The water that springs into life eternal

THAT’S Jesus Christ, of course. That image of him is highlighted in that gospel episode where Christ, tired from his journey, stopped by a well in Sichar and met a Samaritan woman whom he later converted simply by talking about thirst and water. (cfr. Jn 4,5-42) 

 It’s a story that draws attention to the fact that God’s interventions in our life can take place in very ordinary, simple occasions. In fact, it occurs all the time, irrespective of how things are. 

 It brings to mind the truth of our faith that our deepest longing and thirst for unending joy, peace and fulfillment can be satisfied in the ordinary little things of our daily affairs. 

 We should just learn how to find Christ in the little things which comprise most of our day, if not of our whole life. This is not a gratuitous, baseless assertion, an act of fantasizing, of hunting lions in the corridors of the house. 

 This is as real and true as can be. Of course, it requires faith, but if we care to listen to faith, we will, in fact, find it reasonable and practicable, not something quixotic, cocooned in the realm of the abstract, the absurd and the impossible. 

 Christ is God made man. As God, he is involved in our creation, in our getting into existence. As such, since it’s existence that is involved in creation, he cannot withdraw from us, since by doing so would be like God withdrawing our existence. Since we obviously exist, ergo, he is in and with us by the very fact of our existence. 

 As God and man, he is our redeemer, the one who, in a manner of speaking, would re-do or re-create us after our original state of humanity has been damaged by our sin. 

 As such, since we all need to be redeemed at all times, he neither can withdraw from us, since by doing so would be like this God-and-man, Jesus Christ, withdrawing from our redemption. Since we need to be redeemed always, Christ is also always with us. He actually cannot help but redeem us, because of his great love for us. 

 We need to be more aware of this reality about ourselves, since we often do not realize it, dominated as we are with the merely material and sensible realities and with what is the here-and-now and what is immediately felt. We many times fail to go beyond this level. 

 As the living water that springs into life eternal, Christ is the only one that can satisfy our spiritual thirst and our deepest longing for connection with God. He offers us a life that never ends even while we are still in this world. He effects in us some kind of inner transformation. 

 And like that Samaritan woman who, when she discovered who Christ really was, went around inviting her friends to see Christ, let us also be eager to bring our friends and everyone we meet to Christ, telling them that Christ offers us the ultimate joy and fulfillment that everyone aspires for. 

 Let’s keep this apostolic zeal burning and spreading, making it as contagious as possible since what Christ offers us really gives us what is truly best for us. Like Christ, let us take advantage of all the ordinary, little events and circumstances of our life to make our friends meet Christ, the living water that springs into life eternal!

No evil can conquer authentic love

THAT’S what we can get from the story in the Book of Genesis about Joseph and his brothers. (cfr. 37,3-18) Joseph was the favorite of his father, Jacob, which made his other brothers so jealous of him that they went to the extent of plotting against him. They initially wanted to kill him, but later on changed their mind and instead sold him as a slave to some passing merchants who in turn sold him to an official in Egypt. 

 We know how the story ended, and what a happy ending it was! Joseph became a big man in Egypt, and when a famine broke out in the land, everyone, including his brothers, went to Joseph to ask for food. At first, the brothers did not recognize Joseph, and when, at last, they did, they were so filled with shame and fear that they thought they would be executed. 

 But Joseph thought nothing of that sort, and instead, with great magnanimity hugged them when his request to bring their father to him was granted. He reassured them with these heartwarming words: “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Gen 50,20) 

 This happy twist of fate is typical of God’s ways which can only be characterized by pure love, a love that remains so in spite of how things go. This was best illustrated, of course, by Christ who suffered the worst evil in the world—the killing of the Son of God himself, and yet gave the best effect—the salvation of mankind. 

 We should keep this truth of our Christian faith in mind, not because we can abuse the goodness of God toward us, but rather because no matter how deep we can fall into sin, we can be sure that God is all too eager to bring us back to him. He is willing to suffer for us. We just have to show at least a little sign of repentance. 

 St. Paul reassured us of this most merciful love of God toward when he said: “Where sin abounded, grace did more abound.” (Rom 5,20) We have to strengthen our belief in this truth of our faith. God is always in control of things no matter how much we mess up with them. He allows evil to take place, since he respects our freedom that can choose evil instead of the good. But he knows how to turn the tables on evil. 

 Yes, God is always in control of things. But we just have to be ready to tackle whatever possibilities the use and misuse of our freedom can cause or occasion. We should just be sport about this condition of our life here on earth. God is in control of everything. 

 This truth of our faith should always be in our mind even as we make use of all human means to resolve whatever issues, problems, crises, etc., we may have. We always have to use our common sense, our sciences and technologies, our culture, etc. to resolve our problems. But we should never leave God behind. 

 God may allow what is termed as the “dark night of the soul,” but that is precisely because he is giving us another opportunity to grow more in goodness and in strength. Let’s remember that God never loses any battle, much less, the whole war, unless we allow it. When we encounter some bad conditions in life, let’s always remember that we are actually given the golden chance to derive a greater good from them.

Trust in God always

ONE of the intended effects of the Lenten season is the transformation of our heart such that we trust God more and, in fact, always, rather than getting trapped in our tendency to rely mainly, if not only, on our human and natural powers. 

 This was highlighted in the Book of Jeremiah where we hear our Lord saying, “Cursed be the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm and whose heart departs from the Lord.” Then he proceeds to say, “Blessed be the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord shall be his confidence.” (17,5.7) 

 In all our affairs and situations in life, we should always go to God to ask for his help and guidance, and to trust his ways and his providence, even if the outcome of our prayers and petitions appears unanswered, if not, contradicted. 

 This should be the attitude to have. It’s an attitude that can only indicate our unconditional faith and love for God who is always in control of things, and at the same time can also leave us in peace and joy even in the worst of the possibilities. 

 Remember the Book of Ecclesiastes where it says that for everything there is a season, “a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal…” But everything is under God’s control, and even if we are capable of eternity, we just the same “cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (3,1ff) We just have to trust him. 

 We have to follow the example of the many characters in the gospel who, feeling helpless in the many predicaments they were in, earnestly rushed to Christ for some succor. They went to him unafraid and unashamed and they got what they wanted. 

 So, we need to enliven our faith, always renewing it since we all know that our profession of faith and trust in God, no matter how fervently said, can only go so far. We need to continually renew our faith in order to trust God’s will and ways when we encounter seemingly unbearable predicaments. 

 Remember that episode of the apostles in a boat that was about to sink because of the big waves. (cfr. Mt 8,23-27) Christ reproached them for their lack of faith. And in that parable of the wheat and the weeds, (cfr. Mt 13,24-30) Christ was clearly telling them and us that we should just go on doing a lot of good even if we are disturbed by many evils, because in the end Christ would make the proper judgment. 

 He assures us that with him we will never work in vain and everything would just work out for the good. (cfr. Is 65,23; Rom 8,28) He assures us that as St. Teresa of Avila once said, he can write straight with crooked lines. 

 We need to learn to trust God, and in his word and in his ways, no matter how they seem unreasonable, impractical or impossible. For this, we have to go beyond our own understanding and estimation of things, and open our mind and heart to the light of our faith and love for God and for others. 

 While it’s true that we have to use all our human faculties in dealing with our earthly affairs and concerns, that is, our intelligence and will, our sciences and arts, our common sense and cultural and social wisdom, we should not forget that all these would have no real value unless they are engaged with our faith in God.