Third Sunday of Lent A

The following are prayerful resources rather than a liturgy.

The gospel for the day
(a useful commentary on the reading here)
Some optional questions for reflection
Prayers of Intercession
Cluster Prayer
The gospel of the week ahead with questions

John 4: 5-42 A spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Jesus came to the Samaritan town called Sychar

near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

Jacob’s well is there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well.

It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman 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,

‘What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?’ –

Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans.

Jesus replied:
‘If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you:
Give me a drink, you would have been the one to ask,

and he would have given you living water.’

‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered ‘and the well is deep:

how could you get this living water?

Are you a greater man than our father Jacob who gave us this well

and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?’

Jesus replied:
‘Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again;
but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again:
the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him,welling up to eternal life.’

‘Sir,’ said the woman ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty

and never have to come here again to draw water.’

‘Go and call your husband’ said Jesus to her ‘and come back here.’

The woman answered, ‘I have no husband.’

He said to her, ‘You are right to say, “I have no husband”;

for although you have had five, the one you have now is not your husband.

You spoke the truth there.’

‘I see you are a prophet, sir’ said the woman. ‘Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’

Jesus said:
‘Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know:
for salvation comes from the Jews.
But the hour will come – in fact it is here already –
when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth:
that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants.
God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.’

The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah – that is, Christ – is coming;

and when he comes he will tell us everything.’

‘I who am speaking to you,’ said Jesus ‘I am he.’

At this point his disciples returned, and were surprised to find him speaking to a woman, though none of them asked, ‘What do you want from her?’ or, ‘Why are you talking to her?’ The woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people.

‘Come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did; I wonder if he is the Christ?’ This brought people out of the town and they started walking towards him.

Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him, ‘Rabbi, do have something to eat;

but he said, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’

So the disciples asked one another,

‘Has someone been bringing him food?’

But Jesus said:
‘My food is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete his work.
Have you not got a saying: Four months and then the harvest?
Well, I tell you: Look around you, look at the fields;

already they are white, ready for harvest!
Already the reaper is being paid his wages,
already he is bringing in the grain for eternal life,
and thus sower and reaper rejoice together.
For here the proverb holds good:
one sows, another reaps;
I sent you to reap a harvest you had not worked for.
Others worked for it; and you have come into the rewards of their trouble.’

Many Samaritans of that town had believed in him

on the strength of the woman’s testimony when she said,

‘He told me all I have ever done’, so, when the Samaritans came up to him,

they begged him to stay with them.

He stayed for two days, and when he spoke to them many more came to believe;

and they said to the woman, ‘Now we no longer believe because of what you told us;

we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the saviour of the world.’

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Having used our prayer resources, you might want simply to reflect yourself on them and how that might flow into your coming week. Some people have found it very helpful to meet with others and share their thoughts.
If you are interested in joining a small group to share your thoughts and feelings about God's Word from any of the resources you have watched please email us. cluster.alpha@outlook.com

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

Headline: "Multi-divorcee Samaritan claims she's met the Messiah at well."

Through this fascinating conversation we learn that Jesus the Messiah comes not to conquer

but to be the source of life - an everlasting life - and makes missionary disciples out of multi-divorcees...

When you were at a low level in your spiritual life, who or what re-invigorated you?
What difference does your faith in Jesus Christ make in your life?*

* All second questions © The Pastoral Center

Prayers of Intercession

For Pope Francis, as he illustrates how we must respond to temptation to sin by recalling the Word of God and putting our trust always in the Lord who is ever ready to help us in our journey of faith.

Lord in your mercy, hear us.

For all those in leadership roles and those in positions of influence in both church and civic life throughout our troubled world, that they be guided by the Holy Spirit to make wise and just decisions in caring for our common home, the earth.

Lord in your mercy, hear us.

For all the many difficult and heart-breaking situations in our world. We ask God’s guidance in our efforts to try and support those who are suffering in so many ways. May his healing love transform situations of despair into those of hope and growth.

Lord in your mercy, hear us.

For ourselves, as we place all our hope in you, Lord. May your love be upon us as we continue our journey through Lent and seek to deepen and share our faith with other Christians in preparation for your greatest sacrifice, at Easter.

Like the sinful woman at the well, create in us such a thirst for you that can only be quenched by your ‘living water’.

Lord in your mercy, hear us.

