3rd SUNDAY OF LENT (A)

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

Jn 4:5-42

v. 6. Jacob's well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

The meaning of the Greek words is that Jesus was so tired that he sat down without selecting any special place to sit. This is significant because John among the evangelists emphasizes the divinity of Jesus and yet he is not afraid to record his human limitation (11:33. 35. 38; 19:28).

v. 7. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."

Obviously she was not from Sychar. This underlines her position as the repre-sentative Samaritan just as Nicodemus had been the representative Jew.

v. 9. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Sama-ritan woman, for a drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.)

The sentence “For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans” may either be a comment of the evangelist in which case the parenthesis would be correct. It may, however, be a part of the woman’s reply to Jesus, in which case, it should be within the quotation marks.

v. 10. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

The gift of God can be taken to mean the “living water” soon to be mentioned. But in the OT it is a metaphor for the help given by God to men. It is a more common metaphor in Rabbinic writings. There it is used for the Torah (Law of God). If this is so, then the sense of Jesus’ reply would be: If only she (and the Samaritans) understood the Torah, then they would realize who Jesus was and so they would come to him for living water which he alone could give.

v. 11. (The woman) said to him, "Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cis-tern is deep; where then can you get this living water?

“Sir” is a term of respect. This already indicates that the woman is already on her way to being enlightened as to the true identity of Jesus.

In v. 6 the word for “well” may also be translated as “spring”. Here it is really “cistern” because the water here is not living (that is, not fresh) as the water coming from a mountain stream. The religion of Samaria is like the water stored in a cistern.

v. 12. Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?"

The word used for “flock” can also mean “slaves”. The point is that what Jacob left was sufficient for freemen, for slaves and beasts. Can Jesus improve on that? The answer is yes. The salvation brought by Jesus is sufficient for the world.

v. 13. Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again."

Jesus contrasts the drink that can only quench the thirst for a short time and then needs to be repeated with the drink which drunk only once quenches all thirst for good. This reminds us of the OT sacrifice which needs to be repeated daily and the sacrifice of Christ (NT) which was offered only once and yet is efficacious always and everywhere.

v. 15. The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."

The woman does not yet fully understand Jesus; but it seems equally clear that she realizes that the conversation is moving to places where her own personal and her national religious life will be challenged.

v. 16. Jesus said to her, "Go call your husband and come back."

First, she will have to bring her husband and then from Christ she will be able to draw living water. A commentator suggests that Jesus was actually speaking at two levels. He was not only thinking about the man she was cohabiting with. He was also talking about her Samaritan religion (= husband). The woman, of course, understood that Jesus was only speaking about her husband.

v. 17. The woman answered and said to him, "I do not have a husband." Jesus answered her, "You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.'

The woman tries to evade the incursion of Jesus into her private life by saying she has no husband. But Jesus persists in talking about her husband. Of course, he also had the Samaritan religion in mind. He asserts that her religion is empty because it is not wedded to the one true God.

v. 19. The woman said to him, "Sir, I can see that you are a prophet."

The supernatural knowledge of Jesus leads her to conclude that he was a prophet. Now it was the duty of the prophet to denounce any adultery on the part of God’s people. And she felt that it was to this that the conversation what was leading to.

Also she might be suspecting that Jesus was no ordinary prophet. Jesus could be THE prophet that Dt 18:15 was talking about.

v. 20. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."

The mountain cannot but be Gerizim. At the same time, dialog cannot be taking place on that mountain. No doubt John had in mind the symbolic character of the conversation taking place between Jesus and the woman.

v. 21. Jesus said to her, "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

Jesus already foresees that some Samaritans will come to worship the Father and these like some of the Jews will do it through Jesus himself.

v. 22. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews.

The Samaritans accepted the Pentateuch but without they remain ignorant for they are without the divine commentary written on the recorded history of Israel and without the writings of her inspired religious writers.

v. 23. 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.

A scholar rephrases “in spirit and truth” into “in Spirit which is the truth.” Truth as used by John often means “reality”.

