“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” – John 4:34
DEVOTED
Pepper
and I have become best buds over the years. He is my black and tan
dachshund and he’s one of the best companions I’ve ever had. Arriving
home after a long day, he welcomes me by the front door with a happily
wagging tail and cheery barks — his way of telling me he’s glad that I’m
back. He also seems to know when I am sad or going through a difficult
time. When Dad died five years ago, I brought Pepper with me to church
and carried him in my arms so he could say goodbye. Then as I sat down
on a pew and cried, my canine pal placed his head on my lap and just let
me caress his head. His devotion to me continues to encourage and
uplift me.
When it comes to fulfilling the heavenly Father’s will, no one can
equal Jesus. His deep devotion to the Father moved Him to proclaim, “My
food... is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
And because Jesus was devoted to fulfilling the Father’s will, we have
been saved from death and sin and bestowed the honor of being sons and
daughters of God. Dina Pecaña Third Sunday of Lent
1ST READING
I
think I would grumble too if I was stuck in a desert without much
water. However, it is not difficult to see this even from God’s side.
How ungrateful His people have become, considering He has released them
from captivity and slavery in Egypt. Surely it is not too much to ask
that they trust Him to get them through the desert safely, given the
miracles they know He has worked to free them.
Exodus 17:3-7
3 In
those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against
Moses, saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to
have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?” 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? A little more and they will stone me!” 5 The
Lord answered Moses, “Go over there in front of the people, along with
some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff
with which you struck the river. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.” This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel. 7 The
place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled
there and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”
P S A L M
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us greet him with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalm to him. (R) 6 Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. 7 For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. (R) Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 8 “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” (R)
2ND READING
This
is a very beautiful description of the nature of hope. Let us reflect
upon it if we want to know how to place our trust and hope in God. Let
us always deepen
our trust in God, as this is what will empower our witness to the
Gospel. The deeper our faith becomes, the more expansive and convincing
our witness to the Gospel truths will be.
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
1 Brothers and sisters: Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. 5 And
hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6 For Christ, while we were still helpless, yet died at the appointed time for the ungodly. 7 Indeed,
only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for
a good person one might even find courage to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
GOSPEL
Jesus
tells His disciples that His food is to do the will of His Father. He
never misses an opportunity to try and deepen their understanding of His
call. Let us reflect upon the power of the image He presents to them.
They are worried about their hunger, about feeding their stomachs. Jesus
is more concerned about remaining faithful to His Father’s will.
John 4:5-42
5 Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. 7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. 9 The
Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan
woman, for a drink?” —For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans. — 10 Jesus
answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is
saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would
have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 14 but
whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I
shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal
life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” 17 The
woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus
answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ 18 For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus
said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will
worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” 25 The
woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called
the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one speaking with you.” 27 At
that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking
with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or
“Why are you talking with her?” 28 The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, 29 “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and came to him. 31 Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. 36 The
reaper is already receiving his payment and gathering crops for eternal
life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. 37 For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.” 39 Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I have done.” 40 When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 42 and
they said to the woman, “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.”
REFLECTION
BE EXPOSED
Today,
Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. The Gospel begins with a
detail that we tend to overlook. John says that Jesus was tired from a
journey and He sat by the well and “the hour was about noon.”
About that time, the woman came to draw water from the well. People
usually visit the well either early in the morning or late afternoon
while it is cool. At these times, too, the chance for interaction and engaging stories with fellow water-drawers makes for a pleasant experience. Now comes the woman who visited the well at noontime. The woman came at a time when
the sun is at its hottest not because she wants a tan. She chose that
time because she is hiding from people. She is a woman of ill repute and
she wants to take refuge in the solitude the scorching noon time provides.
We all have a past that we are not proud of. We want to project a good image even as we have skeletons in the closet that we hide from people. This is why the Gospel scene is a consolation. Jesus meets us where we are and we don’t have to put on masks to hide from Him.
After asking the woman for water, Jesus inquired about her husband. He
did this not to embarrass the woman. He did this to heal the woman.
Anyone suffering from a physical malady, an addiction or chronic
emotional baggage knows that the first stage to healing is to bring into
light what is hidden in the dark. The doctor cannot cure what he does not know. In
my own journey to growth, I have appreciated the presence of people
before whom I can be “naked” and vulnerable — my spiritual director, my
confessor, my accountability partner. Before them, I need not put on
airs of invincibility. Before them, I can be vulnerable. Before them, my
maladies can be brought to light.
Most of all, Jesus is the Light. He is the Divine Physician. Before
Him, I can expose parts of me that need healing. This happens in regular
prayer, adoration and the sacrament of reconciliation. Fr. Joel Jason
"Jesus, devoted Son of the Father, fill our hearts with Your perfect love so that we too can give our all for Your glory."
Source: http://kerygmafamily.com/modules/dailyreadings/read.php?date=2014-03-23
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