Let me share the story of something that happened at a parishioner’s home about twelve years ago. And don’t worry, I have permission to tell it. After dinner, virtually everyone was in the living room, except a curious two-year-old. Her mother suddenly heard splashing in the bathroom. When she opened the door, she found the toddler dipping her hand in the toilet and making the sign of the cross, saying, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” The mother gasped: “Mimi, I know we always dip our hands in the water of the baptismal font (Holy Water) at our Church to bless ourselves, but it is not this kind of water, please, stop it!” The child smiled, blissfully unaware of how inappropriate what she was doing was. The next day, her dad constructed a special baptismal font for her at home, and filled it up with real Holy Water.
That short story captures today’s Gospel passage. God does something new, breaking expectations. It surprises us, challenges our ideas, and even embarrasses us, but it is life-giving. God’s grace often arrives in ways we do not anticipate.
Today’s Gospel passage from John 4 offers a perfect illustration. Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well shows the new thing God brings: breaking barriers, redefining worship, offering living water. Jesus crosses societal boundaries; gender, ethnicity, religion, and morality, to bring life, truth, and healing. This woman, already on her sixth marriage, meets the One who quenches her deepest thirst. The living water Jesus offers satisfies what no human solution could.
Throughout John’s account of the Gospel, we see this pattern: God doing something new. At Cana, Jesus transforms ordinary water for ritual washing into wine, the symbol of joy and abundance. At the temple, he announces destruction yet points to resurrection, transforming the center of Israelite worship into the new temple, his body. With Nicodemus, the Pharisee who thought he knew the law, Jesus speaks of being born again from above. Each encounter shatters expectations, revealing God’s new way.
This is the heart of Lent. Like the Israelites in the desert, we are thirsty, not just physically, but spiritually. Like the Samaritan woman, we have longings that nothing in this world can satisfy. And like her, we are invited to approach Jesus, leaving behind what is insufficient or imperfect to receive what is eternal and fulfilling.
We live in a world obsessed with labels, barriers, and categories. Children are quickly labeled OCD, ADD, or “disordered,” often in ways that limit their potential rather than highlight their gifts. Society is quick to judge, quick to restrict; quick to categorize. Christ challenges us to see beyond these barriers, to seek the new thing God is doing in every life. Faith is never meant to conform us to human labels, it is meant to open us to God’s creative, liberating action.
Notice something in the Gospel: the woman did not need to hear about Jesus second-hand. She had encounters. She asked questions. She wrestled with truth. And when she believed, she testified. Those who listened to her first-hand testimony believed as well, but not merely because of her words. They believed because they themselves encountered Jesus. There are two levels of conversion: believing what someone tells you about Jesus, and encountering him yourself. Lent calls us to move beyond habit, routine, or inherited faith, to seek a personal encounter with Christ.
Some of us came here today because it was familiar; maybe we walked past the church, or followed family and friends. That is okay. But God is calling us to something deeper: an encounter that is personal, transformative, and real. Lent is a season for this personal encounter. It invites us to give up what is good but not ultimate, to make space for the new thing God wants to do. The Israelites received water from the rock, but their thirst returned. Jesus offers living water that quenches thirst forever. We are called to seek this water actively, to drink deeply, and to let that water transform how we live and love.
In the midst of this transformation, notice how God works gently. He does not announce himself in loud and imposing way; he invites, challenges, and sometimes surprises. Just like the toddler, we might respond with surprise or totally unware, but God is patient, persistent, and always life-giving.
The story of the Samaritan woman shows us that grace can meet us in the middle of imperfection, scandal, and societal taboo. Jesus does not come to condemn; he comes to heal, restore, and invite us into his new way. And when we respond, we become participants in this new life. We carry the living water to others. We break barriers. We witness personally to the presence of Christ.
Finally, Lent reminds us that God’s “new thing” often interrupts our routines, our expectations, and even our comfort zones. Remember, Abram left his homeland and received a promise. Peter left his nets and gained a mission. The new thing God does usually comes with challenge, yet, it is never beyond his provision. Jesus’ life, ministry, and resurrection show the same pattern: obedience, sacrifice, and trust in God’s plan lead to eternal life.
So today, whatever brought you here, habit, curiosity, necessity, or faith, Lent calls you to go further. Drink deeply of the living water. Break barriers. Challenge labels. Encounter Jesus personally. And when you leave, carry this new thing into your life, into your family, your work, and your community. Because God does not just repeat the old; he always makes something new. If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.
Homily for 3rd Sunday of Lent Year A 2026
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