Joke: After an exceptionally long and boring sermon, the congregation filed out of the church not saying a word to the pastor. After a while, a man shook the pastor's hand and said, "Pastor, that sermon reminded me of the peace and love of God!" The pastor was ecstatic. "Nobody has ever said anything like that about one of my sermons before! Tell me, how did it remind you of the peace and love of God?" "Well", said the man, "it reminded me of the peace of God because it passed all human understanding and it reminded me of the love of God because it endured forever!"

Perhaps, Jesus gave a long sermon to the Samaritan woman reported in today’s Gospel; but his sermon was not lengthy and boring sermon. Rather, his sermon was a sermon of compassion, mercy, and respect for the dignity of a Samaritan woman, a foreigner. After listening and conversing with Jesus, she had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. How was it so if it’s not because she allowed the Lord to touch her hardened heart? By allowing the Lord to touch her hardened heart, she’s able to go out to spread the news to her hometown. From the thirst for natural water, Jesus slowly led her to the supernatural thirst for everlasting water. From giving natural water, she was given the eternal water that satisfied her thirst and became an evangelist to go out to spread the good news.

Water, in today’s first reading, taken from the book of Exodus, the Israelites grumble 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?” Their hardened hearts block the everlasting water to flow into their lives and block their vision to see the presence of God in their midst. The Lord instructs Moses to strike on the rock for the living water to flow as mentioned in today’s first reading says, “in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel … Strike the rock [with the staff on your hand,] and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.” Just as a hardened rock is hit to spring forth the natural water, the Israelites are invited to allow the Lord to touch their hardened heart to fill them with eternal water. Just as Moses brings forth the natural water with the staff in his hand, the Lord will bring forth the eternal water with a staff in his hand which is God’s grace. Only God’s grace can satisfy our thirst. Why does the Lord instruct Moses to strike the rock in front of the people along with the elders? Perhaps, they may see and believe that God is with them always. The question is: Have they believed in the Lord then? If they believed in the Lord, then there would not be the story of the Samaritan woman in today’s Gospel.

In conversing with the Samaritan woman, Jesus asked her to “Go call your husband,” but she replied, “I do not have a husband.” This reminds me of the movie “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. In this movie, there is a scene in which Mr. Smith puts his wedding ring back when he comes back from work. Does the wedding ring that makes a couple love each other or their love for each other creates that wedding ring? “I do not have a husband.” Jesus continued, “You have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband.” The woman is living with a man who is not her husband, and she believes it’s fine. A man with a wedding ring on his hand symbolized that he’s a married man, but believes that it’s ok not to wear it. Of course, some professions do not allow anyone to wear the ring at work, but it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to wear it when you are not at work. For those of you married in the Catholic Church or had your marriage blessed in the Catholic Church, if you recall with me, your rings were blessed with Holy Water. Whatever is blessed, one cannot throw away or trash it, but bury it or burn it. By allowing the Lord Jesus opens her heart, she has found the key to unveiling the web of sin, the sin of adultery that covers her sight to recognize the eternal living water.

Have you ever been thirsty? The moment that you see your loved one suffering from cancer or any difficult illness; the moment that you have to face your spouse being unfaithful to you; the moment that your children go astray because of bad influences from friends such as smoking illegal drugs, drinking in access, inappropriate relationship with the opposite sex, and much other brokenness of life that you might be like the Israelites grumble and ask the same question “Why?” Why does my loved one have to suffer from illness and sickness? Why does my teen daughter get pregnant when she goes through all our Catholic schools? Why do we go to Church often, and my spouse has cheated on me? “Why?” is a popular word to form a question when we have to face difficulties or challenges, isn’t it? In those moments of difficulties or challenges, have we experienced the thirst for living water rather than grumbling, questioning, or even doubting?

Jesus satisfied the thirst of the Samaritan woman, not because she looked for him, but because he loved her. How she returns that love if it’s not by going out to spread the good news to her hometown? To be born in God’s image and likeness, have we returned his love who has created us in his image and likeness? In our sinful walk of life, he comes into our flesh to suffer and to die on the cross for the sake of our salvation because of love, how have we returned his love? From seeking the water to satisfy the physical thirst that she receives the living water to satisfy her spiritual thirst, have we ever thirsted for the Lord, the eternal water in our life? Have we had the courage to open up ourselves to allow the Lord to come to change, to fix, especially to give us that eternal living water to satisfy our spiritual thirst? The Samaritan woman does not meet the Lord in the temple or the church because she acknowledges her sinful way of life, have we ever met the Lord in our prayers, in the Church, in our worship together, in our difficult mother or father, in our nagging husband or wife, in our gossiping co-worker, in our mean friends, or just in those whom we have come into contact each day? If we haven’t met him in our walk of life, what should we do and how should we live our lives to meet him? The decision is yours.