Sa ating Ebanghelyo ngayong Ika-3 Linggo ng Kuwaresma (Jn 4:5-42), ginamit ni Hesus ang malinis na tubig upang ilarawan ang inilalaan Niyang walang hanggang buhay para sa tanan. Binigyang-diin ng Panginoon sa Kanyang panayam sa babaeng Samaritana na Siya lamang ang tanging makapapawi ng ating pagkauhaw sa kaligtasan.
Sa kalagitnaan ng panahon ng Kuwaresma, hinihimok ng Iglesya ang lahat ng mananampalataya na dumulog sa Diyos, upang tulad ng Samaritana sa Mabuting Balita, makasalo rin tayo sa tubig ng buhay na inaalok ni Hesus. Inaanyayahan ang tanan, samakatuwid, na pagnilayan ngayong araw ang papel na ginagampanan ni Kristo sa ating buhay.
Saad ng Simbahan, “Jesus offers living water to all who thirst for Him. He promised that whoever drinks the water He shall give will never thirst.
Jesus, the wellspring of all grace and mercy, is waiting for us today. Our spiritual thirst can only be satisfied through a deeper faith encounter with the Lord.”
Paliwanag ni Pope Francis, “The water that gives eternal life was poured into our hearts in Baptism, when God transformed and filled us with his grace. But we may have forgotten this great gift or reduced it to mere statistics; and perhaps sought ‘wells’ whose water does not quench our thirst. When we forget the ‘True Water’, we go in search of wells that do not have clean water!”
Malinaw sa pakikipag-usap ni Hesus sa Samaritana sa balon ni Jacob ang hangad nitong makinabang ang lahat sa kaligtasang hatid niya. Diin ng Santo Papa, sadyang mahalaga ang salaysay na ito dahil sa pagpapakilala kay Kristo bilang ‘bukal ng tubig na nagbibigay buhay’ at bilang ipinangakong Mesiyas na Tagapagligtas ng sanlibutan.
Sa kabilang dako, ukol sa pangangailangan ng tao sa Diyos, giit ni Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani Jr., DD: “The only one who can quench our thirst is God who has revealed Himself to us in Christ. Thus we are invited to come to Jesus and find our peace and salvation in Him. He who satisfied the Samaritan woman wants to draw us to Himself still.”
Giit ni Bishop Ted, “There is an invitation in this Gospel for all of us: to recognize first of all our own thirst, which no amount of material riches or power can satisfy.” Diyos lamang, aniya ang maaaring makapukaw sa ating ‘pagka-uhaw’! Bukod rito, “There is another challenge — to go out like the Samaritan woman to tell others about our discovery once we have recognized Christ as the fulfillment of our lives, the source of our life and its fullness,” aniya.
Sa huli, paanyaya ng Simbahan ngayong Ikatlong Linggo ng ‘seryosong pagpupunyagi na mas makilala at mapalapit sa Panginoon’: “Let us persevere in faith so that we may encounter and recognize Christ our Savior, to finally achieve ‘freedom’ like the Samaritan woman after overcoming her fear and shame. Let us today ask Jesus for the grace to know and love Him, and to long to make Him known and loved by others.”