St Mary's

Today Talk from rev'd Samuel

8th March 2026

Sermon on the Third Sunday of the Lent.

“May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you O Lord my refuge and my redeemer amen.”

Today is the third Sunday of this year’s Lent season, and we are going through the one of the most solemn and holy seasons of the church calendar, in which we try to pondermore and more on the word of God, and try to explore it more through our discussions, conversations, acts of service, prayers, and through the Lent courses, as we are having one here in our Rossendale Team.

This season, the period of Lent, as I just mentioned that it is one of the most solemn or holy seasons of the church year, and according to Kate Bruce, who is an RAF chaplain and writer, she wrote in The Canterbury Preacher’s Companion 2026 that,

‘Lent is about self-examination and honest reflection with God, and it draw us close to God.’

It is right because these forty days of Lent are so important in the church life, because these forty days nurture us spiritually.And before we try to see what today's passage teaches us, letme share a joke with you.

One night after a Lent course, a priest was walking back to vicarage when a robber pushes him to a dark corner and says,“Give me the money you have got.” The priest opens his jacket to take his wallet out, and then man sees his collar.“Oh, I’m sorry Father,” said the young man,” I wouldn’t have robbed you if I knew you were a priest.” The priest then asks,“That is okay my son, and I am sorry, I don’t have any money”. Then he took a chocolate out of his pocket and said, “But I can offer you some chocolate?” The man shakes his head and replies, “No, thank you Father. I gave up chocolates for Lent.”

So, coming back to today’s Sunday, and reading we just heard from was taken from the Gospel according to John. The Gospel according to John was written by John who was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus and he wrote this Gospel account sometimes between 90 to 95 AD, probably in Ephesus, which is in modern-day Turkey.

So, coming back to our today’s Gospel reading, and if we look at the immediate context of this passage, we could come to know that Jesus was coming back to Galilee from Judean, and for this he had to go through the Samaria, and in today’s Gospel reading it is written that when he (Jesus) was going through that area with his disciples, he stopped there for a while and then he send his disciples away and while he was sitting there, a Samaritan women came and we could see that Jesus had a life-changing discourse with her. According to an English Anglican theologian and writer, Hilary Jane Williams wrote in her Lectionary Reflections that,

“John is masterly storyteller, and this story of Jesus and the woman as the well is one of his best.”

If we recall today’s Gospel reading in our minds, we could see that in today’s passage, the woman was tyring her level best to keep Jesus away, and each time she tries to move away from the conversation they were having, Jesus drives it back towards her.

From today’s Gospel passage there are so many things on which we can ponder on, or learn, but one thing that stands out for, which I am going to share with you is that, from this passage Jesus is telling us he meets us in our circumstances. Circumstances that can be good, and the situations that are not so good. In the times when we are feeling sad or distress, and in the times when we are feeling holy and happy. He meets us in all our situations, and not just he meets us there, but he is able and powerful enough to fulfils all our needs.

The reason I am saying this, because from today’s Gospel we heard that the woman who came to well had a difficult married life. According to NIV Quest Study Bible, in Jewish-Samaritan culture, divorce could only be initiated by husband, who had to state that publicly that I am divorcing this woman. It was a shame for a woman, and that woman who came to the well she had faced that shame five times.

And I don't think she had to endure this humiliation just five times, I think she would have gone through this kind of humiliation or insults every day. Because for one, she would come to this well alone, because it was not common because women always came to the well in a group.

And secondly, the woman came to the well in the afternoon, which was not usually the case because women either filled the well in the morning or they came in the evening. And her coming to the well in the afternoon is an explanation that she was looking for something. Because as soon as Jesus told her that he could give her living water, which had a different spiritual meaning, but not surprisingly the woman was thinking on a human level. She was thinking of drawing water from the well without bucket, or she was thinking of a lifetime water supply, so she does not have to come out and to face other human beings. But Jesus was talking about, because Jesus was talking the water that can give eternal life. So, in that time when she was looking for something Jesus gave her the answer in her circumstances, in her day-to-day living.

That Jesus who meets that woman near the well, is still have power to give us the water that can give us the eternal life, but the question is, are we thirsty for that water. Jesus is happy to meet us in our situations, in our struggles, in our hardships, and difficulties.

As we are going through Lent season, let us ponder on our lives and see that where in our lives, (personal, family and church lives). Let us ponder on our lives and think about the times when he guided us, let us ponder on those times, and we have to decide what to do. Should we keep these experiences to ourselves, or should we preach Jesus like this woman? The decision is in our own hands.

God bless you all. Amen.