THE VOICE OF GOD
The invisible becomes visible when it sounds. Indeed, though it seems paradoxical to say
so, I will nonetheless maintain that certain pieces of music can be seen … but only by our ears.
Poetry operates on the principle that truth lies in the hearing of it, that we recognize something
true in combinations of certain words even when we cannot entirely understand those words.
We are all familiar with the characterization of Jesus as the Word. We are so familiar with
that particular imaging that it is very likely that we will generally refer to Jesus as the Word
without giving the idea a second thought. When we speak of Jesus as the Word, how literally are
we to mean it? You would not be wrong to think of Christ as literally the Word God Speaks.
There can be no more beautiful, more perfect, more intimate, more powerful, or more exact
breaking in of the invisible God to human consciousness than the sound of His Voice. Jesus
Christ is the Voice of God. From the mouth of God issues the God Word. The Word Becomes
Incarnate, fleshy. Now, it is possible for us to see the Divine Sounding. And as the
Deuteronomist wrote, “[N]ot by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth
from the mouth of the Lord (Dt 8:3). Since Christ is the Word God Speaks, wouldn’t it behoove
us to heed everything Jesus utters, too?
Which brings me to one particular afternoon when a tired Jesus is sitting beside Jacob’s Well
in Sychar, Samaria (Jn 4:6). He is alone, and probably thankful for the peace and quiet, when a
woman approaches to draw water. “Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’” (Jn 4:7). Give me a
drink. We know that this Gospel account is theologically rich and deep, full of revelations and
ripe for meditation; but I want to key today off the first words Jesus says in this scene: Give me a
drink.
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On the face of it the Lord’s words are of no significance whatsoever. Jesus has been walking
all morning; he’s dirty, tired, hungry, and thirsty. What could be more natural than for Jesus to
want a drink of water? But if this incident were only about Jesus literally quenching his thirst, it
would not have found its way into the Bible. In fact, while the evangelist John recounts in detail
a rather extended conversation between Jesus and this newest acquaintance of his, nowhere are
we told that Jesus actually got that drink of water. Oh, I suppose we can assume that the
Samaritan did draw him a drink while they talked, but – as should be perfectly clear to us – the
Lord thirsts for much more than water.
Jesus thirsts for the Samaritan. He thirsts for her spiritual well-being, for the spiritual wellbeing of her lover, her family, her friends, and her neighbors. And He finally gets from her what
does satisfy Him: namely, her confession. And in due course, Jesus satisfies the Samaritan.
After speaking aloud her accurate and honest self-assessment, God graced her with belief,
reverence, and the love and service of neighbor. These “living waters” preserved her – and will
preserve us – from ever thirsting again for human fulfillment, which she had hitherto lacked.
Jesus thirsts for you, for me, and for every human being. He wants us to draw up from what
wells inside us and confess to Him our infidelity, our idolatry, our perversion, and our violence.
Jesus wants us to turn to Him and thereby come back to possession of authentic lives. What will
quench Christ’s thirst for us is He quenching our thirst for forgiveness, justice, peace, and
holiness.
Take these words of the Word to heart this Lent. Literally, give Him a drink. Quench
Christ’s thirst for you by confessing your sins with a spirit of genuine remorse and contrition and
by a sincere amendment of your life. And for Catholics, the ordinary – designated (so-to-speak)
– means by which Jesus Christ’s thirst for us is satisfied, is through the Sacraments He gave us:
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in this case, specifically, through the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. In point of fact,
please remember a Catholic is still required as a matter of law to avail himself or herself of
Confession when aware of having committed grave sin. Nor may a Catholic receive
Communion until receiving absolution for grave sin.
Today Jesus said, “Give me a drink” (Jn 4:7). But Jesus has not yet been satisfied. If you
doubt this, just listen closely to the Word God Speaks from the Cross before he dies: “I thirst”
(Jn 19:28).
“Ask not for whom the Lord thirsts, He thirsts for you” (a play on words in John Donne’s
1624 “Meditation 17” in his Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions: “Send not to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”).
Fr. Mark Summers
Pastor, St. Peter Catholic Church
23 March 2014: Third Sunday of Lent, Year A
Readings:
Exodus 17:3-7.
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9.
Romans 5:1-2, 5-8.
John 4:5-42.
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