Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BOAKYE YEBOAH

CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF KUMASI, GHANA.

THE WELL 

            One needs to visit an African or Asian village to know the value of a single well. In my pastoral ministry in Africa, I have witnessed children and their pregnant mothers walk miles to have access to water from a well. At times those who do not have access to a well may have to make do with fetching water from a stream that they share with their livestock. It is therefore a blessing in Africa for a family to have a well situated in their neighbourhood. Today the inspired writer tells us a story of how a woman had to travel to have access to water from a well and how she met a “prophet” who was also in need of water from the same well. What is a well?

            A well can be described as an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and the most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers.

            In Africa we treasure our wells and we are thankful to western charitable organizations who continue to provide us with wells. Water is something no one should be denied of. Some medical experts are of the view that excessive thirst can signal possible bleeding, diabetes, physical exhaustion, dehydration, or a mental disorder. An excessive thirst can leave a person in the state of frustration and today’s first reading tells it all. The author of the book of Exodus tells us that “In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?” People can say all kinds of things when they are thirsty. If you have any opportunity to provide people with water please do for your reward will be great. I would like us to reflect on the drama that John narrates to us between Jesus and a Samaritan woman.

            I call the encounter an “encounter of grace”. Her first encounter with grace is Jesus’ request for something to drink. This is a gift that the sinner does not understand, even though she does not deny his request. Jesus was requesting a temporal gift in order to give the Samaritan woman the gift of gifts. The greatest gift one can receive from God, is to return to one’s original identity as created in the very image and likeness of God without any trace of sin; this, I will like to think is the desire of every good Christian. Somewhere deep inside each one of us is a burning desire to finally become the person God created us to be. Yearning to be fully alive, we long to give ourselves as a gift wholeheartedly back to God. Yet despite these stirrings, many of us hesitate and resist, fearing the very thing we desire. While we long to be made pure and whole, we avoid God’s process of purification and healing.

            I wonder if the Samaritan woman felt a similar reluctance before encountering Jesus at Jacob’s well. Do you remember her story? Her brief but powerful encounter with Jesus exposed the secret of her heart and set her free to love again. She came to the well with an insatiable thirst. Her many worldly lovers had left these cravings for love unfulfilled. Neither could she satisfy their consuming appetites. One by one, they had thrown her away like a day-old beverage that had lost its taste. We can only imagine how hopeless and unworthy she felt before her encounter with Jesus. Consider her shock when Jesus approached her, asking her for water.

            According to the custom of the time, a Samaritan woman would not be permitted to speak with a Jewish man. Furthermore, some scholars suggest she came this late in the day to avoid facing the people in her own village. But Jesus was not a bit surprised by their encounter. Coming to the well, Jesus too was thirsty, though he was seeking more than water. He thirsted for this woman, with a deep desire that was totally different from the way the other men desired her. While they sought to consume her for their own pleasure, Jesus longed to satisfy her thirst by pouring himself out on her behalf. He desired to fulfill her, not to use her.

            Can you picture the scene as they greet each other and his gentle gaze meets hers? I envision her immediately avoiding eye contact with Jesus. But then sensing something unusual in his presence, I imagine her looking up, being drawn into Jesus’ penetrating gaze. Piercing her shame and reaching to the depths of her soul with his words, he sees her and speak to her heart as no one has ever done before now. His searing love purifies her heart, burning away the shame-based lies that have tarnished her self-respect. Her previously unreachable well, the well of her soul, is now overflowing with living water. Running into the village, she longs to offer a refreshing drink to everyone she meets. She is radically transformed by her encounter with Jesus. Seeing her own dignity for the first time, she now desires to give herself completely to God. She wants to tell everyone about this man who “knew everything” about her. She invites all of us to come and meet him for ourselves. Will you give yourself to Jesus and in return receive Him who is the living water?

            Jesus brought healing to the Samaritan woman with majestic simplicity. He invited her into an encounter with himself; he revealed her brokenness; and he gave her the finest medicine – his love and truth – to heal her wounds. Jesus often heals each of us in the same simple way. Are you ready to receive this gift of gifts? OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAY FOR US.