SESSION
Living Water
for the world
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Leader: Warmly welcome participants.
Meditation Music
Before the opening prayer invite the group into
a period of silence. Gently remind the group that
this is a time to leave behind all the demands and
distractions of life and to rest in the loving embrace
of our God.
Deep waters flowing
Calling all to follow
Watching, listening, waiting,
Silence finds a home …
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SA
Opening Prayer
Central focus: a bowl of water on a purple cloth,
the Bible and a candle
All:
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Leader: Praise be to God who calls us
and raises us up through deep waters
into new life.
Praise to you, O God!
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Leader: As we gather, we light a candle
to remind us of the light of Christ
that burns in our hearts.
Someone lights the candle …
The woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,
‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’
(John 4:28-29)
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© 2005 Trish Watts. Published by Willow Publishing Pty Ltd.
All rights reserved. www.willowpublishing.com.au
Leader: Let us pray …
All:
God of abundance,
our soul thirsts for you,
like a dry and waterless land.
Flood our hearts
with the torrents of your love.
Wash us with the joy
of your forgiveness.
Bathe us in the delight
of your presence.
We open our hearts to you
in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ,
who is Living Water for the world.
Amen.
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
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Welcome
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Hearing the Gospel
Leader: As we listen now to the
Gospel we ask God to speak
to us through this story.
Immerse yourself in the sights, sounds
and smells in the scene. Notice if a
word or phrase moves you or evokes
a response within you.
Write this word or phrase in the space
provided after the reading.
From the Gospel of John 4:5-42
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Reflecting the Gospel
After a period of silence the leader invites
participants to share their word or phrase.
This period is not intended as a lengthy
discussion. Participants may add a brief
explanation for their choice.
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PL
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him,
‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But he said to
them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not
know about’. So the disciples said to one
another, ‘Surely no one has brought him
something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My
food is to do the will of him who sent
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Just then his disciples came. They were
astonished that he was speaking with a
woman, but no one said, ‘What do you
want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with
her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar
and went back to the city. She said to
the people, ‘Come and see a man who
told me everything I have ever done! He
cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left
the city and were on their way to him.
Many Samaritans from that city
believed in him because of the woman’s
testimony, ‘He told me everything I have
ever done.’ So when the Samaritans
came to him, they asked him to stay
with them; and he stayed there for two
days. And many more believed because
of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It
is no longer because of what you said
that we believe, for we have heard for
ourselves, and we know that this is truly
the Saviour of the world’.
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A Samaritan woman came to draw water,
and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’.
(His disciples had gone to the city to
buy food.) The Samaritan woman said
to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a
drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews
do not share things in common with
Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you
knew the gift of God, and who it is that
is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you
would have asked him, and he would
have given you living water.’ The woman
said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket,
and the well is deep. Where do you get
that living water? Are you greater than
our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well,
and with his sons and his flocks drank
from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who
drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
but those who drink of the water that I
will give them will never be thirsty. The
water that I will give will become in them
a spring of water gushing up to eternal
life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give
me this water, so that I may never be
thirsty or have to keep coming here to
draw water.’
me and to complete his work. Do you
not say, “Four months more, then comes
the harvest”? But I tell you, look around
you, and see how the fields are ripe for
harvesting. The reaper is already receiving
wages and is gathering fruit for eternal
life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice
together. For here the saying holds true,
“One sows and another reaps”. I sent you
to reap that for which you did not labour.
Others have laboured, and you have
entered into their labour.’
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Jesus came to a Samaritan city
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called Sychar, near the plot of
ground that Jacob had given to
his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there,
and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was
sitting by the well. It was about noon.
Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband,
and come back.’ The woman answered
him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to
her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have
no husband”; for you have had five
husbands, and the one you have now
is not your husband. What you have
said is true!’ The woman said to him,
‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our
ancestors worshipped on this mountain,
but you say that the place where people
must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said
to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour
is coming when you will worship the
Father neither on this mountain nor in
Jerusalem. You worship what you do not
know; we worship what we know, for
salvation is from the Jews. But the hour
is coming, and is now here, when the
true worshippers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks
such as these to worship him. God is
spirit, and those who worship him must
worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman
said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is
coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he
comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’
Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is
speaking to you.’
Mirroring the Gospel
Imagine: you are going about
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your business, gathering water
at the community well as you do
every day, and on this day you
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encounter a prophet. While you
are at the well together, Jesus
draws upon your deep connection to this
source of water to help you understand
what he calls the ‘living water.’ The
metaphor stirs your heart, but still doesn’t
give up its whole meaning – as metaphors
are reluctant to do! You are even more
convinced of its truth and of the prophetic
nature of this man when he somehow
knows details about your life – details you
might rather forget, details that might keep
you ‘bowed down by [your] conscience’
(Collect, Third Sunday of Lent).
