19 He Who Satisfies
Dont talk to strangers. This is the advice of our parents or
March
EX 17:37, PS 95, ROM
5:12, 58, JN 4:542
The water I shall give
will become in him a
spring of water
welling up to eternal
life.
Truth
1. Who was the king who built
Samaria as the capital of the
Northern Kingdom?
2. Who was the prophet who
opposed to the rebuilding
Jerusalems city wall?
3. What was the name of the
mountain where the Samaritans
worshiped God?
Way
1. Do you recognize Jesus in the
most unexpected moment in
your life?
2. How do you see or treat
strangers along the way?
3. Do you easily judge others by
their appearance?
Life
1. If you are a shy-type of a
person, try to overcome your
social anxiety by practicing
your communication skills with
others.
2. Pray to the Holy Spirit that you
may have confidence in talking
with someone.
3. Share your experience of
talking to a stranger.
elders. They say this precisely because they care for our security.
Talking to a stranger is indeed challenging and risky especially when
someone is not used to it or when the stakes are high. But one may
ask, How come that we are strangers to our fellow human beings?
In todays Gospel, the encounter between Jesus and the
Samaritan woman seems like an ordinary scenario. But when we
look at the bigger picture, it is truly a remarkable story in Johns
Gospel. It tells us of Jesus breaking down the obnoxious barrier
between strangers. As we know it, it was unexpected from either of
them to start a conversation because the Samaritans and Jews did
not share things in common (Jn 4:9). The law forbade
communication between them. Even before Jesus time there was
already antipathy existing between the Jews and the Samaritans.
When the Assyrian conquered the land of Samaria, there was
intermarriage among the pagan Assyrians and the Jew Samaritans.
The mix eventually led to the racial and religious impurity of the
Samaritans. And for the Jews, purity was very important. But in Jesus
perspective, there are no strangers or barriers. Everyone is his friend.
His initiative to ask for a drink from a Samaritan woman shows his
greater concern and compassion for those who really seek him. At
first, the Samaritan womans response to Jesus invitation indicated
her reluctance because she knew in her heart that there was a
great wall standing between them and the Jews. For her, they were
enemies in religious and cultural aspects. Furthermore, she knew that
talking to a Jew like Jesus might put her into some sort of criticism.
But in the end, she had a life-changing event when she discovered
that Jesus was the giver of living water which she was thirsting
for.
Jesus breaks through all these cultural and religious taboos.
He sees us not according our religion or cultural background but as
his friends. He is the one who comes searching for us. He searches
for us because he wants us to share in his divine life. He wants us
because he loves us, not the other way around. Let us pray to him
that we may recognize him through the daily events of our lives so
that our thirst for him may be satisfied.
-Cl. Micha Miguel Competente, SSP