Third Sunday of Lent, alternative reading: March 24, 2019
(but use Year A reading)
There are two Gospels for the third Sunday in Lent – the
readings from Year C (this year) or alternatively the readings from Year A,
used with people who are preparing for baptism at Easter. The latter is
extraordinarily packed, worth reading alongside the Lord’s words about the Last
Judgment in Matthew 25:31-46.
Matthew 25 has the six precepts: feed the hungry, give drink
to the thirsty, welcome strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and visit
the imprisoned. It seems to me that this passage must be read on at least four
levels: (1) literal, (2) metaphorical, (3) moral and/or social, and (4)
anagogical. (Anagogical: that’s about taking the way up, or spiritual life, or
heaven.) It seems to me that all six precepts show up in today’s reading, and all
four levels are pertinent, although not all six show up on all four levels.
woman at the well and Matthew 25
literal
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metaphor
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social
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anagogical
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hungry
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x
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x
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x
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x
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thirsty
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
stranger
|
x
|
x
|
||
naked
|
x
|
x
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||
sick
|
x
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x
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||
imprisoned
|
x
|
x
|
The reading is about Jesus meeting the woman at the well.
The reading includes the second precept, obviously. On a
literal level, Jesus wants some water, and she can get him some. But, also
obvious, he offers her “living” water; water here is a metaphor for a spiritual
life, and indeed for life eternal. (Thirsty: levels 1, 2, and 4.)
The first precept also shows up. When the disciples find
Jesus at the well, they ask if he wants something to eat. That’s literal. He
says that he has food that they don’t know about: “My food is to do the will of
the one who sent me and to finish his work.” (That’s metaphorical.) Then Jesus
talks about harvesting, about gathering crops for eternal life. That is, they
have a mission. They are called to feed God’s people. (Moral, social.) The
fields are ripe for the harvest. (That’s anagogical.)
The fourth precept is also in the story, although it’s not
obvious. In Scripture, clothing the naked is rarely literal; it’s almost always
metaphorical. The first nakedness in Scripture is right at the beginning of
Genesis: Adam and Eve sin, experience shame, and then discover that they are
naked. Their nakedness is about shame, not about skirts and pants. When Jesus
is stripped, the soldiers are not trying to make him feel the cold; they intend
to make him feel shame. In Scripture, clothes don’t hide nakedness; they reveal
the person: people are clothed in white, or in royal garments, or in majesty
and splendor. In this story, the woman has apparently been stripped naked by at
least five men – literally, but outside the boundary of this story. Jesus helps
her to bare her soul, and then he clothes her in his dignity (metaphorical, anagogical).
It seems to me that in Scripture, we find Jesus visiting the
sick – literally – quite often, but almost never visiting the imprisoned –
literally. But on a metaphorical level, Jesus does both all the time. The woman
at the well is ashamed but also weak – sick. He gives her the strength to come
alive and start talking about the things in her heart. When she talks about her
hope for the coming of the Messiah, she is healed. Clothed in the Lord’s
dignity, and healed of her broken-ness, she sets off to town to announce the
good news. This joyful proclamation comes from a heart that has been freed.
The Samaritans started to listen to Jesus because of her
testimony. But then they make their own decisions, and offer hospitality.
It’s worth noting that the discussion of thirst is personal,
between Jesus and the woman; and when Jesus heals her and frees her and clothes
her in dignity, that too is between the two of them. But the discussion of food
is communal: Jesus talks with his disciples about it. And the offer of
hospitality is also communal: the people of the town invite Jesus to stay.
The offer of hospitality is evidence of a healing. The
relationship between the Samaritans and the Jews – at least in this town, with
these Jewish strangers – is healed.
Was this Gospel (John 4, most of the chapter) written to
explain Matthew 25? Or vice versa? No! A thousand times no! The two passages
have so much in common because these are the things that matter to the Lord. In
this story, the six precepts overlap and intertwine and reinforce each other,
because this is the life that the Lord asks us to live.