FIRST READING (Ex 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17)

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:
“I, the LORD am your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods besides me.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
the one who takes his name in vain.

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which the Lord, your God, is giving you.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him.”

—The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

 

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (19:8, 9, 10, 11)

R. (John 6:68c)  Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

 

SECOND READING (1 Cor 1:22-25)

Brothers and sisters:
Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

—The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Cf. Jn 4: 42, 15)

Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, you are truly the Savior of the world; give me living water, that I may never thirst again. (R)

 

(Long Form)

GOSPEL (The water that I shall give will become a spring of eternal life.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (4:5-42)

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. 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.—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.” 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? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 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.” 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.”

Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” 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.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. 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. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” 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.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one speaking with you.”

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?” The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” They went out of the town and came to him. Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. 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. The reaper is already receiving payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 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.”

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.” When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 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.” —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

(Short Form)

GOSPEL (The water that I shall give will become a spring of eternal life.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42)

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. 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.—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.” 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? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 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.” 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.

“I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. 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. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” 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.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him. When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 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.” —The Gospel of the Lord.

R.  Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

“We have heard for ourselves,

and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

 

Today is the first Sundays set aside for the close instruction of the catechumens who will be baptized during the Vigil of the Resurrection this year. The instructions are called scrutinies for these Elect who were chosen a few weeks ago when we began Lent. As a departure from some norms, I have chosen to keep the regular readings for the 3rd Sunday in Lent for Year B, which we heard, but the Church obliges us to use the Gospel assigned to this Sunday in Year A – the story of the Samaritan Woman that we just heard.

Our Lenten season this year opened with the theme of the covenant between God and all human nature in the story of Noah and the flood, and it was followed by last Sunday’s reading about the testing of Abraham. Today our attention comes to another aspect of this Covenant, that of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. 

Most societies are grounded on the principle and rule of law. We live in a nation that has statutes, and civil society upholds rights, liberties and the common good through laws upheld by government or the state. Nations and cultures pride themselves of being a “people of law,” – but are we really? We all secretly applaud or smile or are jealous of those who know how to get around the law. And when we do this, we are not as committed to the law as we might seem.

The Hebrew word torah is translated by the word “law” but it is more clearly understood as “directive” or “instruction.” The law that is stated in today’s first reading and praised in our psalm response is not something that weighs us down. Rather, it is a list of directives or instructions for helping us to live out our covenant relationship with God and with each other. In this sense, the laws are truly “words of eternal life.” 

This law of Israel, this Covenant seen in and through the Ten Commandments is not a set of rigid precepts. The psalm reminds us that the law “refreshes the soul” and “rejoices the heart;” “it is pure and true” and “more precious than gold.” Ancient Israel considered torah a form of wisdom that they gained through reflection on life and on relationships. This wisdom developed out of insights that showed the path to true happiness and warned also of obstacles that can prevent human fulfillment. The people of Israel cherished the law as much as the Greeks – at the time of St. Paul – revered their philosophy. Saint Paul uses these characteristics to make his point about the excellence of Christ.

It may be relatively easy to understand the power of God through the miracles that Jesus performed – after all, we are not so unlike those to whom Paul is speaking, people “who demand signs or wisdom.” However, Paul reminds us that it takes FAITH to recognize the wisdom of God in the figure of CHRIST CRUCIFIED. And yet, this is exactly what Paul preaches. From a purely human point of view, the image of Christ crucified may seem foolish – a sign of humiliation and failure to many. But it is far wiser than any human wisdom. Look at the cross? What does it mean for us? As the wisdom of God, St. Paul tells us (and faith helps us see) that through the crucifixion, Christ fulfills the expectations of any and all codes of law – it is absolute, complete selflessness – giving of oneself for others. In choosing to follow Christ, we follow the requirements of the law, of torah, and we live out our relationship of covenant with God.

Jesus taught us that the external observation of the law is not enough. We have to internalize the law in our hearts. We must commit our hearts to our covenantal relationship with God. 

For our ELECT and those about to formally enter the Church, perhaps you have known a friend or acquaintance who first introduced you to Jesus through their own example or faith. For all of you, this is why the Church requires having a sponsor for each of you – representing, if you will, the missionary or evangelical role of the Samaritan woman in today’s Gospel who brings all who hear her testimony to Jesus. And once they encounter Jesus on their own in the WORD, in preaching and teaching, they too come to believe, and to know that Jesus IS the Saviour of the world. 

Sisters and brothers, the narrative we heard in the Gospel overflows with different meanings. On one level, it is a paradigmatic story of a woman’s coming to faith and becoming a missionary who brings others to Jesus. Coming to faith today involves immersion in the living water of baptism and rising up to bring others to Christ. It is also a narrative of God wooing the outsider, the foreigner, the outcast, the “ungodly.” The Samaritans who were considered by the Jews “godless,” end up confessing Jesus as Savior of the world. 

The timing of this encounter for St. John in today’s Gospel is filled with meaning. It parallels another noontime during the Passion when Jesus cries out from the cross, “I THIRST!” The Samaritan woman bears water to Jesus. We bear the waters of faith to our ELECT. The call of our Lenten journey as we accompany our ELECT is a call to quench our thirst with the Living Waters. Let us be true water bearers – bringing others to Christ, and in witnessing the faith of our new members today, and in the coming weeks, accompanying with our prayers the ELECT let us come to the waters of salvation, the living waters of baptism, the living water that will bring eternal life to our life, and waters that help us live the Covenant faithfully.

Prayers

Celebrant: We are gathered during this holy season of repentance to celebrate the mystery of our salvation in Christ Jesus. Let is also pray for these elect, whom the Church has confidently chosen. May they successfully complete their long preparation and at the paschal feast find Christ in his sacraments.

 

READER: That our Elect may ponder the word of God in their hearts and savor its meaning more fully day by day, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

 

READER: That they may learn to know Christ, who came to save what was lost, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

 

READER: That the Holy Spirit, who searches every heart, may help them to overcome their weaknesses through his power, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

 

READER: That our Elect, by accepting the Son of God as their teacher, they may become true worshippers of the Father in spirit and in truth, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

 

READER: For the deceased members of the Edwards and Tsoi families, for  the faithful departed ones of our parish, and for the intentions we carry in our hearts that we remember now in silence. (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

 

READER: That all of us in this Lenten season may learn from Christ to do the father’s will in love, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

 

CELEBRANT: [Prayer of Exorcism from the Ritual Book] . (all) AMEN.