For What Do We Thirst?
“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.’”John 4:10
What are the things that we thirst for in our lives? Do we thirst for power? Fame? Wealth? Other people’s approval and affirmation? What are the things that we convince ourselves is what our hearts truly desire? The Samaritan woman went to draw water from the well at noon to that she might quench her physical thirst and have water to use around the house. But Jesus knew she thirsted for something more. There is a deeper desire that yearns to be fulfilled, but no water from any earthly well can satisfy it. It is a desire for something that transcends the bounds of time and space. It is a desire and thirst that can only be quenched by something that is supernatural, something that can only be satisfied by God.
When Jesus first encounters the Samaritan woman, she was only concerned with what could relieve her of her immediate and physical needs — water and the convenience of not needing to go to the well again. Jesus says to her, “If you only knew the gift of God…” Jesus encourages her to be bold in her prayer, to be bold in her requests because of to whom she is making this request. God can grant you what your heart really wants. Ask for it. While the woman simply asked for water so she did not need to run back to the well in shame for fear of rejection from the others (for she was an adulterer), Jesus wanted to give to her freedom from this fear and shame. He wanted to give her new life.
Jesus wants to do the same for us. He wants to give us the living water that will free us from the things that hold us bondage — from the things that cause us fear and shame, the things that we feel others will see us differently if they knew about them, the things that we so desperately hold on to to maintain some sort of control or power. Jesus comes to us today and asks us “Do you thirst for a new life of freedom?” What are the things that we thirst for? Do they lead us to freedom or do they keep us chained down? Let us, in humility, ask the Lord for the grace and strength to be honest with the things we have been thirsting for and to turn to Him and boldly ask for the living waters, the water that will truly quench the thirst in our hearts and souls. May we never forget “the gift of God” to which Jesus invites us and may we never receive it in vain.
For another reflection on the Samaritan Woman at the Well, see this reflection.
For a deeper study of this powerful encounter, see last year’s Lenten Conference, “Meeting Jesus at the Well.”
