Third Sunday of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

The power of desires! I am thinking of the last time Mega Millions was at $ 216 million. I imagined myself winning the amount. And if I did, I imagined paying off the parish debt, setting up a great Catholic school system for Dayton, and helping those who die of starvation. But I did not win. So here I am still poor and my genuine good desires dangling like a pie in the sky. But I have other desires. I wished my parents to be here for my graduation and this desire will be fulfilled. For all of us, desires are a part of our life. Some of these desires are fulfilled some of these are not. I met a couple last week who really desire a child and they don’t have one. I know somebody desired to overcome his addiction and have a family and now he is married and is expecting his first child. In particular, I want to recognize in our midst those catechumens and candidates who for a whole year had desired Christ union with the Church. This Easter God will bring their desire for fulfilment. Today’s readings introduce us to the complex nature of desire and their power in our lives. The Israelites in today’s first reading began to grumble against Moses and God because they have no water. They were thirsty for water. Now, if they had any sense, they should have known that the God who worked wonders for them, that the God who set them free, that the God who parted the Red sea could also provide them with water. But they grumbled so bitterly that Moses was scared they would stone him. Don’t blame the people. That is the nature of desires. If we do not deal with them well, they can lead us into disarray.

Desires are God’s gift to us. Desires help us to seek things that are necessary for survival, for progress and security. For example, the desire for intimacy and companionship is necessary for human survival. The desire for security is necessary for human preservation. We desire God because it is necessary for salvation. However, there are desires in us that do not lead us to God and goodness. And sometimes these desire, if not disciplined can be destructive. An alcoholic is a person whose desire is now beyond his or her control. Adultery happens because a person does not discipline their desire for pleasure. Greed comes from one’s desire to possess wealth beyond their need. People steal, lie, become corrupt to fulfil their desires. Some will even kill for what they want. And that is why in the Catholic monastic tradition the monks they spent much time disciplining their bodily desire. They were taught to desire God alone.

The story of the Samaritan woman in today’s gospel reading is the story of human desire gone array but finally being fulfilled in Christ. I am concluding from the detail that scripture gives about her. This woman desired genuine and honest relationships. For some reason it eluded her. Perhaps she was looking for it in the wrong places. The fact seems to be that that “water” that she came to draw at the well was only symbolic of her real desires... her desire for happiness, contentment, peace, love... and her desire for God. The point is that nothing gave her what she really desired. They were finally only fulfilled when she met her Savior.

The story of the Israelites in the desert and the Samaritan woman are not stories of people in the past. They are your story and mine. Who among does not desire acceptance? Who among us does not desire love? Who among us does not desire security comfort? Who among us does not desire companionship? Who among us does not desire freedom from anxiety? All of us have desires and desires are God’s gift to us.

This Lent I want to suggest three ways to make our desires lead us to the desire of all desires – God.

a) First, our little acts of Lenten penance must lead us a deeper longing for God. I would like you to think of the penance you have willingly accepted for Lent. For example, I have decided to abstain from meat and wine for all fourty days. There are times when my body craves for meat. And on a long tiresome day a glass of wine sounds heavenly. In such moments I think of Jesus in the desert. In such moments I think of the God who desires to reconcile us to himself. St. Paul says in today’s second reading, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” If, when we long for things we have given up, we remember the Jesus who gave up his very life in desiring to save us, then we too will end up like the Samaritan woman – our desire will finally lead us to Christ.

b) As we grow and mature in life one of the realization we come to is that not all our desires are fulfilled. Once again, controlling our desires during Lent should prepare us to deal with our unfulfilled desired. In other words, what we do with our unfulfilled desires may tell a lot about us. Some deal with them positively and some negatively. For example, a person who seeks promotion at work may begin to manipulate the situation. A person desiring a child may adopt another child. A person who is hurt may desire revenge or desire to reconcile. What characterizes a genuine Christian is that they use his or her fulfilled and unfulfilled desires as a means to get closer to God.

c) The story of the Samaritan woman in today’s gospel reading is the story of human desire gone array but finally being fulfilled in Christ. I am concluding from the detail that scripture gives about her. This woman desired genuine and honest relationships. For some reason it eluded her. Perhaps she was looking for it in the wrong places. The fact seems to be that that “water” that she came to draw at the well was only symbolic of her real desires... her desire for happiness, contentment, peace, love... and her desire for God. The point is that nothing gave her what she really desired. They were finally only fulfilled when she met her Savior.

The story of the Israelites in the desert and the Samaritan woman are not stories of people in the past. They are your story and mine. Who among does not desire acceptance? Who among us does not desire love? Who among us does not desire security comfort? Who among us does not desire companionship? Who among us does not desire freedom from anxiety? All of us have desires and desires are God’s gift to us.

- Fr. Satish Joseph