Commentary on the Gospel of
3rd Sunday of Lent: Let’s be patient, the Lord provides.
We need to accept the fact that we are finite ‘human beings.’ It was ok that the people expressed their need for water to the rightful provider; nothing wrong with that. But the challenge is the attitudinal approach to the request. And that’s what Moses was not comfortable with. In my local language it is said that “gratitude to the giver provides even more!” The direct opposite is a big challenge in our world today!! Those who have developed a dependency syndrome make their demands as a right never to be denied. Many a time, in their self-centeredness, they fail to realize that the provider may have other concerns to attend to. This is humanly speaking! In relation to God, think of one’s impatience with God when asking. In our desperation we even forget that God watched His only Son die on the Cross: of course, for a purpose. We also need to realize that God’s silence and delay in providing for us instantly have their purpose.
In other words, faith in God goes with patience. In the second reading St. Paul reminds us that we are justified by faith and this faith in Jesus Christ guarantees hope. Logically speaking, one living in hope must be patient! Patient with oneself, with others and with God. It took the Samaritan woman sometime to comprehend Jesus’ message, thanks to her patience, obviously, animated by our Lord’s active listening.
Just watch this Samaritan woman retell her story in John’s community of believers. “Oh, I felt listened to and understood by our Lord. He really entered my world, He empathized with me,” she would have shared. This is an area of mutual growth for us all; between the needy and the provider – patiently listening to one another. God listens to us; Jesus patiently listens to us. Let’s be a little more patient with one another and with the Lord who provides for us as at when ‘it suits best’ according to His will.
