Leaving
our Water Jars Behind
The Third Sunday in Lent 2026
March 8, 2026
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Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-8; John 4:5-42
The
overwhelming theme in this passage is that we thirst and that God is the only
reality that quenches our real thirst. Moses deals with the grumbling
Israelites as they stumble through the parched desert. God provides a supply of
water from a rock to settle their physical thirst. We are not in our right
minds if we are thirsty, and many of us do not hydrate well enough. The
Israelites hardened their hearts of Meribah and Massah and they doubted God’s
care.
The
woman at the well was spiritually thirsty and the encounter with Jesus revealed
the depth of her desires for God and for liberation. The conversation with
Jesus reveals her identity, her mission, and her redemption. She becomes the
person she was designed to be from the beginning without shame, without regret,
and with great courage. Jesus also becomes the person he was designed to be
when he lay on the cross and yelled, “I thirst.”
A
detail in the Gospel that strikes me as important is that this woman left
behind her water jar. She was full, full of her restored personhood. She was
spiritually filled. Her conversion was complete through that encounter with
Jesus. This is the invitation for Lent for us because we fill ourselves with so
many things that do not satisfy. We remain thirsty until we have this needed
encounter with Christ.
We
consume in order to be nourished, and we miss the mark. We thirst because our
needs are not met. What are some of those things that we seek? Affirmation and
acceptance, the pursuit of success and a sense of belonging, positive regard
and respect from others, control over people and situations, intimacy and
meaningful relationships, and so much more. We thirst for many needs that
remain unmet. We have been trying to drink many things that are not God, and we
remain restless. We try to pray, we fast, we do good works, and we have to let
“thirst” become our prayer because only God can provide this living water.
The
woman at the well had to stay in conversation and her sarcasm moved to
sincerity. That’s what we want. Authenticity. To be seen and known. To be
valued. To be embraced at our core. The living water that we seek is a real
encounter with God that moves us to stay in the conversation. We want a
meaningful relationship with God in which we can relate comfortably and often.
We want to feel the presence of God so we know we are on the right track. We
need to stay open enough to receive what God wants to generously give to us.
God’s grace is a gift to us. Jesus reminds the woman, and us, If you knew the
gift of God…” All we have to do is ask.
Our
work is to believe in these words of the Gospel: Jesus said to her,
“I am he, the one speaking with you.” Our belief helps us to worship in spirit
and in truth, and we can be like the faithful woman at the well. We can leave
our water jars behind.
