leading his people across the desert. They escaped the Egyptian army when Moses parted the sea. You’d think they would be happy. But, no, they’re whining because they’re thirsty. “Why did you make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?”

How quick they forget. They’ve been freed from captivity. The pharaoh’s army has been drowned. They’re headed for the Promised Land. But they’re thirsty. Moses asks God what he’s supposed to do and He tells him to take the staff that he used to part the sea and strike the rock. Water will flow from the rock. Of course it does and the people are satisfied, at least temporarily.

In the Gospel reading, it’s Jesus who is thirsty. He asks the Samaritan woman at the well for a drink. We know that the Jews don’t have anything to do with the Samaritans, especially Samaritan women. But here’s Jesus asking her for a drink.

He goes on to explain to her that He has living water. Anyone who drinks His water will have eternal life. He stayed with the Samaritans for two days and they began to believe in Him.

While the two readings are about water, their real theme is faith. On the one hand, we have the Old Testament Jews who have seen God’s work first hand. He’s saved them from the Egyptians. Yet, they doubted God. They had no faith. “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst?”

On the other hand, you have the Samaritans. Jesus is the Messiah. He has come to save the Jewish people. But the Samaritans had faith. They recognized Jesus for who He was and came to believe. They had faith.

Which brings us to Lent. Today is the third Sunday. How’s it going for you so far? By now we’ve all had plenty of time to break the resolutions that we made. Are you still staying away from chocolate, or snacks, or beer, or whatever you gave up? Have you stuck with it?

Lent is all about faith. It’s a time for us to make sacrifices and examine our own life of faith. Are we doing all that we should? Could we do more? It’s always a challenge for me to decide what I’m going to do. I want to do something worthwhile, something that’s a stretch. I could give up roller skating or lifting weights. That would be easy. It also wouldn’t mean anything.

I could also give up something really hard, like watching television. But I know I’d fail. It would just be too difficult. Or I could give up coffee. But, that would also be too difficult. I can’t get started in the morning without at least half a pot of coffee. No, giving up coffee would be too darn hard.

So what happened? I decided to start Lent off by having a heart attack. It wasn’t a serious heart attack, just enough to get my attention. And guess what? They told me that I was going to have to give up caffeine. NO MORE COFFEE???

Surely they’re kidding. I can’t function without caffeine. I need it. But, you know what? Given the choice between giving up my coffee and giving up my health, I decided to give up the coffee. I have a wife that I love very much. I have four great kids. My first grandchild is on the way. I’m not going to shorten my life by even one day, for something as trivial as coffee.

It’s amazing that when we come face-to-face with reality, when our body reminds us just how short this life is, we suddenly get an entirely new attitude. This life is very short.

But, the next life is forever. How often do we make choices that jeopardize our eternal life? How often do we sin, either by commission or omission, and don’t even give it a second thought? Temptation is all around us. The devil is everywhere. We live in a culture of death. We’re weak. We know it and God knows it. That’s why He gave us the sacrament of reconciliation. God loves us and wants to give us every opportunity to spend eternity with Him.

God’s love is real. There’s no question about it. All we have to do is cooperate. In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that we’re His friends if we do what He tells us. Then He tells us what He wants us to do. “Love one another as I have loved you.”

If we do that, then everything will be fine. We know it because Jesus said it and because we have faith.

Don’t be like the Jews in our first reading, complaining because your glass if half empty. Be like the Samaritans, who had faith in Jesus even though they weren’t members of the “chosen people.”

Faith is not an answer to life’s questions; it’s the courage to keep going in spite of the questions. Like the Samaritan townspeople, we grow to believe because of our faith.