The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
In today’s first reading, Moses speaks to how “ ... in their thirst ... the people grumbled.” They had long begged for deliverance, but as soon as their journey to the promised land lost its charm, they doubted God’s goodness. And yet still, in their grumbling, God quenched their thirst. This simple snapshot of the human condition, of demanding deliverance while unwilling to make the trek, should end in despair. And yet, God still pours out his grace to highlight a path. Hope does not disappoint.
My favorite gospel moments are those few, scattered throughout his public life, in which we are told something of what Jesus was feeling. He was tired. He was moved with pity and compassion. He overturned tables in just anger. He wept over Jerusalem. He was pained by the loss of friends. In seasons when Jesus feels far away, after I demanded deliverance but then sit stubbornly in the middle of the dessert, I realize a nearness to his heart through these moments of emotion. Moments where, if faced with the same circumstances, I would have grumbled. Moments where Jesus chose love instead.
And it is right after one such humanizing moment that we meet the Samaritan woman. Jesus starts a conversation in which he first makes himself vulnerable. Already exhausted, he asks her for water before offering her “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” But the woman is so focused on the practical, that she can’t see to trust the divine. How often are we the Samaritan woman in prayer? God’s covenants wash over us and we snap back with complications and impossibilities. You want water, Lord? Well, you don’t have a bucket. The cistern is deep. You are offering me peace, Lord? Well, the world is in chaos. There’s no peace to be had. You love me, Lord? Well, I’m a broken vessel. Your grace will just slip through my hands. You want to lead me into the promised land, Lord? Well, the dessert is vast. And I’m dying of thirst, Lord. I’m dying of thirst. We qualify. We grumble to hide our fear. We explain away the goodness of our God because he can’t possibly offer it freely. Not to me, anyway.
And as if to cut through the noise of her doubt, the Lord illuminates a painful corner in the heart of the Samaritan woman — not to shame her, but to show that he knew and still offers. He knows all, and still offers. No painful corner, no weakness or shame, will ever stop his offering. He tires from time apart from you. He is moved with pity and compassion for you. He overturns tables in just anger to protect and champion you. He weeps over your heartache and is pierced by your pain.
He chooses you, again and again, and Hope in him does not disappoint.
Hannah Kelley is a Catholic Worldview Fellowship and Fiat UN alumna who, after completing a year of mission work in Chicago, IL, began her studies at the University of Georgia. She is now a 4th year, earning both her Bachelor’s in International Affairs and Master’s in International Policy simultaneously. Hannah loves craft beer, craft time, and Kraft mac and cheese, but especially when shared with loved ones.