You know, as we get older, we forget things. I remember my grandparents saying that. Then, I heard my own parents say it. And now of course, I’m saying it. And the older I get, the more I forget. Recently, I’ve caught myself forgetting stupid things. I went to the post office last week, and I forgot and left behind what it was that I wanted to mail. I went to the bank a couple of weeks ago, I get in the bank, I’m in line for ten minutes, and then, as I get up to the cashier, I remembered that I didn’t bring my checkbook. I went to the library to return a couple books, and I forgot the books. It’s crazy. If I’m ever not here for Mass, pray that I didn’t forget that I had Mass. Oh, getting older is a lot of fun. And guess what? We’re going to get to do it together!

Our Gospel today doesn’t tell us how old the woman at the well was. It tells us a lot. The story is very long. But it doesn’t tell us how old she was. We know that she was a Samaritan. We know that she had somewhat of a checkered past, with several different men in her life. We know that she went to the well there that day to get some water. It was one of her daily chores. It was part of her routine. But there’s one thing that really bothers me about this story. Did you catch it? About ¾ of the way through this Gospel, the woman who has spent this time with Jesus at the well, leaves the well. And St. John is very explicit here, when she leaves, she leaves behind her water jar. How forgetful can this woman be? Isn’t that why the woman went to the well in first place? She sounds like me. Not only does she forget the water, but she also forgets the jar. The next day, when she needs water again, she’s going to need that jar. And where’s it going to be? Did Jesus take it? I don’t think so. Is it still going to be sitting there at the well? Probably not. Did she have her name on it, so somebody else could return it to her later? We’ll never know. Why would this woman forget this? Why would she forget the very thing that she went to the well for, in the first place?

My brothers and sisters, what I’d like to suggest to you today, is that the Samaritan woman at the well found exactly what she was looking for that day. She was looking for God. And God was looking for her. That’s what Jesus meant when He said you’re going to drink this water, but you’re just going to get thirsty again. Jesus wanted to give this woman more: more life, more love, more faith, more everything than she could ever possibly imagine. And the truth is that He wants to do the same things for each of us here today.

You see, two worlds collided at that well that day. It was like a demolition derby of morality. Jesus walks up to the well. And He’s God. He is the perfect moral man. He is a man. He is Jewish. And He’s single. This was a big deal to the Jews and the Samaritans. This woman also comes to the well to get water. This woman is not perfect. She’s been around. She’s a Samaritan. She’s living with someone else – so she’s not married, but she’s not really single either. These two shouldn’t even be talking to one another. It was supposed to be taboo for both of them! The main question that this Gospel raises is what is morally acceptable? And even beyond that, who is morally acceptable to God? Jesus refuses to accept the standard two-group division – good and bad – that both the Jews and the Samaritans have bought into. For Jesus, there is only ONE group, the children of God! And that includes everybody! For Jesus, anybody who worships God in spirit and in truth, can drink of His living water. Everybody is invited to this Kingdom.

That’s good news for us. “We’re invited to Jesus’ Kingdom. We’re invited to His Kingdom”. But it is also a challenge to us. Everybody is invited. And Heaven help us, when we start excluding people from that Kingdom. That’s God’s job, not ours. We must be very careful about our judgments. Many times, the people that we are judging are guilty of far lesser sins than we are, by our passing judgment on them. The woman at the well reminds us that Jesus was open to every person that He came in contact with. Are we? Do we treat one another like that? Do we really listen and give one another the chance to grow? Lent is also time for us to evaluate how we treat others. Maybe we need to do that this week in our lives.

The woman at the well left behind her jar. But make no mistake about it, she got what she was looking for. Her life was changed that day. She saw God in her life. The woman was so excited about this that she forgot all about her jar of water. We are getting older. We forget things more and more. Sometimes God distracts us. And yet, God is still at work in each one of us. Let us leave the jars of our lives behind too, and may we concentrate on His living water. That’s what all of us are really looking for.

May God bless us on this Third Sunday of Lent, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti… Pray for us !!!