There’s a story of a beggar who had been sitting by the side of the street for
many many years. One day a stranger walked by: And the beggar, holding out his
old baseball cap, mechanically mumbled: “Can you spare some change?” “I have nothing to give you” said the
stranger. Then the stranger added:
“What’s that you are sitting on”?
“Nothing” replied the beggar. “Just an old box. I have been sitting on
it for as long as I can remember.” “Ever look inside?” asked the stranger. “No”,
said the beggar. What’s the point?
There’s nothing in there.” “Have a look
inside,” insisted the stranger. The
beggar managed to pry open the lid. With
astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with
gold.
Today, I am, in many respects, like this stranger who really has nothing much to
give you, but inviting you to look inside.
Not inside any box, as in the story, but somewhere even closer: Inside
yourself. For it is only inside ourselves
that we will find our true wealth. This
true wealth is not some material object like gold or some fleeting outward pleasure.
If that is all we seek, then we will remain only beggars. But our true wealth is that radiant joy of
being, that unshakable peace that come from knowing Jesus in a deep and
personal way.
Today, during this third weekend of Lent, you have just heard this rather
lengthy Gospel we are all familiar with: Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at
the well. And in a sense, it is a story of a stranger, Jesus, inviting this
woman to look inside to find her true treasure, which up to this time, remains
hidden from her.
I’ve come to believe that we will never find this inner
treasure that Jesus speaks about unless we first begin to seek it in a sincere
way; until we begin to knock on the door of our hearts and invite it in, in
prayer. Otherwise, we only remain somewhat
distracted by passing the events of life. I know this is true for myself,
because when I am caught up in passing distractions, it is the times I feel
most distant from God. But when I allow God to break through, it is then that I
discover the treasure that has been there all the time. Sometimes we need
someone to remind us of the importance of faith in our lives so that we may
retain that unshakeable peace that comes from knowing Christ.
And this is what Jesus is doing in our Gospel reading
today. He is taking the time to remind
this Samaritan woman, a stranger to Him, that there is something in her life
that she is missing, something worth searching for. But first He must make that connection with her
because she is very distracted by the things around her. In making this connection, Jesus does not
judge her, or remind her of her failings, but begins by letting her know that
she too, despite her failings, is a Child of God. Jesus invites her to look inside, to claim this true treasure that
is there but remained hidden from her view.
He does this by reminding her that “everyone who drink ordinary well water
will become thirsty again. But
the one who drinks the water that He gives, will never be thirsty, and it will
become like a spring within gushing to eternal life.”
The fact is, without God, we all thirst for something. Without
God and that personal relationship with Christ, we all experience that sense of
emptiness, and the more we try to fill this inner emptiness with those outer
superficial things and events of life, the emptier we will feel. So as beggars,
we must begin to look inside to discover that treasure that remains hidden from
our view. The Samaritan woman’s responds
to Jesus: “Give me this water so that I too may never be thirsty again.”
This story about Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the
well is one of the recommendation Gospel readings for the rite of Baptism. For the many baptisms that I have celebrated
over the last 40 years, this particular Gospel has been used almost exclusively
to open a discussion on baptism with the parents. I have found generally that most young
couples have a sense of the importance of having their child baptized, but they
do not have a good understanding as to why. They perhaps see it as the
responsible thing that parents do for their children: But, most often, they
fail to see the Sacrament of Baptism as a beginning step in on-going faith
development for their child: That the outward signs of water, chrism, candles
and white garments must be accompanied by an inward seeking of Jesus, asking Him
to be present in the life of their child and in their own lives as well. So it
is important that they hear Jesus’ petition to the Samaritan woman to receive this
living water that he offers freely to all who ask. “If only you knew this
gift that God is offering you, and who it is who is asking you for a drink. Then
You would ask Him instead, and He will give you living water.”
Those of you who are familiar the New Evangelization
initiative in our Archdiocese of Halifax/Yarmouth know that this particularly
Gospel reading is often referenced as the best scripture examples of a way to
reach out to those who, for whatever reason, are separated from our faith and
our church. A few months ago, I
mentioned to you about the three B’s of the New Evangelization or conversion to
Christ. Belonging, Believing and Behavior. The first step, belonging, means making
that connection. We invite another to be a part of what we are about. We do
this simply, without judgement, accepting the other person as they are. Jesus does this simply by asking the
Samaritan woman to share with Him a cup of water. He opens a conversation with one
to whom a Jewish person would not normally associate. This begins the development
of trust. Secondly, after making this
connection, we move to the believing; the sharing of our own experience of
faith, perhaps how our lives have grown and have been changed by our
relationship with Christ. In our Gospel, Jesus gently enters into this dialog by
inviting the Samaritan woman to look deeper, getting in touch with her own thirst
for what is missing in her life. With this, she begins to see something in
Jesus that she was now aware of before.
And thirdly, going deeper leads to a behavior change, a
movement away from the surface of things, to a change of heart, and a discovery
Christ’s presence within. We see this
change in the Samaritan woman. After encountering Jesus, she leaves her water
jar behind, and returns to the village where she shares her experience of Jesus
with the town folks. And invites them to come and meet Jesus themselves.
The prayer booklet we are currently reviewing in our New
Evangelization group on Thursday evenings is called: “We have come to Adore
Him.” I would like to conclude with a
brief quote from Pope Benedict from this booklet. He writes: “In our life with Jesus, in our
life in prayer, we don’t simply find God; we also find ourselves.” What is this
Christian life and mission really about. It is about a God who is infinite in His
love for us, and who wants to share with us the richness this love. And in finding ourselves, we receive and know
that we are infinitely loved by God.
I noticed that our parish has developed and is proposing a
new mission statement which for me speaks of this.
Our Mission is to be a welcoming community
of Jesus’ disciples who journey together in right Faith, certain Hope, and live
out of His love in word and deed. Let
us pray for the grace to see this come about in our church and our lives,
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