That which is broken can be healed, if we believe that someone cares. Our lives can be totally changed, if we know that we are loved. The struggle to live as Christians can feel at times like a journey through a barren desert. In daily life there is often little around us that refreshes or supports our faith. Where shall we find the faith-renewing water we need? To whom shall we go? Questions of faith don’t get any more basic than that.
These are the same questions the disgruntled Israelites asked in the desert. This is what happens to the Samaritan woman in today’s gospel.
The Exodus story gets right to the point — the people are tired and thirsty, and God gives them the water they need. To their question, "Is the Lord in our midst or not?" the answer is straight forward and immediate. God becomes present in front of them and flowing water is provided. God will not let His people die in the desert.
God’s continuing care for His people is displayed once again as we watch the Gospel scene unfold. The Samaritan woman stumbles upon Jesus at a well. The usual time to draw water was in the morning before the sun becomes too hot. At that time all the women of the town would come together in a group, sharing stories about their lives as they drew water for their families. But this woman comes at noon. It seems that the woman whom Jesus meets was not welcome in their company. She comes to the well alone. She was an outcast even to her own community.
Hers was a thirst that the water she went to draw from the well could not satisfy. Ultimately, she found someone who touched her heart like never before. We listen in on the conversation and even before she goes back to tell her townsfolk what she has learned, we learn something about her. She has become a new woman not only because Jesus revealed himself to her, but because Jesus revealed her to herself. Despite her sins and mistakes, she now understands that she is a beloved daughter of God.
This imperfect woman sets a good example for us. She was willing to break the pattern of her routine, ask the important questions, listen to the answers and make the adjustments necessary in her life. Her life has been changed not by theology or instruction, but because she met someone who accepted her without judgment and who gave her hope. What is true for her is true for us.
Like the Israelites in the desert we must learn to trust God. Like the Samaritan woman we must reach deep within ourselves to get a glimpse at the truth which leads to living water. Then perhaps we can embrace the Life he has promised us knowing that God is near, that God understands our pain, and that God will sustain us and carry us beyond our own Gethsemane, beyond our own Calvary, to the hope of our Easter. And as St. Paul reminds us: "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts."
