Third Sunday of Lent - Year A
March 12, 2017
Gospel: Jn 4:5-42
Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near
the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was
there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about
noon.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to
her, "Give me a drink." His disciples had gone into the town to buy
food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a
Samaritan woman, for a drink?" - For Jews use nothing in common with
Samaritans. - Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink, ' you would have asked him and he
would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you
do not even have a bucket and the cistern (1) is deep; where then can you get this
living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern
and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?" Jesus
answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty
again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I
shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal
life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may
not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband and come
back." The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a
husband." Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not
have a husband.' For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is
not your husband. What you have said is true." The woman said to him,
"Sir, I can see that you are a prophet (2). Our ancestors worshiped (3) on this mountain; but
you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus said to
her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the
Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you
do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the
Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will
worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people
to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit
and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is
coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us
everything." Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one speaking with
you."
At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed
that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, "What are you
looking for?" or "Why are you talking with her?" The woman left
her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, "Come see a
man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?"
They went out of the town and came to him. Meanwhile, the disciples urged him,
"Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which
you do not know."
So the disciples said to one another, "Could
someone have brought him something to eat?" Jesus said to them, "My
food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you
not say, 'In four months the harvest will be here'? I tell you, look up and see
the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving payment and
gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice
together. For here the saying is verified that 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent
you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you
are sharing the fruits of their work."
Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe
in him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me
everything I have done." When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him
to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in
him because of his word, and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe
because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is
truly the savior of the world."
http://www.usccb.org
The difficult words
(1)A cistern is a well.
(2)A prophet is a holy man who shares special wisdom from God.
(3)To worship is to love God and to pray to him.
This week’s spotlight
The Messiah
The Jews waited many years for God to I keep his promise
of sending them a savior. The prophets said many things about this coming
Messiah. They said he would be born in Bethlehem, bring good news to the poor;
heal the sick, and set the Jews free. The prophets urged the people to get
ready for his coming. Oddly, while many Jews rejected Jesus, the Samaritan
woman recognized that he was the long-awaited Messiah.
Jacob
Jacob was the son of Isaac, and the grandson of
Abraham. His story is told in the book of Genesis (chapters 25 to 49). He had a
life of many struggles, but never gave up. God changed his name to Israel,
which means “you have struggled with God and won." The Jewish people (the
Israelites) and their land are named after him. Jacob's twelve sons became the
fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Reflection
Living water for a completely new life
Imagine Jesus with the Samaritan woman at
the well. He speaks to her about a different kind of water - a "living
water." What is this water that Jesus promised? What is this water that
comes directly from God and gives eternal life? You have already received this
water! It is the water with which you were baptized. It is the water of grace
and the Holy Spirit! On the day of your baptism, when the priest poured the
water over you, God opened the way to eternal life for you. Ever since that
day, the living water of the Holy Spirit has been flowing like a fountain in
your heart. You were born into a new family. Your life is no longer your own,
but the new life of the risen Christ, the life of a child of God. This is a
reason to celebrate! Along with all those preparing for Easter, begin a new
life of joy! God is keeping his promises!
Discussion questions
2.What does Jesus ask the woman for?
3.What kind of water does Jesus offer the woman?
4.Does the woman accept Jesus’ gift?
5.What does she do next?
Praying after Communion
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father
may this communion with your Son, Jesus Christ, quench our thirst for you.
Give us this living water to nourish us
and strengthen us to share our faith with others.
This week…
Thank
God for your baptism
When you go to Mass this Sunday,
make a slow and reverent sign of the cross with water from the holy water font
as you enter the church. Let the water and the gesture remind you of what it
means to have been baptized. Thank God for this new life!
Remember the day of
your baptism
This week, go in search of some memories of your
baptism. You could find some photos, a videotape, your baptismal gown, or your
baptismal candle. Ask your parents or grandparents to tell you what they
remember about that wonderful day.
Word jumble
Source: usccb.org
- Magnifikid - sermons4kids.com – rclblectionary.com
–usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm
