{"id":34155,"date":"2023-03-12T10:54:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-12T15:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/?p=34155"},"modified":"2023-03-12T11:01:48","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T16:01:48","slug":"a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask for Living Water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

At today\u2019s Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus\u2019 encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to\u00a0US Catholic\u00a0<\/em>for inviting me to share a personal meditation on this reading as part of their Sunday Reflections series.<\/p>\n

A reflection for the third Sunday of Lent<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\nImagine that, one late July afternoon, while driving down Highway 20 outside Galena, Illinois, you stop at the scenic overlook rather than passing it by.<\/em><\/p>\nSuppose you admire the pastures, rolling hills, small patches of forest; you inhale the smells of thousands of plants that are as nameless to you as to those who first met them.<\/em><\/p>\nMaybe you\u2019ll lock your red Saab\u2019s doors, fumble in high-heeled sandals down the path, gaze up to cumulus clouds against a blue backdrop, take note of birds with black bodies, yellow wings.<\/em><\/p>\nAt the bottom of the slope a stagnant pond waits. Green algae cover half of it; a turtle suns itself on a log. You don\u2019t know why it\u2019s calling you, but suppose you listen, entranced, until startled from your<\/em><\/p>\nreverie by the arrival of a man. Suppose he starts to talk to you, says he\u2019s thirsty, asks for a sip from your water bottle, and you instinctively back away, but something in his eyes says wait, don\u2019t worry,<\/em><\/p>\nI\u2019m different. You already saw him at the top of the hill, easel before him, painting the scene. Now he stands beside you, plaid t-shirt covered in watercolors, and he tells you he knows you\u2019ve been through<\/em><\/p>\nfive bad breakups, that you\u2019ve cheated and deceived, that you claim to like your freedom but still aren\u2019t happy. Suppose right then he says it: \u201cCome, follow me, I\u2019ll give you living water,\u201d and all of a sudden<\/em><\/p>\nyou know the names of each plant, each blade of grass, each cloud that forms and breaks. Astonished, you thank him and ask if he\u2019ll be back there tomorrow, and he says yes, and you promise to bring others<\/em><\/p>\nto meet him. Imagine that you step back to your car, now knowing that it is possible to make each act a prayer: the cleaning of drains, the paying of bills, the making of phone calls and amends. You are<\/em><\/p>\nconfident that even in the midst of dark November you will find in yourself this place where ferns touch briers, where this artist shows you his face. Imagine how you\u2019ll feel, come January, when you recall\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nthat beneath the most solid ice, living water still flows.<\/em><\/p>\nI wrote this poem in the summer of 2018. It\u2019s not a time I look back on fondly. Have you ever found yourself so ensnared in the trap of your own bad decisions that amid your pain you found yourself laughing: oh, have I gone and done it this time!<\/p>\nIn 2018, I felt like that Samaritan woman at the well. While she was marginalized due to the systemic discrimination that Samaritans faced, I was marginalized by my own bad choices. But even if I was isolated from God, God refused to remain isolated from me.<\/p>\n\u201cGive me a drink,\u201d Jesus said to the Samaritan woman. In various ways, he said the same to me. He said it through Magdalena, a young Guatemalan woman in my community who needed a guardian to apply for legal status in the US. He said it through my friend Jayme, who\u2019d lost his housing and needed a place to stay. He said it through my students, who of course needed help on their essays but also, in some cases, the listening ear of an adult who cared. As summer dried up into fall all these people came to me, thirsty. But none were as thirsty as me. Through them, Jesus gave me that living water.<\/p>\nHe gave it through Magdalena, who became a surrogate daughter, allowing me the chance to beam with pride as she crossed the stage, the first in her family to get a high school diploma. He gave it through Jayme, who covered my living room with Marvel action figures and made me laugh and listened compassionately to my stories. He gave it through my student Riva, a business major who sat in the front of my literature class and participated excitedly in every discussion, who later showed me poetry she\u2019d written about her own personal struggles. And that is why, like that Samaritan woman, I say to you today: Come, meet this man. Can this be the Christ? No matter who you are or what your story is, he offers the living water we all are thirsting for.<\/p>\nI wish you peace and renewal on your own Lenten journeys.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At today\u2019s Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus\u2019 encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to\u00a0US Catholic\u00a0for inviting me to share a personal meditation on this reading as part of their Sunday Reflections series. A reflection for the third Sunday of Lent Imagine that, one late July […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2933,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-34155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lent","tag-lent"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>A Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At today's Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to\u00a0US Catholic\u00a0for\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At today's Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to\u00a0US Catholic\u00a0for\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Vox Nova\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-12T15:54:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-12T16:01:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeannine Pitas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeannine Pitas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/\",\"name\":\"A Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-12T15:54:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-12T16:01:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/ccf2b74f8064607929556fc56d700a6a\"},\"description\":\"At today's Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to\u00a0US Catholic\u00a0for\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ask for Living Water\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/\",\"name\":\"Vox Nova\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/ccf2b74f8064607929556fc56d700a6a\",\"name\":\"Jeannine Pitas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff411ffdb22e574bee5f21ebc3b21f8d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff411ffdb22e574bee5f21ebc3b21f8d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeannine Pitas\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/author\/jpitas\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent","description":"At today's Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to\u00a0US Catholic\u00a0for","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent","og_description":"At today's Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to\u00a0US Catholic\u00a0for","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/","og_site_name":"Vox Nova","article_published_time":"2023-03-12T15:54:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-12T16:01:48+00:00","author":"Jeannine Pitas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeannine Pitas","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/","name":"A Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-03-12T15:54:35+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-12T16:01:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/ccf2b74f8064607929556fc56d700a6a"},"description":"At today's Mass, we hear one of my favorite Gospel stories: Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. I am grateful to\u00a0US Catholic\u00a0for","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/2023\/03\/12\/a-reflection-for-the-third-sunday-of-lent\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ask for Living Water"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/","name":"Vox Nova","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/ccf2b74f8064607929556fc56d700a6a","name":"Jeannine Pitas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff411ffdb22e574bee5f21ebc3b21f8d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ff411ffdb22e574bee5f21ebc3b21f8d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Jeannine Pitas"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/author\/jpitas\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2933"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/voxnova\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}