WATER IS LIFE AND LOVE: NO WATER; NO LIFE, NO LOVE.

 Sunday, March 12, 2023

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT 

First Reading.  Ex 17: 3-7 
Psalm. 95: 1-2, 6-9 (R. cf. 7d, 8a) 
Second Reading. Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8
Gospel. John 4: 5-42

TOPIC FOR REFLECTION 

WATER IS LIFE AND LOVE: NO WATER; NO LIFE, NO LOVE. 

By
nature... 

With rain, you become cold but with the sun, you feel the heat

Low temperature is a result of cold weather, while high temperature is a result of hot weather. 

Coolness is derived from Water, just as heat is derived from fire. 

Coolness brings calmness and comfort, while hotness brings discomfort. 

With Humanity... 

When you are hungry, once you eat, the hunger disappears. 

When you are thirsty, once you drink water, the thirst is quenched. 

When you long to acquire what you do not have, once you acquire it, your longing disappears. 

Connecting with the Divine God... 

Without God is troubled mind, but with God is mind calmness 

Longing for God is searching for light, finding God is fulfillment. 

Blood and Water keep a man alive, just as blood and water from the side of Jesus won salvation for us. 

So, in life... 

1. The importance of water can not and will never be overemphasized. 

2. Water is life, and no one can survive without water. 

3. More reason for the general saying that water has no enemy. 

Therefore... 

1. The importance of God in Humanity can not, and will never be over emphasized. 

2. God is living in us. Our breath is God in us. Cf. Gen. 2: 7. So remove the breath from man, man ceases to exist. Invariably, no one can survive without God's breath. 

Finally, 

3. Since God has no enemy, water does not have an enemy either. 

Here are some among many, the spiritual symbolic importance of water in the Bible. 

Water is a symbol of love, faith, and salvation. 

1. Gen 1: 2.... The Spirit hovers over the water.

2. Is. 12: 3... With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 

3. Is. 44: 3... I will pour water on thirst land...

4. John 3: 5... No one can enter heaven unless born of water and spirit. 

5. Matt. 3: 11... Water is a symbol of repentance. etc. 

Explaining further the spiritual significance of water, 

***The Israelites cross through the red sea, a symbol of cleansing from slavery into freedom; from sinfulness into holiness. Cf. Ex. 14

***Water is used for baptism to wash away original sin and to make us children of God. 

Therefore, the church in today's liturgy wants us to reflect on God's inherent love for us which according to the second reading, made Christ die for us on the cross of calvary, and on this cross, He shed his water and blood as a remission for our sins. 

 Still, God from the beginning made water the source of life and salvation, and Jesus sealed it with His blood and water. 

God, according to the creation story, saw that the earth was void, but filled with water which He gave life to through His Spirit which hovers over the water. God saw the water and made use of it to sustain all He created in the universe. Hence, the water became life, 

This is to bring to mind that God values nature since antiquity, He makes use of nature for the benefit of man. 

Hence, God made use of water to sustain all He had created, especially the living things

In simple logic, life drops when there is no water in the body, while it is revived once there is water in the body. 

So, this is the reason the Israelites cried for water in the wilderness because life was about to drop from them, while the woman who went to fetch water to sustain her life met Jesus who is the fountain of life, and after listening to Jesus, she longed for the water of life, and even call her neighbors to share in the Fountain of life. 

Invariably, Jesus the fountain of life showed the Samaritan woman love, and as the living water of life, He calmed her spirit. 

So, in summary, water is love and life. 

Water sustains life, and water that sustains life is love. 

Hence, Jesus the fountain of life became the epitome of love by sacrificing His life on the cross with the shedding of His water and blood as a covenant seal for our salvation. 

Peace ✌️ be with you. 

Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS. 

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