Today’s readings: Exodus 17,3-7; Romans 5,1-2.5-8; John 4,5-42.
It is not only the Jews who have survived the test of time. Samaritans too – that biblically infamous ethnoreligious group that was always at loggerheads with the Jews – are still in existence, though they number only around one thousand individuals. Up to this day, they have no ties with Jerusalem, but they celebrate their Passover feast on Mount Gerizim in Palestine, pointing to the historical veracity of today’s Gospel reading.
In his typical manner, Jesus, the Jewish rabbi, trespasses the religious and cultural boundaries set in place over time, defying those rules by conversing with a Samaritan and, what is worse, a woman. At one and the same time he could be accused of treason by his nation, and of immoral and inappropriate behaviour vis-à-vis the norms of society.
His was not an act of provocation coming from a young rabbi who wanted to impress and earn the attention and the praise of fellow disgruntled citizens. He was in search of something and would not rest until he found it. Be it a lost coin, a runaway sheep, a confused Samaritan woman, or a man possessed by evil spirits, no mountain was too high for him to climb, no wall too impenetrable for him to force his way through in order to be able to quench the thirst of others.
Scott Harrison is the author of the book Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World. His deep conversion is indeed touching. A former nightclub lifestyle – with all that that brings with it – led him to sheer psychological and moral misery until he dared to dream about the possibility of living a totally different life. He eventually became the founder and CEO of a non-profit organisation called ‘Charity: Water’ which provides clean water to many people who must walk long distances to obtain it. This not only saves them endless, tiring journeys, but it also allows them to spend more time with their family or at school.
The Samaritan woman too was one who walked in the scorching heat daily in order to draw water from a well. There, she once met the founder of another non-profit organisation, one who not only offered to bring free water to her doorstep, but to bring a spring of living water right into her heart.
Jesus not only offered to bring free water to [the Samaritan woman’s] doorstep, but to bring a spring of living water right into her heart
Jesus too could have written a book about Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World. Actually, he did so much more. Yet, in his life we notice a paradox – indeed, paradoxes are not foreign to the Bible. The one who offered this woman water that springs up to eternal life and that will prevent her from ever getting thirsty again, ends up hanging on a cross and painfully stating: “I am thirsty” (Jn 19,28).
St Paul’s letter to the Romans, which is the last one he wrote, and which is the most theologically profound, sheds light on this paradox: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:6-8)
He died for us, that is, for our sake, which simply means that he died in order to make it possible for us to be reconciled to God through him. He died for us because he could not imagine living without us. For this reason, his cry “I am thirsty” expressed an irresistible need for something that is far more than water can provide. He thirsted for you and for me, for our love, and for our eternal communion with him.