On this Third Sunday of Lent, we leave the desert and the mountain to sit with Jesus beside Jacob’s well, in Sychar, in Samaria. The encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:5–42) is one of the richest and most profound passages of the Gospels, revealing once again how God takes the initiative to come and meet us, even in our sin, dryness, and weariness. Jesus, tired from the journey, reveals Himself as the One who thirsts to give us Himself, the Gift of God and the Living Water.
To help you pray with this Gospel, we present below the five points we reflected on in the podcast (https://youtu.be/3FuBzAzJdmM), which you may watch to deepen your prayer with the Word of God.
- “Give me a drink”
Jesus begins the dialogue with a request: “Give me a drink” (Jn 4:7). He who created the waters, springs, and rivers makes Himself dependent upon our response. As Saint Teresa of Calcutta meditated, this “I thirst” (Jn 19:28) of Christ is manifested in the poor and the needy, but also in God’s desire to need us for the building of the Kingdom. Jesus’ request is the divine “excuse” to touch the human heart and begin a process of transformation.
- “The gift of God”
Jesus challenges the woman: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is asking you…” (Jn 4:10). To know the gift of God is to have a personal experience with Jesus and to allow oneself to be flooded by the Holy Spirit. It is also to recognize the preciousness of our own life and the eternal destiny for which we were created. Frequently, we live without awareness of the greatness of the salvation that is freely offered to us; therefore, Lent is the favorable time to rediscover the grace of the Lord and that life is a precious gift that demands a response of love.
- “The living water”
Unlike the water from the well, which satisfies only for a time, the “living water” (Jn 4:10) that Jesus offers becomes a spring welling up to eternal life. This image also recalls the rock struck in the desert and, fully, the opened side of Christ on the cross, from which blood and water flowed (cf. Jn 19:34). It is the water of mercy that purifies and renews our interior, a grace that Saint Teresa of Ávila loved to contemplate as the foundation of the life of prayer.
- “True worshipers in spirit and truth”
True worship is not tied to a specific geographical place — whether Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem — but to a disposition of the Spirit. To worship “in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:23) means to love Jesus above all things and to act out of love for Him, overcoming legalism or the mere fulfillment of external rules. True worship is born from participation in the holy sacrifice of Christ, made present on the altar in every Eucharist, and overflows into a life consistent with the Gospel.
- “I who speak to you am He”
The culminating point of the encounter is Jesus’ self-revelation: “I who speak to you am He.” (Jn 4:26). Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah not through theoretical concepts, but through a personal and direct experience. Christianity is not a philosophy, but the encounter with the Person of Jesus. Like the Samaritan woman, we are called to have our own experience with the “I AM” (Ex 3:14; Mt 14:27; Jn 14:6), who dispels our doubts and sends us as witnesses of His light.
Steps of Lectio Divina
- Reading (lectio): Read slowly John 4:5–42. Follow the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman: the request for water, the revelation about her life, and Jesus’ self-revelation.
- Meditation (meditatio): What are the “wells” where I have sought to quench my thirst for happiness? How do I respond to Jesus’ request: “Give me a drink”? Have I sought sincere worship, “in spirit and truth,” or do I live only by appearances and rules? Do I seek to know the gift of the Lord more and more?
- Prayer (oratio): Pray, for example, like this: “Lord Jesus, You who know my thirst, give me of Your Living Water. Purify my heart from all idols and teach me to adore the Father with sincerity. May the encounter with You transform my life, just as it transformed the life of the Samaritan woman…” (continue your prayer as the Spirit inspires you).
- Contemplation (contemplatio): Contemplate Jesus seated beside the well of your soul (in your Interior Castle). Feel His gaze of mercy that knows your history and, even so, invites you to friendship. Adore the “Gift of God” present in your life.
- Action (actio): This week, identify a “stranger” or someone who is “on the margins” in your daily life and bring him or her a word of hope or a gesture of charity, bearing witness to the gift of God and the living water you have received in prayer.
Until next week!
Shalom!
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