<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19019">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.cruzblanca.org/hermanoleon/sem/a/cua/03/03cuaresma.htm"><FONT
color=#000000
size=4>http://www.cruzblanca.org/hermanoleon/sem/a/cua/03/03cuaresma.htm</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>She is not a prostitute. She doesn't have a shady past. Yet
when millions of Christians listen to her story this coming Sunday in church,
they are likely to hear their preachers describe her in just those
terms.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Jesus at no point invites repentance or, for that matter,
speaks of sin at all. She very easily could have been widowed or have been
abandoned or divorced (which in the ancient world was pretty much the same thing
for a woman). Five times would be heartbreaking, but not impossible. Further,
she could now be living with someone that she was dependent on, or be in what's
called a Levirate marriage (where a childless woman is married to her deceased
husband's brother in order to produce an heir yet is not always technically
considered the brother's wife). There are any number of ways, in fact, that one
might imagine this woman's story as tragic rather than scandalous, yet most
preacher's assume the latter.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose/misogyny-moralism-and-the_b_836753.html"><FONT
color=#000000
size=4>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-lose/misogyny-moralism-and-the_b_836753.html</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>David Lose</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>There is no reason to think that this story does not refer to
an event that happened during the life of Jesus, especially since a conversation
between him and a Samaritan woman would have been a bit shocking in the early
Church. However, in its present form it is a theological reflection in dramatic
form, indeed one written by a very skilled dramatist. It is not impossible that
in fact this was a one act liturgical play acted out by the very early
Christians as part of the baptismal ritual. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.agreeley.com/homilies96/mar1096.html"><FONT
color=#000000
size=4>http://www.agreeley.com/homilies96/mar1096.html</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Andrew M. Greeley, 1996</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><FONT
size=4 face="Times New Roman">So a committee of the parishioners went to see the
pastor to protest letting these “non-Catholics” into the Catholic school.
They’re Catholics, the pastor said. They’re Iraqi, They’re Caldees send the
pastor. What’s a Caldee? Iraqi Christians. They were Christians when we Irish
were still paining out faces blue. They have a parish down town, but the family
moved out here so they could send their kids to a Catholic school. The older
girl is quite a basketball player. They made a big donation to the parish. They
own a string of camera stores. The committee went home, thinking that the pastor
had been joking with them. They looked of Caldee on the net. Sure enough they
were Catholics. They wondered why all Catholics couldn’t look
alike!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.agreeley.com/hom05/feb27.html"><FONT color=#000000
size=4>http://www.agreeley.com/hom05/feb27.html</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Andrew M. Greeley, 2005</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Leslie Weatherhead was an air raid warden during the terrible
days of the London blitz back in the early 1940's. ... He went around some
ruins and there to his amazement, he saw an eight-year-old boy sitting and
sobbing on what had been a building. ...At that point, Leslie Weatherhead
stooped over and got eye level to the little fellow and said, "Tell me, son,
tell me, who are you?"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>With that the little boy began to cry even more compulsively
and then he said through his tears, "Mister, I ain't nobody's nothin'. I ain't
nobody's nothin'."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Leslie Weatherhead said that if he lived to be a hundred, he
didn't think he would ever forget the poignancy of that sight -- a little boy
sitting in the midst of chaos, feeling he was unconnected, unimportant to
anybody else in the world. That condition is a terrible denial of one of the
constituent needs of our human nature. We need to be loved; we need to be cared
for; we need to know that what happens to us makes a difference to someone else.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/claypool_3716.htm"><FONT
size=4>http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/claypool_3716.htm</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>John Claypool, 1994</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>When God looks into our souls, sees our dark side, divines our
secrets, knows our guilt, discerns our motivations, and loves us anyway, is this
not the living water that renews us and remakes us? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="http://day1.org/2755-he_gets_me"><FONT
size=4>http://day1.org/2755-he_gets_me</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>David Sapp, 2011</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><SMALL><FONT size=4>The story of the Samaritan woman at the well
is the longest conversation in the Gospels. It is an amazing story -- not unlike
Mary's. It is a wonderful story of the encounter between a physically thirsty
Christ with the spiritually thirsty Samaritan woman. There are several
"connecting" points between this ancient story and our lives today. I
would encourage you strongly to read and ponder this story during the
week. Meanwhile, here are a few clues to understanding the
story.</FONT></SMALL></DIV>
<DIV align=left><SMALL><FONT size=4>* Christ meets us where we are. The
meeting at the well was a "chance encounter" only for the woman. With God
there are no "chance encounters" -- but only the chance to encounter Christ
anytime -- anywhere.</FONT></SMALL></DIV>
<DIV align=left><SMALL><FONT size=4>* Christ accepts us as we are. Jesus
didn't come scolding! In fact he didn't even bring up the woman's living
situation until late in the conversation. Even his disciples were surprised to
see him talking to a woman -- a Samaritan woman -- in the heat of the
day.</FONT></SMALL></DIV>
<DIV align=left><SMALL><FONT size=4>* Christ has a gift for anyone who will
receive it. "If you knew who I was, you would ask for living water."
