Christ is Risen!
Today, on this 5th Sunday following Pascha, we hear the Gospel from the Evangelist John the Theologian about the Samaritan Woman who encountered Jesus at Jacob’s well.
In His dialogue with the Samaritan Woman, Christ began with the gift of water to lead her and the other Samaritans to a higher gift, “life giving water”, or “living water”. It was by using water that Jesus conveyed the higher meaning of new life through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The Living Water is Christ Himself in His person, teaching and saving. The Living Water is the Holy Spirit, the fountain from which flows streams of blessings. The living water is also the Gift of Grace in a Christian Heart which blossoms and becomes a spring of holiness, goodness, and love, welling up to eternal life. For it says in the Gospel (John 7:37-38), “if anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, “out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water”.
We as followers of the Risen Lord must know that life is full of gifts! A child is a gift, a friend is a gift, the sun is a gift, the sea is a gift, all of creation is a gift, including the air we breathe and the water we drink. Everything we do as His creation, in obedience to Him, is a gift. The Holy Liturgy and the sacraments of the Church are a gift from God which nourishes us and sustains us for the many tasks in our life.
Therefore, we can say Everything is a Gift, “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” to save us and redeem us!
It is God’s grace that you have been saved through faith, not as a result of your own efforts but by God’s gift. Therefore as we soon approach the Feast of His Ascension and the Great Feast of Pentecost let us renew our commitment to the One who has given us life giving water and eternal life.
May God continue to bless all of you in all your personal situations for Christ is Risen from the dead granting us salvation!
Christ is Risen!
