Today’s Gospel concerns Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. Jesus and his disciples were traveling through Samaria (an area not extremely friendly to Jews). Jesus stayed in the center of the town and sat down by a well mid-day because he was tired. While he waited a Samaritan woman approached the well. As she approached, Jesus asked her for a drink of water. This was very unusual.
Saint Clement stewardship stories have been reformatted to focus on the three Anchors that relate to stewardship: Pray, Serve, and Give—as embodied by Saint Clement parishioners. This new edition of Steward Stories will feature parishioners involved in one of the above Anchors three times a year.
Years ago, friends of ours had a destination wedding at a small, private, beachfront resort in Mexico. My husband and I made a vacation out of it, and arrived days before the wedding, before most of the other guests had arrived. One night, after a late dinner, we took a stroll along the beach. It was quiet, except for the sounds of the wind and the waves, and quite dark out. At some point, I paused to look up into the night sky, and was stunned. There were an incredible number of bright stars surrounding me.
One of the wonderful things about our liturgical calendar is the opportunity each year to walk through the life of Jesus. From his birth in a manger to his resurrection from the tomb, we meditate on the mystery of the incarnation and reflect on the reality of our own redemption. But because these events feel both intellectually familiar and historically distant, it can be easy to go through the motions. Like re-watching a TV episode you’ve seen dozens of times already knowing the outcome. Or listening to a story about a grandparent that’s been retold at family parties for decades.
Lent is a sacred time of preparation. Each of us has a personal journey of faith, and the great joy of belonging to a parish community is that we are given the opportunity to journey with one another.
Prayer
The practice of listening and opening our hearts. When we pray, we are communicating with the voice of God. Prayer includes public worship in the liturgy and private prayer in meditation and contemplation.
Have you heard the aphorism “you spot it, you got it”? Maybe you know the one “when you point a finger at someone, there are three fingers pointing back at you.” Or “that’s the pot calling the kettle black.” One of my favorites is “Never start a sentence with the words ‘no offence.’” You probably have a favorite too. Does it intrigue you, as it does me, that we are so profoundly interested in and devoted to the finding of faults in others? Why is that? Aren’t we all One Human Family? Do we believe we can diminish another human being and yet remain untouched by the effect?
We all seek to improve ourselves in one way or another. We also seek to move away from old symptoms of our past person hanging on. Perhaps experiences of abuse, health issues, economic struggles, racism, sexism, the child who won’t study or the marriage that has become dull, distant or even that has failed. All of these experiences stick with us and make us protected, cautioned, closed off, bitter or even lacking empathy and embodying hate.