(Water of life -- the kind of water Mary discovered.)</FONT></SMALL></DIV>
<DIV align=left><SMALL><FONT size=4>* The only barrier is not knowing who he is.
I wonder sometimes how many Mary's there are out there who have been a
part of the church -- even a very active part -- but have missed out on the gift
for lack of knowing that Christ is present, and available and wanting to give
this gift.</FONT></SMALL></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.lectionarysermons.com/mar993-07.html">http://www.lectionarysermons.com/mar993-07.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>John Jewell,<SPAN lang=en-us> 1999</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>He was still shivering from the cold; his clothes were thin.
He had no gloves, no hat, no topcoat. I suspect he had not eaten in several
days. As I passed him on the sidewalk, our eyes met, and when they did, I knew I
would have to stop for a moment to speak to him and ask if there was anything I
could do. He didn't ask for much. He didn't want a coat or a better place to
stay. He didn't even ask if I had any food vouchers from one of the neighborhood
delis. I reached in my pocket, thinking I would give him a couple of quarters
for a hot cup of coffee. But he seemed not to want anything that might make his
life more comfortable on this cold morning on the streets of the
city.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><FONT size=4>"No, Father," he said, "all I need for you to do is to give me a
blessing." "Give you a blessing?" I asked, somewhat surprised by his request.
"Yes, that's all," he said, "a blessing." So I knelt down beside him on the
sidewalk, said a prayer with him and laid my hands upon his head and gave him a
blessing. With a peaceful look upon his face, like he had received a gift that
he had been waiting for for a very long time, he picked up his cardboard bed and
a little bag of belongings and walked haltingly down the street in the opposite
direction.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=4>Unlike many of the street people in our neighborhood that I saw
day after day, I never saw him again. He simply took his blessing and went on
his way, but those few moments changed my life forever.</FONT></P>
<P><A href="http://day1.org/580-of_wintry_mornings_and_water_wells"><FONT
size=4>http://day1.org/580-of_wintry_mornings_and_water_wells</FONT></A></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>J. Neil Alexander </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4>It never ceases to
amaze me that my body is composed of seventy percent water. It is hard to
imagine that seventy percent of the flesh standing before you today is water.
That means about 154 pounds of water is standing before you right now. I am not
going to tell you what I weigh but I can guarantee you that 70% of my body
weight and your body weight is composed of
water.<SPAN> </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=4>There are two and
a half quarts of water in my blood. There are fifteen quarts of water in the
extra plasma in my body. There are thirty quarts of water in the cells of my
body, allowing all those little cells to grow. It always amazes me that 154
pounds of water are standing before you today at this moment. Truly, I am living
water.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_living_water.htm">http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_a_living_water.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Edward F. Markquart</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=4>God is Spirit, and those who worship God must
worship in spirit and in truth, <FONT
face="DLOOBM+TimesNewRoman,Times New Roman"><FONT
face="DLOOBM+TimesNewRoman,Times New Roman">says Jesus in the Gospel of John,
when Photini—that is the name by which the Samaritan woman is called in the
Orthodox Church, affirms that she is open to the coming Messiah. Her name means
"the Enlightened One." </DIV></FONT></FONT></FONT>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.eds.edu/CURRENT/PDF/Sermons/showing.pdf">http://www.eds.edu/CURRENT/PDF/Sermons/showing.pdf</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT size=4>Angela Bauer </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman',Georgia,Times; FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><FONT
size=4>Water, water, everywhere<BR>And not a drop to drink!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman',Georgia,Times; FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><FONT
size=4><></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman',Georgia,Times; FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; FONT-STYLE: normal; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman',Georgia,Times; FONT-SIZE: 16px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><FONT
size=4>The fact that we make assumptions about the woman's morality based on her
marital situation is not supported by the story. And what we assume may tell us
more about ourselves than about her!</FONT> </SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.sermonsuite.com/content.php?i=788022517&key=ityru7xozBWdmp6y"><FONT
size=4>http://www.sermonsuite.com/content.php?i=788022517&key=ityru7xozBWdmp6y</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Richard L. Sheffield</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT
size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>