The encounter starts with a simple
request: ‘Give me a drink.’ Beyond your
expectations, it ends with you proclaiming
this man Jesus as the long-awaited Christ.
Now that’s a day to remember!
Water is one of the primordial human
symbols, and indeed one of Christianity’s
fundamental sacramental symbols. It
quenches our thirst; it sustains our crops
and livestock. In its absence life cannot
flourish, but in its overabundance it can
cause death and destruction.
The woman meets Jesus at a well, a lifegiving spring. In the heat of the noonday
sun, Jesus asks for a drink after his long
journey. Perhaps this request reminds the
woman of her own experience of being
thirsty. The thought of a drink from the
well seems mighty good. When Jesus
then speaks of living water, the woman
can almost feel the cool, crisp water
refreshing her body after a long drink. Is
this what it’s like to experience this living
water Jesus speaks of?
For Jesus, a Jew, to be speaking directly
to a Samaritan would have been earthshaking from a religious and historical
perspective. Jews worshipped God at the
temple in Jerusalem. Samaritans, however,
worshipped at a temple on Mount
Gerizim. From the Jewish perspective, the
Samaritans had gotten it all wrong.
Here we see hints of the transformation
of worship that is to come. The encounter
between the woman and Jesus takes place
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Leader: After the group has watched, or listened,
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invite the group to share their responses to the
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How does your own experience of the
primordial symbol of water help you to
understand Jesus as ‘living water’?
▸
Put yourself in the place of the Samaritan
woman. How would you have interacted with
Jesus? Would you have had the courage
not only to face your faults but also to give
witness to your neighbours about your
experience?
Deepening the Gospel
Good News People
Each week a person shares their story and their
experience of living as a missionary disciple.
▸
What are my responses to the story
this week? What encouraged me …
challenged me … inspired me?
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What is the challenge for us today as we
witness Jesus turn the norms of his society
‘upside down and inside out’? In what
ways does today’s Gospel shed light on
our interactions with people from different
cultures, nationalities and religion?
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Take a moment to write down any
personal insights, new ideas, questions
or challenges you have from the
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be: ‘So what?’ Day by day how will these thoughts,
ideas, images and words transform my actions?
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Quietly read the questions below. When you are ready
share with the group your response any of these
questions or ‘Deepening the Gospel’.
What, though, are our lives transformed
for? For our own salvation? Yes, but not
only that. Through Jesus’ example, we
know this transformation is expressed in
transformative action in the world, for its
sake and for the sake of our brothers and
sisters. Giving witness through our lives
is a necessity. Indeed, salvation comes in
sharing our experience of the living water.
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This overturning of expectations truly
saves us. Our salvation though, always
has complementary halves and Jesus
provides the complete human and divine
example, or perfect prototype, of this.
Our salvation is always immanent – of
the here and now – and transcendent
– beyond here and forever. Through
his absolute presence and undivided
attention Jesus opens the woman to an
eternity of living water and a whole new
way of life. Indeed she is so transformed
she becomes the first evangelist as she
tells the people in the city ‘Come and see
a man who told me everything I have
ever done!’ (John 4:29).
Sharing the Gospel
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In today’s Gospel, as happens often in
the Gospels, Jesus turns the norms of
society upside down and inside out.
He asks for a drink from a Samaritan
well. He speaks and reveals himself as
the Christ to a woman – a Samaritan
woman, a Samaritan woman without the
presence of her husband! What was he
thinking? His disciples are amazed he is
talking to a woman, but seem to know
by now to expect such radical behaviour
from their master.
By following his way of interacting with
the world and upending societal norms
and expectations, Jesus saves through
making a new way of life possible. Our
lives are transformed and have the
potential to transform.
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at the well of Jacob – a reconciliatory
spot, perhaps, as Jacob is a common
ancestor to both Jews and Samaritans.
At this well Jesus proclaims the new
worship. This worship will be in spirit
and truth. It won’t take place on Mount
Gerizim, nor in Jerusalem, nor, indeed,
at any place in particular at all. Jews and
Samaritans can worship together at last.
This must have been shocking. Since
the time of Moses worship of the one
true God had taken place in a particular
location. The new temple, though, is
wherever the followers of Christ gather
– ‘like living stones, let yourselves be
built into a spiritual house, to be a holy
priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’
(1 Peter 2:5).
