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3rd
Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
Mepkin
Abbey
February
28, 2016
First
Comes Thirst
By (Rev.
Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Thirsting
(Walk to the font while
speaking) Have
you ever been really thirsty? Not just wanting a Coke, but truly thirsty? You
know: cracked lips, parched tongue, weak-in-the-knees, dizzy-in-the-head
thirsty, that comes from going without water for a long period of time?
Those
who have had such a thirst, can easily summon up gratitude for (Run hand through the water of the baptismal
font), abundant, flowing, sparkling water.
Today
for both the Israelites fleeing Egypt and a woman, who happens to be a distant
descendent of those refugees, water plays a very important part in whom they
become. (Run hand through the water
again).
They
both call on us to consider our own personal experience of thirst and to use
that very experience to deepen our longing for the God who alone can satisfy
every human thirst. (Run hand through the
water again).
Jeremy
Langford – a contemporary spiritual writer – speaks of four essential human
thirsts: the thirst for a healthy personal identity
– Who am I? – the thirst for intimacy in our relationships – Who
loves me? – the thirst for meaningful work
– Where am I in what I create? – and the thirst for a life-giving spirituality – How is my desire for
God satisfied?
Each
of these thirsts – identity, intimacy, work, and spirituality – shapes our
growth as individuals and prompts our continued, creative search for what alone
will truly satisfy us.
These
thirsts enable us to discover who we are in relationship to God, to ourselves,
and to one another.
Israel’s
Thirst
Set-up: In the Book of Exodus, we
hear the people grumbling over a thirst for water. Of course it’s a greater
thirst they have, a thirst for “identity,” that is, what does it mean for them
to be “God’s People” and if they are God’s People, then where in the world has
God brought them … and without any water?
You
recall the grumbling to Moses: “Why did
you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with
our children and our livestock? … is the Lord in our midst or not!”
Action: Moses strikes the rock and
the water flows from it for the people to drink (Hand through the water of the font.)
Result: And Israel’s thirst is
slaked … but more importantly, their identity as God’s People is affirmed and
experienced.
Samaritan
Woman’s Thirst
Set-up: The Samaritan woman’s need
in the Gospel is also initially about this
thirst (point to mouth), but
rather than “identity,” as it is with the Israelites, her thirst has more to do
with intimacy and her relationships.
Recall
when Jesus asks her about her husband, she admits she doesn’t have one. I’ll
say! She’s had five … and the one she’s living with now is not her husband.
Talk about a thirst for intimacy!
Action: Jesus leads her through a
gentle conversation and reasoning process for her to see him first as a Jew,
then a Prophet, a Messiah, and finally, the Christ.
The Result: Her thirst for intimacy is
more than satisfied and her testifying draws the people of the town to believe
in him and he stays with them for two days. Quite a response from the Lord!
Application
If
I may be a bit personal, may I ask what is your primary thirst? I don’t mean
for water, but for those deeper thirsts of identity, intimacy, meaningful work
or spirituality?
What
is your “cracked lips” thirst? Your “parched tongue” thirst? Your
“weak-in-the-knees” thirst? Your “dizzy-in-the-head” thirst, that comes from
going without for a long period of time?
Is
it the “identity” the Israelites had? The “intimacy” the woman looked for? Or
is it “meaningful work” or “spirituality”?
Conclusion
Whatever
it be, the beginning to having it slaked is to first name it and then to come (Hand through the water) to the only
source that can satisfy it.
By
way of approaching the Lord, you may come with the challenge of the Israelites
to their God or you may come with the open heart of the Samaratin woman – the
Lord was big enough to hear the Israelite’s outrage or the woman’s tender plea.
But
do come (Hand through the water) and
you too can drink of the living water.
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