A sermon on John 4:4-52 

Fr. Mike Paraniuk
HCP columnist

Jesus uses the story of the "Woman at the Well" to reveal the depth of His Love we call "grace." Jesus wanted to love and care for this woman when neither she nor anyone else saw value in her. This is Grace. 

This woman had so many strikes against her. She was a woman looked down upon by men. She was a Samaritan woman rejected by Jews as unclean. She was a five times divorced woman not accepted by her own people. We know she was an outcast to the other women because they did not want to be near her when drawing water in the morning. They considered her immoral. She had to draw well water at noon all by herself. 

Jesus enters her life when she was most rejected. 

Jesus wanted to love and be loved by this woman who messed up her entire life. There is a prayer at Mass that says, "So ardently did He (Jesus) thirst for her faith that He kindled in her the fire of Divine love." The Woman at the Well teaches us these truths about God:

1) God shows no partiality. He values everyone. He offers His love to everyone. God said in Romans 5:8, "God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful."

2) God meets us with His Grace in the ordinary things of life. Great Grace was given to the woman doing the ordinary chore of drawing water into her bucket. St. Teresa wrote about the "Little Way" of coming to God. She taught great holiness can be achieved by doing ordinary actions with extraordinary love. 

I accidentally cut my finger when a glass broke in my hand in my kitchen. It started to bleed again the next day. I didn't have any Band-aids. A busy Children's Hospital nurse dropped everything she was doing to bandage my bleeding finger. That's an example of the little way to holiness.

3) Jesus said in John 4:34, "My food is to do what God wants! He is the one who sent me, and I must finish the work that he gave me to do." What does Jesus want from you? To do the best you can in whatever God has called you to do. God wants you to be the best father, the best mother, the best follower of Jesus, the best at whatever your vocation is in life. Everything you do is important to God. Martin Luther King wrote about the humble street cleaner, "He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

4) We know life can be hard. In those difficult moments God promises to sustain you. That is what Jesus meant when He talked about giving "living water." Living water is the Holy Spirit Jesus will give to those who thirst for healing, for love, for help in need, for faith that God is there when life dries your spirit of hope. Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, relies on Me as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’” (John 7:38.)

5) Jesus wants to be intimately involved in your life now matter how sinful and unclean it is. The proof of that is when Jesus said to the outcast woman, "Give me a drink." The only way Jesus could drink the water is by Him using the woman's personal drinking cup that touched her lips. Jesus was not repulsed to use it, so much did He thirst for her faith in Him. Nothing you do can separate you from His Love.

I remember the first time I encountered someone with HIV Aids in the 1980s. There was much hysteria about the disease. No one yet knew how Aids was spread. People were afraid they could get it simply by touching someone who was infected. I was called to give the Last Rites at the old Holmes Hospital to a man near death due to the disease. The Rite required that I touch the man's hand with holy oil. I used protective gloves. After I finished the prayer, the man made a request that gave me chills. 

He asked, "I haven't felt the touch of another for a long time. Would you please hold my hand before I die?" 

I paused for a moment. What Would Jesus Do? Then I thought about Jesus touching lepers without fear. Jesus spoke to my mind, "Go ahead. Don't be afraid." I haltingly extended my hand out to this suffering child of God. He held my hand gently for a few moments. I could see peace come upon his face. He said, "I feel like God touched me. I'm ready. Thank you." He passed to the Lord that evening. I never got sick. 

God extends His hand of Mercy to you. He is not afraid to touch the unclean places in your life. Nothing can separate you from His Love. Happy Lent.