Today’s reflection is for the 3rd Sunday in Lent, March 15, 2020, and the readings can be found by clicking here.
I went to adoration with my son this past Monday, and I hate to admit, but it had been a while since I’d gone. The first song was a bit loud, but afterward the music was quite soft and really pulled me into the experience of spending time with Jesus in the Eucharist. I have few words to express why the experience of Adoration moves me so, but invariably, it does. Spending time with Jesus matters and it changes me.
This is exactly what the woman of Sychar discovers as she encounters the Lord at Jacob’s well. Jesus’ disciples are gone, she is alone with Jesus and to her great surprise, Jesus speaks to her. At first she recognizes him only as a Jewish man speaking to a Samaritan woman, but in short order she knows him as a prophet, and then finally as the Messiah and Savior of Israel. And it just took a willingness on her part to spend some time with and open her heart to Jesus.
We too can come to know Jesus in a more powerful and meaningful way, if we would just spend time with him. When we spend time reading Scripture, spend time in prayer, attend the sacrament of reconciliation, pray, attend Adoration, or go to Mass, we spend time with the Lord and we grow closer to Him. We grow in relationship with the Lord and like the woman of Sychar, we come to know Jesus in a deeper, more powerful, and transformative way.
The great thing about this deepening of faith, is that invariably, our faith will then pour forth into other people’s lives. First to our children and then to those in our community and places of influence. The woman at the well discovered who Jesus was to herself and then ran back to the village with great joy to tell others. That’s exactly what evangelization is! We share our joy with others—with whomever will listen!
The people of Sychar invite Jesus into their home and believed first purely because of the strength of her testimony, but ultimately they came to know Jesus as Savior by their own time spent with Him. They cared enough to let them into their homes, they opened their hearts, and they too were transformed.
We heard, “Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 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.” And so the Good News is shared.
As we continue to journey to this 3rd week of Lent, I want to encourage you not only to do the hard work of “climbing the mountain” through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but also to spend time with the Lord in prayer, Scripture, adoration, and the Sacraments.
The fruit of your time spent with the Lord will not only be a deepening love of Jesus as your own Savior, but also of those in your family. Ultimately, your joy will well up on you and create a desire to share that love with others so that Jesus might be realized as your savior, your children’s savior, and as the savior of the world. All you have to do is spend a little time. Amen.
For YouTube video presentations of other reflections, please click here.
The Catholic Deacon 