We pray particularly this weekend for those in our Cluster who are preparing for baptism or confirmation. May they successfully complete their journey at the pascal feast of Easter.

Lord in your mercy, hear us.

As Fair Trade fortnight concludes, may we as a Fair Trade Cluster maintain our focus on and response to the Climate Crisis and its damaging effect on producers of goods particularly in the global south.

Lord in your mercy, hear us.

For those who are suffering in body or mind – may our Lord bring healing to the sick, comfort to the dying, conversion to sinners, and light to those experiencing darkness. We remember especially all those on our prayer foundation list. May God bless those who continue to care for those in any kind of need.

Lord in your mercy, hear us.

For all those who have died recently especially Ellen McPartlin, Sean Calvey, Tom O’Neil, Clare Whitehead, Frances Brown, Rebecca, Evelyn Jamieson, and all those whose anniversary occurs at this time.

May they know the peace and joy of their heavenly home and may God comfort those who mourn their loss.

Lord in your mercy, hear us.

We will now say the Missionary Prayer together.

Prayer to be Missionary Disciples

Lord continue to bless our community
in this time of transition.
Help us on our journey
to grow from a maintenance church
to a missionary church.
Give us the courage
to be missionary disciples.
Make our doors wide enough
to receive all who need
human love and fellowship;
narrow enough to shut out
all envy, pride and prejudice.
Kindle in us the fire of your love
that all who come here
will find joy, peace and love.
Make this a house of prayer
and a gateway to your kingdom.
AMEN

Preparing for next week - Fourth Sunday of Lent A

John 9: 1-41 He went off and washed himself,
and came away with his sight restored.

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,

for him to have been born blind?’

‘Neither he nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered

‘he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

‘As long as the day lasts
I must carry out the work of the one who sent me;
the night will soon be here when no one can work.
As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.’

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle,

put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him,

‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (a name that means ‘sent’).

So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said,

‘Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘Yes, it is the same one.’

Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’

The man himself said, ‘I am the man.’

So they said to him, ‘Then how do your eyes come to be open?’

‘The man called Jesus’ he answered ‘made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me, “Go and wash at Siloam”; so I went, and when I washed I could see.’

They asked, ‘Where is he?’

‘I don’t know’ he answered.

They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees.

It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man’s eyes,

so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said,

‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.’

Then some of the Pharisees said,

‘This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath.’

Others said, ‘How could a sinner produce signs like this?’

And there was disagreement among them. So they spoke to the blind man again,

‘What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?’

‘He is a prophet’ replied the man.

However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had gained his sight, without first sending for his parents and asking them,

‘Is this man really your son who you say was born blind?

If so, how is it that he is now able to see?’

His parents answered, ‘We know he is our son and we know he was born blind,

but we do not know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes.

He is old enough: let him speak for himself.’

His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews,

who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue

anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ.

This was why his parents said, ‘He is old enough; ask him.’

So the Jews again sent for the man and said to him,

‘Give glory to God! For our part, we know that this man is a sinner.’

The man answered, ‘I don’t know if he is a sinner;

I only know that I was blind and now I can see.’

They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’

He replied, ‘I have told you once and you wouldn’t listen.

Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’

At this they hurled abuse at him:

‘You can be his disciple,’ they said ‘we are disciples of Moses:

we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man,

we do not know where he comes from.’

The man replied, ‘Now here is an astonishing thing!

He has opened my eyes, and you don’t know where he comes from!

We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners,

but God does listen to men who are devout and do his will.

Ever since the world began

it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind;

if this man were not from God, he couldn’t do a thing.’

‘Are you trying to teach us,’ they replied

‘and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!’ And they drove him away.

Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him,

‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’

‘Sir,’ the man replied ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.’

Jesus said, ‘You are looking at him; he is speaking to you.’

The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him.

Jesus said:
‘It is for judgement
that I have come into this world,
so that those without sight may see
and those with sight turn blind.’

Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, ‘We are not blind, surely?’ Jesus replied:
‘Blind? If you were, you would not be guilty,
but since you say, “We see,” your guilt remains.’

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

The man born blind has the eyes of faith and has no difficulty in accepting Jesus: "Lord, I believe."

Whereas the Pharisees have 20/20 vision but are blinded by prejudice and spite.

Recall a time when someone helped you see someone/something from a different perspective.
What are you doing in your life right now to move toward light rather than darkness?*