The Spirit is not some vague spirituality. He is the power that filled and pos-sessed Christ and wrought the works of God in him.

v. 24. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth."

God is not just one of the beings that inhabit the spirit world. He is not just one member of the clan of spirits.

v. 25. The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything."

“He will tell us everything” may be re-worded as “He will reveal all things by his teaching of the truth”.

v.40. When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.

Testimony (of the woman) is adequate to bring men to Christ. But this must give way to personal experience and communion with the Lord.

The Jesus whom men met in Galilee, Samaria and Judea is the same as the risen Lord that men can meet in any time or place. And it is the concern of John, the synoptics and St. Paul and the rest of the NT writers to affirm that the this Jesus of history is the same as the Christ of faith.

v. 42. And they said to the woman, "We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."

The universal mission of Jesus is once again affirmed as it was affirmed in the encounter of Jesus with Nicodemus (Jn 3:16).

2nd SUNDAY OF LENT (A)

And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

Mt 17: 1-9

Today’s passage recalls the story of Jesus’ baptism. In both there is a voice; in both the voice says: This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased (Mt 3:17). Both are epiphanies or manifestations of Jesus. They belong to the other manifestation stories of Jesus such as the manifestation to the magi. Epiphany stories about holy men are common in ancient writings. In these stories the veil that hides the invisible and the future is pushed back for a moment in order to reveal what is hidden.

The story of the transfiguration of Jesus may be the earliest epiphany stories about Jesus, older than the Baptism of Jesus, the Visit of the Magi and the Visit of the Shepherds.

Some have suggested that that behind the Transfiguration story was really the story of the appearance of the Resurrected Christ which tradition had somehow misunderstood. Others offer the opinion that behind the Transfiguration was a mystical experience that we encounter in the lives of the Saints.

In the Transfiguration story what is revealed is the glory of the Son of Man when he comes at the end of the age (Mt 16:27f). In Mt 26:17ff he will take the same three disciples to reveal something to them again. This time it is the meaning of his death and resurrection, which is his obedience to the Father’s will.

v. 1 - After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

After six days – The precise note of time links this paragraph (Transfigura-tion) with the previous sayings – Jesus foretells his death and resurrection (Mt 16:21-23) and the cost of discipleship (Mt 16:24-28).

Precise notes of time are something unusual in the Synoptic gospels with the exception of the account of his last days in Jerusalem and of the Passion.

The mention of six days may allude to Ex 24:16ff where it is written: “The glory of the LORD settled upon Mount Sinai. The cloud covered it for six days, and on the seventh day he called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.”

Peter, James and John seem to form the inner circle of Jesus’ apostles. He brings them with him in Gethsemane (Mt 26:17) and to the healing of Jairus daughter (Mk 5:37).

v. 2 - And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

Metemorphothe means ‘changed, transfigured’. Paul spoke of this event in 2 Cor 3. He used the same word in order to speak of the change Christians are undergoing now and which will be completed at the end of this age (2Cor 3:18).

The face of Jesus shines just as when the Kingdom comes, the righteous will shine like the sun (Mt 13:43).

His garments become white as light. The book of Revelation describes the army of angels who will accompany Jesus at the end of the world has arrayed in fine linen, white and pure (Rev 19:14).

v. 3 - And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.

Moses and Elijah appear. The Jews believed that they were taken up to heaven and did not go down to Sheol, the abode of the dead. They were expected to return to earth before the Messiah. They embody the Law and the Prophets. They are also the two witnesses described in Rev 11:3ff.

v. 4 - Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

In Matthew the disciples address Jesus as Lord. Only Judas Iscariot calls him Master (Rabbi).

Peter may want to make permanent a vision that was meant to be temporary.

v. 5 - While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him."

The cloud is a sign of divine presence in Exodus.

Overshadowed (epeskiasen) is used of the cloud covering the tent of meeting in Ex 40:35.

