Thirst

Reflection

Today, we are greatly blessed by the inspiring Gospel of the Woman at the Well. On His third attempt, Jesus succeeds in getting through to her and, as Augustine teaches, she serves as a representation of us all. We are prompted to ask ourselves what do we thirst for? What is the most important thing in our lives? Where do we now find God? Through relentless challenge and honest introspection, we too can be led to an encounter with Jesus, which will change everything, “giving life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” May we come to believe in Him, as we have heard His Word and know that He is indeed the Saviour of the world.

Reading

Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95 (94); Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42

Meditation (John 4: 5-42)

Jesus leads the woman along a wonderful journey towards a deeper and fuller life. You can enter the story with Jesus, the ideal leader, parent, teacher, or spiritual guide. Notice how he meets the woman where she is, needing her assistance, how he is patient with her, but also challenges her to grow to what she is capable of. Perhaps you have been such a teacher, or you can recall people who were.

You can also enter the story from the perspective of the woman’s journey. Notice the steps along the way: suspicion, distrust, curiosity, misunderstanding and conversion. Her journey was one in which a very human motivation attracted her to Jesus: the thought of having water in such a way that she did not have to come and draw it from the well. What have been the human motives that have attracted you to faith, prayer, religion, church and which have been stepping-stones to a deeper personal relationship with Jesus? Perhaps we can also see the same movement in the growth of some of our human relationships.

The woman’s final tactic is to attempt to buy time before responding (v. 25) —it will all happen sometime in the future. Jesus points out that the time for a faith response is NOW. How have you discovered the importance of the NOW moment?