“Give me a drink”
Why does Jesus ask for a drink? Jesus is God. God does not need anything. It is true that God does not need anything, but He chooses, out of His great mercy, to be in relationship with us. A relationship requires give and take. He wants to give, to bestow his blessings on us. He also wants us to be able to give to Him, and so he generously receives from His children. In the person of Christ, God is able to give everything, even His very life. “No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” [1] In the person of Christ, God is also able to receive. He receives blessings, such as when “Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair.” [2] He also receives beatings, abuse and curses, as from the guards who, “reviled him in saying many other things against him.” [3] Jesus asks for a drink, to show us that He wants to receive from us.
The Missionaries of Charity, who have convents around the world, place in ever chapel, one phrase, “I thirst.” Why? Each day when the sisters pray they want to be reminded of the humanity of Christ. What was He thirsty for even though He needed nothing? He is thirsty for us! He thirsts for our soul. The sisters are reminded, that not only does Jesus thirst for our soul, but that He is thirsty in the person of the poor.
Who are the most poor? the most vulnerable? How can we see Christ in the most vulnerable?“Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?” [4] “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” [5] To serve the most vulnerable is to serve Christ. The poor and the young are some of the most vulnerable in society. This is why service to the poor and the young is a condition of discipleship. “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple – amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” [6] We also cannot forget the poor souls in purgatory. When we with devotion and intention, dip our hand in the holy water font, this one drop of holy water relieves their pining souls.
How was Jesus vulnerable at the well? At the well., Jesus was “tired from his journey” and it was about noon so He would have been very hot. He was alone - “His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.” He was a stranger in a strange land. In the midst of the heat, when He was tired, alone and a stranger, He asks for care. He does not ask for care because He needs it. He is Jesus, and can satisfy Himself and others. He asks for care in order to give the woman, and us, the opportunity to care for Him, to love Him. This is similar to a mother who can cook a meal completely by herself, but she might decide out of love to ask her children to help her cook. The fact that her children are assisting her might actually slow her down. She could probably cook faster alone, but she wants to give the children an opportunity to assist, to love and help her. In the temptation in the desert, the devil temps Jesus to satisfy Himself by turning a rock into bread. [7] He was vulnerable in the desert as he had just fasted for forty days and nights. In the desert, Jesus does not satisfy Himself but rather allows His father to satisfy Him. There is a popular quote that says, “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” Jesus shows us it is okay to ask for help and to learn. If we go for the quick fix we do not learn and grow. Once again, at the well, Jesus could satisfy Himself, but instead, He allows man to satisfy Him, to serve and love Him.
How does Jesus let man serve Him at the well? He teaches us at the well the importance of serving both the body and the soul. He allows the woman to draw water for Him and give Him a drink. He allows the disciples to serve Him by going into town to buy food. They too would have been hot and tired from a long journey and strangers in a different land. The disciples are faithful in service and come back from town with food and urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” The woman gives Him drink, the disciples give Him food. The lesson Jesus teaches the woman, the disciples and us, is the same lesson that He teaches satan in the desert, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” [8] Jesus says to the disciples, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.” [9]
We must have a hunger and thirst for righteousness. We cannot do the will of God and finish His work if we do not have zeal, passion, and drive - a deep hunger and thirst. Jesus is challenging us to hunger and thirst for God’s will and work, in the same way we hunger and thirst for food and drink. In this season of Lent, we fast and it is in our fasting that we understand more our desire to satisfy the body and its needs. Our fasting should also be a reminder to us that our soul also has needs that can only be satisfied by God. At the well Jesus says that His “food is the will of God” and that He must “finish his work.” Jesus practices what He preaches by living these words out on the Cross. Jesus speaks seven phrases while being crucified; the final two phrases are a connection to the well. He cries “I thirst” [10] and “It is finished.” [11] The first phrase is his motivation, the second is the completion.
How do we satisfy both the physical and spiritual needs of other people and of ourselves? In the Church, we are taught the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. There are seven corporal or physical works of mercy and seven spiritual works of mercy. This Gospel is a call to both the physical and the spiritual works of mercy.
What are the seven corporal works of mercy? [12] Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Shelter the homeless. Visit the sick. Visit the imprisoned. Bury the dead.
What are the seven spiritual works of mercy? [13] Counsel the doubtful. Instruct the ignorant. Admonish the sinners. Comfort the afflicted. Forgive offenses. Bear wrongs patiently. Pray for the living and the dead.
Where do we see examples of the works of mercy in this Gospel?
Where do we or can we begin to see and live out the works of mercy in our life?
At the well, Jesus teaches us that we must have the motivation, the desire, the hunger and thirst and that we must bring that desire, hunger and thirst to completion. The disciples bring Jesus food, but they learn that the true food is to know God’s will and to bring it to completion. Like the disciples, the woman at the well first serves Jesus’ physical needs, but then “left her water jar and went into the town.” She left the physical for the spiritual. She left to evangelize and her boldness in evangelizing bore fruit. She said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” Not only did she give Jesus water but, she was the instrument, the means by which more souls would come to know Him. It was these souls that He was truly thirsty for.
What helps us to know the will of God and bring it to completion? The gifts of the Holy Spirit are received at Baptism and strengthened at Confirmation. Two of these gifts especially help us to know the will of God (Knowledge) and bring the will of God to completion (Fortitude). Why do we receive the gift of Knowledge? We receive the gift of knowledge to enable us to discover the will of God in all things. [14] Why do we receive the gift of Fortitude? We receive the gift of Fortitude to strengthen us to do the will of God in all things. [15] In the Student’s Prayer by Saint Thomas Aquinas, we pray “Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in the completion.” This simple prayer can be prayed in all areas of life from a sports game, academic project to the discernment of one’s vocation.
[1] John 15:13
[2] John 12:2
[3] Luke 22:65
[4] Matthew 25: 37
[5] Matthew 25: 40
[6] Matthew 10:42
[7] Matthew 4:3
[8] Matthew 4:4
[9] In the Gospel Reading of this Link to Liturgy packet
[10] John 19:28
[11] John 19:30
[12] Compendium: Catechism of the Catholic Church; Appendix B
[13] Compendium: Catechism of the Catholic Church; Appendix B
[14] Baltimore Catechism, No. 3; Question 702
[15] Baltimore Catechism, No. 3; Question 703