Fr. Gerry Creedon's homily delivered at St. Charles on March 3, 2002, the Third Sunday of Lent
In Thursday's paper there was an article, "Arid, Arid, All
Around and Nature's Out of Sync". It talked about the fact that
at Reagan National Airport rainfall is 13 inches below normal,
and low water flow has caused the Potomac to be unnaturally
clear and the migrating herring are easy targets for hungry
birds. In Maryland, fisheries experts had to evict 40,000 trout
out of a hatchery because water from the feeder spring is one-
third of normal and on the lower Potomac River, the oyster
harvest has been halted due to the low water flow. These are
just a few statistics about the impact of the draught on fish.
There are others who can tell of the possible impact on people.
We are glad that over the weekend we prayed for rain and it
rained, and hopefully it will continue to rain a while longer
even though it is inconvenient. We need the rain although it's
easy for us, unless you are a gardener or golfer, to not worry
about the grass or the environment. We take water for granted.
We turn on a spigot and we get hot water for a shower or cold
water.
Water: A Precious Commodity
I am always reminded when water comes up in the scriptures
about my last assignment where water was a precious commodity.
In Banica in the Dominion Republic, I remember an experience I
had when I had been up the mountains and had come down late in
the afternoon. It was a longer journey than I intended and my
water had run out. I was offered water from the rock by a woman
who said, "Aqua pura de la roca, Padre". I drank some of that
water and spent three months sick with every kind of parasite.
That was a little taste to me of what people there experienced
all the time. Six months of drought almost every year causes
all kinds of poverty and health problems. I couldn't help but
be aware whenever I baptized a baby that the child ran the risk
of malnutrition or even death. Often times a mother didn't have
the right kind of nutrition or was drinking contaminated water.
Why will they not boil the water? Wood for fires is hard to
come by and the law prohibits cutting down trees. The situation
is the product of history: Hills in the Dominican Republic and
Haiti were deforested to make marble doors for the palaces of
Madrid and Paris. The forests were used up in the process of
colonialism and now they are being used up in the process of
globalization. When we push for a fast track for globalization,
it may be a fast track to more de-forestation, more hunger, less
water and less rain. We must counter some of our economic
short-term gains with concerns for the environment, for God's
people, especially poor people, and creation itself. Water is
life. Part of our rice bowl Lenten offerings goes to Catholic
Relief Services for sustainable agriculture and efforts to dig
wells and provide water for people who are thirsty.
Water in the Old Testament
The first reading presents a people journeying from Egypt to the
Promised Land through a waterless desert. Moses provided water
out of the rock because they were grumbling and thirsty. Two
bodies of water, the Red Sea and the Jordan River, bound their
journey. The Red Sea and the Jordan River stood for freedom as
God's people journeyed out of Egypt into a land of promise and a
land of hope. The Holy Land today is a land of violence. It
was intended to be Israel, a place of peace and hope for a new
life. The water of our baptism offers cleansing and that's part
of the meaning. Yet its primary meaning is freedom, a freedom
from all that oppresses.
Jesus Accepts the Woman at the Well
In the gospel, Jesus asked for a glass of water at the well
because he was thirsty. It is interesting, the woman talks
about the well being used for people and flocks and that's why
the wells get contaminated because the flocks also use them. He
asks for a glass of water, and in asking for a glass of water
offered acceptance. The Samaritan woman had all kinds of
strokes against her in terms of acceptance. She was a woman and
a Rabbi wasn't allowed to speak alone with a woman. She was a
Samaritan woman and the Samaritans were mixed up with the
Assyrians who were involved in what the Jews called idolatry.
In fact they had five false gods. Some scripture scholars tell
us the five husbands were seen as the five false gods of the
Assyrians. As a Samaritan she came from a different race and a
different religion. Finally, she had five husbands. Jesus
didn't say, "Well you get yourself to the marriage tribunal and
after you get your annulment, come back and we can talk". He
accepted her despite her lifestyle. He knew all about her, but
the glass of water offered his acceptance. The cup of water
broke down the walls of sexism, racism, religious intolerance
and all those barriers that come between communities and
individuals.
Where Are We Going this Lent?
As we journey through this Lenten season, we each need to ask
ourselves where are we in this journey? Are we grumbling? Are
we part of the journey at all? Has prayer, fasting and alms
giving been part of our Lenten discipline in any way? If it
has, what kind of impact has it had on us and why are we doing
these Lenten practices to start with? Are we focused on a new
encounter with Jesus who is the fountain of life-giving water?
Are we preparing ourselves for rebirth, freedom, new life, and
forgiveness, Easter? Is He the source of our life or have we
chosen other idols? Let's stand in faith.
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