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Call to Prayer
Leader: Invite the group to listen to the music on
the CD. They may sing or just listen quietly. Before
the music plays invite each person to empty their
hands (books, pen, paper) and clear their minds of
any thoughts from the sharing and discussion and
any distractions. This is an opportunity to simply
rest in the loving embrace of our God ... to become
aware of each breath coming in and out of our
bodies ... and the Holy Spirit immersing us in God’s
love, peace and wisdom.
Spring of Water
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After all participants have blessed the person
beside them with the water, the last person places
the bowl back on the prayer focus and the Leader
continues as follows:
If today you hear God’s voice,
Harden not your hearts.
Leader: In the waters of God’s saving love,
we are called to be new life
for the world.
The water before us is a symbol
of Christ, the Living Water.
To acknowledge our thirst
for true life,
I invite you to take this water
And bless the person beside you
With a Sign of the Cross …
As you do this, you might choose one
of the blessings below:
The Leader takes up the bowl of water and blesses
the person to his/her left. S/he passes the water to
that person who then blesses the next person and
so on. As they bless their neighbour, each person
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aloud:
Ę God bless you with the waters of joy …
Ę God bless you with the waters
of peace …
Ę God bless you with the waters
of compassion …
Ę God bless you with the waters
of mercy …
Ę God bless you with the waters
of freedom …
Leader: As the Baptised who were
plunged into the saving waters ...
as those who await the gift
of the saving waters at Easter ...
let us sing for joy to live
with new life in Christ ...
Up from the Waters
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Up from the waters, God has claimed you,
Up from the waters, child of light.
Praise to the One who called and named you
Up from the waters into life.
Water of life and grace and salvation:
Up from the waters, child of light.
Water that heals the heart of creation:
Up from the waters into life, into life.
Up from the waters, God has claimed you,
Up from the waters, child of light.
Praise to the One who called and named you
Up from the waters into life.
‘Up from the Waters’ by Marty Haugen
Copyright © 1997 by GIA Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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Side 1: Come, sing with joy to God,
Shout to our saviour, our rock.
Enter God’s presence with praise,
enter with shouting and song.
All:
Ę God bless you with the waters of ….
(own choice) ….
PL
If today you hear God’s voice,
Harden not your hearts.
▷ There was significant prejudice between Jews
and Samaritans. This week in your examination
of conscience (consciousness) become aware of
people, groups, nationalities or religions that you
harbour prejudice against. Ask God to soften this
prejudice and open your heart to hospitality and
dialogue. Are there multicultural, ecumenical or
inter-religious events or groups in your parish,
deanery or diocese? How could you support or
engage with these events or groups over the
weeks of Lent.
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All:
Ę God bless you with the waters
of abundance …
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Leader: Jesus, himself, is the
Living Water
who alone can quench
our thirst for life.
The life he offers us
is a ‘spring of water’
gushing up from deep within;
a spring that never runs dry.
Let us remember and give thanks
In the words of Psalm 94:
Living the Gosp
pell
Side 1: Listen today to God’s voice:
‘Harden not your heart as at Meribah,
on that day in the desert at Massah.
There your people tried me,
though they had seen my work.’
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Central focus: a bowl of water on a purple
cloth, the bible and a candle
Ę God bless you with the waters
of comfort …
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Closing Prayer
TAKE HOME
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© 2005 Trish Watts. Published by Willow Publishing Pty Ltd.
All rights reserved. www.willowpublishing.com.au
Ę God bless you with the waters
of forgiveness …
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You are a Spring of water
that never runs dry, that never runs dry.
You are a Spring of water
that never runs dry, that never runs dry.
Side 2: Come, bow down and worship,
kneel to the Lord our maker.
This is our God, our shepherd,
we are the flock led with care.
Leader: Let us offer one another
the Sign of Peace …
▷ Pope Francis writes in On Care of Our Common
Home (Ladato Si’) that ‘fresh drinking water
is an issue of primary importance, since it is
indispensable for human life …’ (28). Pope Francis
is very forthright in the introduction of the
encyclical We have come to see ourselves as [the
earth’s] lords and masters, entitled to plunder
her at will. The violence present in our hearts,
wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms
of sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in
the air and in all forms of life (2). He begins the
encyclical quoting from the canticle of Saint
Francis of Assisi. Later in the document the whole
Canticle appears including this verse:
Praised be you, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble
and precious and chaste (87).
This week research issues of water quality, justice
and pollution. Find out about local Land Care (or
other groups) who are working to protect local
streams and creeks as places of fresh and clean
water for wildlife and recreation.
▷ This week Jesus says to the disciples: ‘My food is
to do the will of my father’. Reflect and discern
on what you think is the will of God for you at this
stage of your life. Be aware of this during the week
and do an action that, for you, is the will of God.
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