Daily Readings - Sun Mar 12 2023
Exodus
3But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"4So Moses cried to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me."5And the LORD said to Moses, "Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.6Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.7And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the LORD by saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
Romans
1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.5and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John
5So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.6Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.7There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."8(For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)9The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)10Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."11The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?12Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."13Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."19The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."21Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."25The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things."26Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."39Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did."40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days.41And many more believed because of his word.42They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter powerful reminders of God’s providence and the gift of faith. The first reading from Exodus describes the Israelites’ thirst in the wilderness and their murmuring against Moses. Despite their lack of trust, God provides water from the rock, a prefiguration of the living water Jesus offers. The second reading from Romans emphasizes the peace and hope that come from being justified by faith. Paul highlights God’s love, demonstrated in Christ’s willingness to die for sinners, a sacrifice that transcends human understanding. The Gospel from John presents Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, where he reveals himself as the source of living water, satisfying the deepest thirst of the human soul. This encounter also touches on the theme of worship, as Jesus explains that true worship is not bound by place but is offered in spirit and truth.
These readings are deeply connected, as they all point to the gift of God’s grace and the transformative power of faith. In Exodus, the Israelites’ physical thirst mirrors the spiritual thirst that Jesus addresses in the Gospel. Paul’s letter to the Romans bridges these two accounts by explaining how faith opens us to God’s love and hope. Together, they remind us that God’s love is not earned but freely given, and that true life comes from trusting in him.
In our daily lives, these readings invite us to reflect on our own thirsts and doubts. Like the Israelites, we may feel frustrated or uncertain in challenging times, but God remains our rock. Like the Samaritan woman, we may feel unworthy or disconnected, but Jesus offers us living water that quenches our deepest longings. Like Paul, we are called to trust in God’s love, even when it seems inexplicable. Let us turn to God with faith, trusting that he will provide for us, and let us worship him in spirit and truth, for he is the source of all life and hope.