We are called to be Missionary disciples of Jeus

III Sunday of Lent A John 4:5-15. 19b-26. 39a. 40-42 Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” —For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.— Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water. “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.” Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him. When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

Today's gospel is for our catechumens, or now the elect of our Church. There are our brothers and sisters who are preparing to enter the church at the Easter Vigil. They enter the church with the sacraments of initiation: baptism, Eucharist and confirmation. That's why water is so important, because we know it's through the water of baptism that we receive eternal life. The Samaritan woman represents our brothers and sisters who are in the process of faith. But it also represents all of us in our journey of faith. We can clearly see their process in the gospel we have just heard. The Samaritan woman slowly comes to know who Jesus is and then she professes her faith in him. At the beginning of the encounter she calls Jesus, a Jew. Jew is pejorative as if people would say, "Today a gringo celebrated Mass." But she quickly goes from Jew to Lord, than Prophet, later Messiah and finally her profession of faith, she proclaims Jesus as "The Savior of the World." We could reflect on each of these names and the woman's journey of faith, but I want to highlight another important point of the gospel. The Gospel recounts the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. It is a catechesis. But she does not end with her profession of faith, it says at the end of the conversation, she enters the town to tell the people all that Jesus has done for her. She becomes a missionary disciple. By knowing Christ she will evangelize others. This really is the true test of disciples of Jesus, if we are missionaries, if we profess our faith. It is our vocation, we are called to proclaim our faith. And how do we proclaim our faith? The other day Father Miguel took me for a walk. We went to the Alameda. There a man was talking or rather shouting that we had to repent of our sins and profess our faith in Jesus. I don't think that's what the woman was doing when she came back to town, nor do I think that's what Jesus wants us to do. What does it mean to be a missionary disciple? On Friday there was a party to welcome me to the community of Perpetual Help here in Torreon. The leaders of the community were there, ministers of communion, lectors, catechists, youth ministers, leaders of different groups. They are all missionary disciples. Yesterday I had the opportunity to celebrate the first confession with the children of the community. Well-prepared children. Obviously, their parents are missionaries because the children did not come on their own. Their parents are the first teachers of the faith to their children. The woman in the gospel was a foreigner: a Samaritan, she was also a sinner, it says she had 5 husbands and was not living with her husband. But this woman, this foreigner, this sinner became one of the first missionary disciples of Jesus. We are called to do the same. Not only to live our faith, but also to share it.