A Strong Woman

Yesterday was the Third Sunday of Lent.

I went to the 10 a.m. Mass at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle on Manhattan’s West Side. After the homily, special prayers were said over the adults who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil. (I am serving as a Godfather and confirmation sponsor for one of them.)

There were two options for yesterday’s Gospel. At the 10 a.m. Mass at St. Paul’s, the Gospel passage proclaimed was the account from the Gospel of John in which Jesus has a conversation with the woman at the well in Samaria.

It’s an interesting piece of scripture. In fact, I’d say it’s one that shows the Bible is the real deal – would an ancient propagandist have recorded that the Messiah spoke at length with a woman that the Jews of the time considered a foreigner?

Moreover, the woman at the well is a strong woman. She questions. She talks back.

I’m also intrigued by the line in the passage that notes Jesus remained with the people of the Samaritan town for two days. He wasn’t in a hurry. He stayed and visited with them.

After this, the people said:

“ … we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

Flashbacks: Third Sundays of Lent 2009, 2008 and 2007.

The image above is "The Woman of Samaria at the Well" or "La Samaritaine à la fontaine" by James Tissot. It is part of the collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art.