(See the readings for the Third Sunday of Lent)
“God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us,” Saint Paul writes in his Letter to the Romans.
God’s love is ever present, ever complete. He loves us in many different ways. He created us. He gave us the universe in all its wonders to provide for us. He gave us companionship and friendship. He makes himself know to us. He shows us how to live good lives. He affords us joy. He forgives us. The magnitude of his love is seen in the self-offering of Jesus, His Son. Saint Paul points out that Jesus died for us “while we were still sinners.” In other words, we do not command nor earn God’s love. He loves us completely, perfectly, not because of something we have done but because of who He is.
Our response to His love, His sacrifice, His call is faith. Jesus shows us this faith as He lived and died. He places His trust and hope in the Father. He offers His obedience to the Father. It is through Him that we know the Father and the depth of His love. He is the appointed mediator between God and humanity. He calls us to share in his faith by placing our trust in Him.
The 40 days of Lent give us the opportunity to grow in our response to the Lord’s love through faith. The Sunday gospels for the next three weeks come from the Gospel of John. In these passages we hear stories of Jesus’ invitation to life and the call to faith.
Today we listen to the account of Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. We see that faith in Jesus drives the encounter. Jesus desires the woman to put her faith in Him so that she might have a share in the life He, and He alone, can offer.
Here are some things to ponder as we hear the gospel proclaimed. Jesus knows the woman. He knows her before she even meets Him. Here we might recall the word of the Lord to Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” (Jeremiah 1:5) Jesus knows of her broken relationships. He wants to help her. He will not let social or cultural norms hinder His love. He wants to heal her brokenness.
The water of the well prompts a teaching on the “living water” that only He can provide. The “living water” points to baptism by which we are united to Christ in his death so that we might have a share in His risen life. The Church throughout the world journeys with the catechumens she is preparing for baptism. We see them each week at Mass getting ready to enter into the “living water” at the Easter Vigil. We might think of our own baptism and the manner in which we respond to God’s love in faith.
Jesus calls the woman to faith. This faith is not abstract but a concrete response to Him. He asks her to place her faith in Him. She shares her encounter with others in the town, and they too come to faith — a faith they can profess on their own as they say, “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.”
The baptismal image is also seen in the first reading from the Book of Exodus. In this reading we hear the people of Israel, the Chosen People, grumbling against Moses and the Lord. The grumbling reminds us of human weakness. God had saved Israel from slavery and death in Egypt. As their period of wandering in the desert continues, they allow themselves to be distracted as they face the challenges of the journey, they forget the mighty deeds of the Lord and His love for them so they “grumble” and “complain.” The Lord, on the other hand, is ever patient and proves that He can help them in any situation by providing water from the rock. God makes the impossible possible. In the darkness of doubt, He offers an opportunity for faith.
In the second reading, Saint Paul beautifully describes the love of God that gives rise to faith. He speaks as one who has been saved by Christ’s death and resurrection. He speaks to a people who have been saved. Through faith in Jesus’ sacrificial love we are drawn into that love, share in that love, live in that love. The relationship fills us with hope. “And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Our journey of faith continues each day as we live our lives. Through the ups and downs, in the elations of joy and the torments of grief, in seasons of tranquility and days of turmoil, in the charge of success and the anguish of failure, God’s love is constant. He continually invites us to share in this life of love. He calls us to faith.
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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Penndel and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Read more reflections by Msgr. Prior here.
The post God’s Love Calls Us to a Deeper Faith This Lent appeared first on CatholicPhilly.
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