The declaration of the voice is similar to that made at his Baptism (Mt 3:17).The voice of God from the bright cloud tells the disciples that Jesus is the Son, the fulfillment of the OT expectations. He is the one to be heard by men because he is the Judge on the last day.

v. 6-7 - When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Rise, and do not be afraid."

This is similar to the experience of Daniel (Dan 10:5-12).

v. 9 - As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."

The disciples are not to speak of the glory of the Son of Man which they have seen until after the resurrection. At that time they will preach it to the Church to warn and to encourage.

In Matthew this is the fifth and last time when Jesus commands them to keep silent. Mt 8:4 is an instance when Matthew commands silence .

1ST SUNDAY OF LENT - A

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

Mt 4: 1-11

The only words of Jesus which Matthew has so far recorded is found in 3:15 (Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.). It means that Jesus must fulfill scriptures.

In this section Jesus speaks three times and each time he uses the phrase “it is written”, that is, it is written in the scriptures (Old Testament). Jesus responds to the testing of the devil by citing scriptures which he must fulfill.

The devil begins his first two sayings with the words “If you are the Son of God…” This harks back to the voice from Heaven at the Baptism of Jesus: “This is my beloved Son” (3:17).

The three responses of Jesus all come Deuteronomy. They refer to the testing of Israel in wilderness after their crossing of the Red Sea. Matthew may have had this event in mind when he wrote about the temptation of Jesus in the desert. He might have also had in mind the crossing of the Red Sea when he wrote about the Baptism of Jesus.

The words “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights…” is similar to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy. “Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments” (Dt 8:2). Now the words “tempt” and “test” are the same in Greek. Matthew might want to tell us that Jesus is re-living the experience of Israel in his own life and that where Israel failed, Jesus is victorious.

This assertion is further strengthened by later events. For example, the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes is an allusion to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai.

v. 1. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

The desert or wilderness was believed to be the home of evil spirits. Jesus is, therefore, taken directly to the headquarters of evil.

v. 2. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.

The fasting of Jesus and his hunger paves the way for the first temptation, the satisfaction of his hunger.

v. 3. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, com-mand that these stones become loaves of bread."

At his Baptism, the voice from Heaven identifies Jesus as his Son.

If God can raise from stones children to Abraham (Mt. 3:9), then he can surely change those stones into bread.

v. 4. He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'"

The reply of Jesus comes from Dt 8:3. The complete verse is as follows: “He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.”

The story of the Manna in the desert is found in Ex 16:1ff. The temptation of Israel was to doubt the power of God to provide for his people. The response of Jesus to this temptation was affirming his faith in the care of God for his creatures (Mt 6:25).

vv. 5-6. Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you and 'with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

The holy city is Jerusalem.

The second temptation comes from the response of Jesus to the first temptation. If God cares for his people, then they will come to no harm. Therefore, let Jesus throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and thus prove the truth of the promise made in Ps 9:11-12 (For God commands the angels to guard you….) .

The use of the title Son of God in order to tempt Jesus is also found at the Crucifixion (Mt 27: 40. 43).

v. 7. Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'"

The second reply of Jesus comes from Dt 6:16, “You shall not put the LORD, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah.” Massah means proof or testing. The incident is related in Ex 17:1-7 (The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD in our midst or not?").

Jesus refuses to test his Father by calling for angelic assistance. Cf. Mt 26:53.

vv. 8-9. Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."

Cf. Jn 12:31; 16:11; 2 Co 4:4; 1 Jn 5:19 about the devil as ruler of this world.

v. 10. At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"

The third reply of Jesus comes from Dt 6:13. But read the whole passage (Dt 6:13-15).
Jesus does not commit the sin of worshipping other gods. He, therefore, receives from the Father what the devil promises and more (Mt 28:18).

“Get away, Satan!” We find something similar in Mt 16:23. There Peter tempts Jesus to avoid the crucifixion. In both passages, Jesus is being tempted to take a path different from the one pointed out by the Father. He refuses and is rewarded (Phil 2:5-11).

v. 11. Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Jesus is victorious ove the devil and is, therefore, exalted above the angels (Heb 1:6).