Responding to the deepest thirst

Here is the reflection I prepared for the gathering of those who came to pray with us this weekend: some thoughts on the heart-felt thirst for living water and the joy that can be found when we discover it.

Thirsty for more

The scripture passages we used for today’s Mass are the ones which are proposed for gatherings of communities of faith when there are catechumens present among us: adults who are learning about the Catholic Church and preparing to either be baptized or to enter into full communion. 

I’m not sure whether we’ve told you, but for the past year or so, there is one young man who has been asking questions about Catholicism.  Travis Snider is a student at Saint Joseph-Scollard Hall.  I first met him last year when he came with me to visit the elementary schools.  Along with some other high school students, Travis was inviting Grade 7 and 8 students to consider the possibility of celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation.  I must admit that I was somewhat caught off guard when I learned that although he was eagerly working with friends to prepare others for Confirmation, Travis himself had not yet been baptized!  One day while he was here at the church with his friends, Travis asked me: How do I become one of you?  At first, I didn’t quite understand what he was asking, but as we continued our conversation, I quickly learned that he wanted to explore the possibility of becoming a Catholic.  He had witnessed living faith in the lives of his friends and wanted to know how he could share the joy that he had experienced.  In short, he was thirsty.

The Book of Exodus, from which today’s first reading is taken, describes another time in history when people were thirsty.  Having travelled for some time in the wilderness, the people thirsted for water, and they complained that Moses had led them astray (cf Exodus 17:3).  When Moses presented their complaint to the Lord, God answered by performing a miracle, providing water to quench their thirst even though they were in the middle of an arid desert (cf Exodus 17:4-6).

Those of us who have been part of the Catholic family of faith since birth can learn a thing or two from those who come knocking at our door as adults and ask questions such as Travis has asked: How do I become one of you?  After all, when we are used to seeing things in a certain way, we are often less able to appreciate the gifts that are in our very midst until they are pointed out by others who are looking in from another vantage point.

Today’s gospel passage presents us with another example of someone who was not aware of the gift that was standing (or in this case, sitting) right before her.  The woman of Samaria was merely going through the regular routine of her day when she came to the well. When she realized that someone else was sitting there, and that this person was a man, and that this person was a Jew, she would understandably have been cautious as she approached.  After all, Jews did not share things in common with Samaritans (John 4:9) and most definitely, men did not speak in public with women.  Yet this stranger dared to ask: Give me a drink (John 4:7), as if he was physically thirsty.  In those few simple words, Jesus was opening a door for this woman, who he knew was thirsty and needed his help (cf John 4:16-18).

In fact, Jesus’ words, addressed to the woman could easily be addressed to every one of us here: If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you ‘Give me a drink’, you would ask … and he would give you living water (John 4:10).  Our brother Travis witnessed this living water at work in the lives of his friends.  In time, he came to us and asked us to help him discover the living water that Jesus gives.  In the coming weeks, he will continue to discover this living water in his weekly meetings with the members of our RCIA team, and he will also continue to discover this water each day as he interacts with friends at school who continue to demonstrate the joy of having encountered Jesus in their lives.

What about us?  Have we ever asked Jesus to share living water with us?  Have we even realized the fact that he sits and waits for us to ask for the living water of faith?  Have we tasted this water?  If so, we have also known the burning desire to share the good news of our faith with others.  When the woman of Samaria had had a chance to speak with Jesus and to understand the power of his gift of living water, she in turn wanted to tell others about it.  Because of her witness of faith, many Samaritans from that village believed in Jesus, and they in turn came in search of him.  In fact, they invited him to stay with them, and eventually they realized that it was no longer because of what others had said about him that they were able to believe.  They had heard for themselves and had come to know that Jesus is the saviour of the world (cf John 4:40-42).

You and I have good news to share: the good news of having encountered the living God in the person of Jesus Christ; the good news of hope that does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts.  High school students and children in our families and among our friends need to see this hope in us; coworkers need to witness the excitement of living water in the words we speak; even total strangers who’s paths may intersect with ours need to see in us the joy of living water, for then they too will come looking for it in hopes that they too might come to know the source of that living water, the one we call Jesus: the saviour of the world.