The True Worship and Source Of Fulfillment

HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT( YR A) MARCH 12, 2023.

“…But 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“. John 4:23

SUNDAY READINGS

READ

DONATE

My Dearest People of God,
I welcome you to another moment of encounter with the Master Jesus Who reveals to us who we truly are; Who quenches our thirst by offering Himself as the living water; Who teaches us to do the will of God the Father and whom we should worship in spirit and in truth. Today’s readings especially the Gospel are a call to a personal encounter with Christ the Living Water, an encounter that will inspire us to true worship and faith in God.

Introduction

Last Sunday, we reflected on the Transfiguration which was a great moment of revelation and discovery for the three apostles (Peter, James, and John). Today’s gospel is another discovery/encounter for the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. Each of these discoveries/encounters, transformed and deepened the faith and knowledge of the apostles and the Samaritan woman and reveals to them who Christ is. For the Apostles, He is the Son of God; the Messiah Who has come to suffer and die to save the world. For the woman, He is a Prophet Who revealed to her all that has happened in her life and Who would give her the living water that will quench her thirst eternally.

The Endless Search For Fulfilment

Many today are searching for meaning and fulfilment in life but never finding it becuase of the absence of God in their lives. The Samaritan woman is representative of this group. In her, I see a woman who has been thirsty for a good husband but never found one; just like there are many women today who have had multiple divorces and are still searching for the right husband. In one way or another, we are all on this voyage of the endless search for fulfillment. Wealth, beauty, art, education, power, pleasure, career, even marriage –are all meaningless if God is absent. Like the Israelites in the first reading, many Christians are murmuring and grumbling against God because they see themselves as starved or thirsty for the good things of life. It Is not the thirst for water but the absence of God that forced the Israelites into complining against God. When we recall the mighty deeds of God in Egypt to deliver them and His providednce in the desert , then one would wonder why they should ever compalin at all. The point is that they have no faith. We often focus on searching for what will satisfy the body and ignore what satisfies the soul. Jer 2:13 says: “…my people have committed a double wrong: they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water”. St. Augustine in his youth searched endlessly for fulfillment. His thirst for fulfillment was never quenched until he found Christ and confessed that our souls are restlessly searching until they find rest in Christ the living water. Are you still searching? It is a paradox that many who have the wealth and riches of this earthly life are still not fulfilled or happy.

The True Source Of Fulfilment

In the gospel, Christ engaged in dialogue with the Samaritan woman, in order to bring her to faith and fulfillment. Jesus never discriminated against her because she is a Samaritan (Samaritans were considered impure in the eyes of the Jews). He placed himself in a needy situation asking her for water, in order to dispose her to enter into a conversation with Him. In addition, a Jewish Rabbi never spoke to a woman in public, not even his own wife, and he certainly never would have spoken to a Samaritan woman. But man-made rules never controlled Jesus. This woman is longing for fulfillment and Jesus knew He could meet it. God does not really need anything from us, rather, He comes to give Himself to us.

Christ’s promise of giving the Living Water that would give salvation did not make sense to this woman at first; just in the same way, many faithless Christians who search for fulfillment in earthly vanities may not understand this form of spiritual satisfaction that only God can give. God, Himself is the spring of the Living Water and only He can quench the thirst of those who earnestly seek Him as the deer that yearns for running water.

Like the woman, our encounter with God opens us up to who we are and leads us to faith and fulfillment that physical and material things cannot offer. St. Theresa of Avila once said: ” With each passing day, I understand better that God alone suffices.” She went further to say, “That is the maxim I have on my cross. May it be yours too. Seek God and you will have everything. The true source of fulfillment in life is doing everything for the love of God.” And as Jesus responded to His disciples: ” My food is to do the will of the One Who sent Me and to finish His work“. Our true source of fulfillment and joy is in doing the will of God. There are many wealthy people who are unfulfilled. So, don’t think when you build the best houses or buy the best cars or marry the right husband or wife you will be fulfilled.

This Is What True Worship Entails

Many pastors and Christians of our age do find fulfillment in building and dedicating Churches. For some Pastors, it is the greatest achievement in their pastoral work. Many wealthy Christians in third-world countries, also build Churches for their communities. I encourage such generosity and praise Pastors who relentlessly work to build a dwelling place for God. However, reflecting on Jesus’ words raises some important concerns in our minds. Jesus says: “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. But 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”. It is to say that our focus on worshipping God has gradually shifted to material concerns. Worse still, many of us Christians are good and holy only within the four walls of the Church and in the different pious groups and organizations within the parish community but devils at home, in the market, and at work. Churches are dedicated today, but the lives of the worshippers aren’t dedicated to God. We build solid and magnificent churches but our faith is fragile and unimpressive. Certainly, our focus has shifted. Jesus calls us today to understand that true religion is worshipping God in spirit and in truth. It is neither worshipping God in Rome nor in your community Church, but in the inner sanctuaries of our hearts. God would not be the exclusive property of one race or one denomination. He fills the universe and is everywhere present. Our worship of God should reflect in our lives irrespective of our location of worship. I do not in any way imply that going to Church is irrelevant, but the primary concern is, the sincerity of the worship we render to God and the transformation it brings into our lives. Does your worship of God inspire your life and actions? Are you an ostentatious and hypocritical worshipper? Does your religious belief inspire your decisions and actions? Are you convinced about your faith in God or do you combine idolatrous worship and Christianity (religious syncretism)? These and other personal questions, we have to ask ourselves today concerning our worship of God.

We are challenged today to get rid of our unholy attachments (leaving those ‘husbands’ behind) and the evil habits and sinful addictions that keep us enslaved and idolatrous. Lent is our time to learn from our mistakes of over-indulgence in food, drink, drugs, gambling, promiscuity, or any other addiction that distances us from the Living Water.

Conclusion

In this period of Lent and in this Mass, we ask God to give us the grace that will strengthen us to search for Him as our true source of fulfillment and to take away from us the worldly spirit that grumbles against God when faced with difficulties and challenges in our Christian lives. We pray for the grace to give God true and sincere worship that is due to Him who for our sake endured suffering and death. May the Lord keep you and your family safe.