What can we deduce from scripture about the woman at the well? Quite a lot actually. We are told that it was about noon when she approached the well. Most women would have drawn their water in the cool of the morning or evening, not during the hottest part of the day. Was she trying to avoid the other women of the town?
Her history of troubled relationships, including her present one, leads us to see her as an outcast, a social scandal.
Perhaps Our Lord saw in her one who was seeking meaning in her life, a meaning she had not found in a string of failed relationships. And so He puts aside His own weariness and reaches out to her as He reaches out to each one of us.
Jesus touches the troubled heart of the Samaritan woman and reveals to her all that she has been searching for without understanding. She is so overcome with joy that she leaves behind her water pitcher and runs to share the Good News with the very people she had been avoiding.
We all have something we are passionate about. Various self-help gurus and “life coaches” encourage us to follow our bliss and the “universe” will respond by opening doors for us and presenting us with opportunities. But, like the Samaritan woman looking for happiness with six different men, it doesn’t always work.
We have a natural desire to find joy and happiness in this life. But our own efforts can only take us so far. To find true meaning and purpose we must always come back to God for only through Him is our purpose revealed.
Pax vobiscum
Peace be to you all
Third Sunday of Lent