Third Sunday of Lent 2020

The Samaritan woman has no name, but the Eastern Church has given her the name Photina (light bearer). But before she becomes 'a light bearer' she encounters Jesus. It seems that two cultures meet... with a history of splitting, two groups who don't engage each other yet claim their heritage back to Jacob the patriarch.

At this moment what appears to be a simple request for water is a turning point, a deeper understanding of giving and receiving. Jesus' simple request for water opens for her a thirst, a longing that has not been fulfilled in marriages. When she moves beyond her sarcasm, she receives not only living water but Jesus himself. She is open to this gift, the prophet of promise. She becomes a light bearer to her people. 'He has told me everything I have done.'  The power of one becomes the power of many. They welcome Jesus, his instruction, his delight at their hospitality. In short, they become a fuller community believing and bearing lights to each other.

We are lights as we accompany those in darkness, the lonely, the lost and we evangelize by sharing and breaking bread with others. I go to a prison every Thursday and the 'bread' I share with the men is a new light among those who were once strangers and are now brothers. The light breaks through, we simply need to carry it.