Sunday March 12, 2023

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“Jesus pours his love into us, but to drink of it we have to listen ready to be changed by the truth.”

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Good News Reflection for:

Third Sunday of Lent
March 12, 2023

Today’s Prayer:

Beloved Father, may I leave all my past and all my sins at Jesus’ feet and let Your Holy Spirit fill my being with abundant life. Amen.

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Today’s Readings:

Exodus 17:3-7
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
John 4:5-42
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031223.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-march-12-2023

What’s your spiritual thirst?

What are you thirsty for? Thirst is what happens when we lack something vital. Water is essential for our physical survival, and our bodies signal us when it’s time to drink fluids to stay healthy.

Likewise, water is necessary for our spiritual survival, albeit a different sort of water — the living water, which we first received from the baptismal water that purifies us for eternal life. This living water is a holy water that enables us to have abundant life in Christ.

The Holy Spirit is the Giver of Life. One of the biblical symbols that represents the presence of God’s Spirit is life-giving water. Therefore, we can surmise that Jesus wanted to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Samaritan woman. Why? It would still be a while before the Holy Spirit descended upon everyone at Pentecost.

She needed the truth; the Holy Spirit is Truth, and Jesus wanted to give her whatever she needed to repent and receive salvation and then share this new life with the people around her.

We only get thirsty when we haven’t had enough to drink. Spiritual thirst shows itself in many forms: addictions, loneliness, despair, frustration, self-indulgence, or any other feeling or behavior that’s triggered when we lack something that we need or want.

And why would we lack anything spiritually? Because, like the woman at the well, we sometimes fail to realize that Christ is with us. We need to receive a spiritual healing.

How does God give us this healing? He pours his love into us with all sufficiency, but to drink of it, we have to listen openly, like that woman, ready to be changed by the truth.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What sin or unhealthy habit do you need to overcome so that Jesus is free to quench your thirsts? What will you do this week to hand it over to Christ?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
1. In the first reading, why did a physical thirst turn into a sin? How does this still happen today?

2. In Romans 5, grace and hope are mentioned as gifts we receive when we have been “justified by faith” (i.e., when we’ve repented of our sins and sought forgiveness through Jesus). How do grace and hope quench our thirsts? How do they help us resist sin?

3. The woman at the well eagerly received what Jesus said. Even though he confronted her about her sins, she drank it all in and then, without shame, excitedly told others about her encounter with the Messiah. What need was filled by the truth? What does this teach about how we can help others hear the truth?

For more on this, see our Faith Booster: “Making it easy to change” @ https://wordbytes.org/faith-booster-minis/making-easy-change/

© 2023 by Terry A. Modica

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