A Spiritual Thirst Series

A Spiritual Thirst

Scripture

Exodus 17:3-7,

Romans 5:1-2,

Romans 5:5-8,

John 4:5-42.

Reflection

Dear sisters and brothers,

A thirst could be physical.

A thirst could be spiritual.

It can be both, as in the case of the unnamed woman who meets Jesus by Jacob’s well, given to us in today’s gospel story.

Yes. She is an unnamed woman.

She represents each and every one of us in the gospel of today.

Physically she is thirsty, thirsting for water, and that brings her to the well day after day.

She came at midday to fetch water from the well.

It indicated that She was desperately thirsty to quench her thirst.

Midday is also directed as God’s time, to reach out to her in her longing, to experience love in a pure form.

Here it turns out to be a spiritual thirst.

Yes. She is also spiritually thirsty.

It is an inner thirst.

What could have been an inner thirst for her and all of us?

The book of Exodus gives us an answer.

The Israelites were thirsty.

What did they thirst for?

They asked:

“Is the LORD in our midst or not?” (Exodus 17:7)

Why did they ask this question?

Because…

They were hungry.

They were worn out.

They were tired.

Even there was no water.

How does it apply today?

We are in the same boat as the Israelites were.

But, situations and conditions are different.

We experience, we see, and we witness that…

People are discriminated.

People are marginalised.

People are abused.

People are exploited.

People are cornered.

People are sidelined.

People are looted.

People are shattered.

People are broken.

People are divided.

Like Moses, we ask ourselves, what can we do? Meanwhile people ask whether the LORD is in our midst or not.

God responds to our inner thirst as he responded to Moses by saying:

“I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb” (Exodus 17:6).

We read the same words from the gospel of Saint John (John 4:6):

“Jesus…sat down by the well. It was about noon.”

Dear sisters and brothers,

“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.” (Romans 5:5)

“God proves his love for us

in that while, we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

Today, Jesus asks every one of us as he asked the unnamed Samaritan woman:

“Give me a drink.” (John 4:7)

Are we ready to share our inner thirst with him?

“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.” (John 4:10)

When we share with him our inner thirst like the Samaritan woman, we experience the gift of God and his living water for eternal life.

But, we need to understand how to experience spiritual joy or divine bliss.

Saint John gives us guidance in his gospel through the mouth of Jesus (John 4:23-24) that he is Spirit and truth:

“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.”

We need to worship him in Spirit and truth.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

He is our way.

He is our truth.

He is our life.

The unnamed Samaritan woman experienced Jesus personally, and in her excitement, she forgets her water jar and physical thirst and runs back to the village, inviting the villagers to come and see “a man who told me everything I have ever done” (John 4:39).

Probably the first man to know her so well without rejecting her.

Jesus Christ knows our innermost thirst and he accepts us as we are, with our own weaknesses and limitations.

There is no rejection.

There is only acceptance.

Once we understand and experience Jesus Christ personally, the living water, we become a missionary bringing others to Jesus and the joyful experience of living water like the unnamed Samaritan Woman, as we read:

“We no longer believe because of your word;

for we have heard for ourselves,

and we know that this is truly the saviour of the world.” (John 4:42)

We see here that there are two stages of the experiences as Saint John always mentions in particular with the call of disciples throughout the gospel.

Firstly, believing because of what someone told us about Jesus and their personal experience with Jesus Christ.

Secondly, believing because we have come personally to know and experienced Jesus Christ ourselves.

Lent is the holy season to come to Jesus personally and believe, not because someone told us, but because we have known him and experienced his love personally in our own lives.

May the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen…