Third Sunday of Lent

Ps 94:1-2, 6-9 (JB)

R. If today you hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;

hail the rock who saves us.

Let us come before him, giving thanks,

with songs let us hail the Lord. R.

Come in; let us bow and bend low;

let us kneel before the God who made us

for he is our God and we

the people who belong to his pasture,

the flock that is led by his hand. R.

O that today you would listen to his voice!

‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

as on that day at Massah in the desert

when your fathers put me to the test;

when they tried me, though they saw my work.’ R.

Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 (JB)

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans

The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ by faith we are judged righteous and at peace with God, since it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God’s glory. This hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 (NRSV)

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

Since we are justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have obtained access

to this grace in which we stand;

and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

And hope does not disappoint us,

because God’s love has been poured into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

For while we were still weak,

at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person,

though perhaps for a good person

someone might actually dare to die.

But God proves his love for us

in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

cf John 4:42, 15 (JB)

Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!

Lord, you are truly the Saviour of the world;

give me living water, that I may never thirst again.

Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!

cf John 4:42, 15 (NRSV)

Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!

Lord, you are truly the Saviour of the world;

give me living water, that I may never thirst again.

Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!

John 4:5-15, 19-26, 39-42 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

The water that I shall give will turn into a spring of 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. I see you are a prophet, sir. 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.’

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.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

John 4:5-42 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

The water that I shall give will turn into a spring of 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.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

John 4:5-15, 19-26, 39-42 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to John

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar,

near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Jacob’s well was there,

and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well.

It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water,

and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him,

“How is it that you, a Jew,

ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?”

(Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her,

“If you knew the gift of God,

and who it is that 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 have no bucket, and the well is deep.

Where do you get that living water?

Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well,

and with his children and his flocks drank from it?”

Jesus said to her,

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,

but those who drink of the water that I will give them

will never be thirsty.

The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water

gushing up to eternal life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water,

so that I may never be thirsty

or have to keep coming here to draw water.

Sir, I see that you are a prophet.

Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain,

but you say that the place where people must worship

is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus said to her,

“Woman, believe me, 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 know, for salvation is from the Jews.

But the hour is coming, and is now here,

when the true worshippers will worship the Father

in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these 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”

(who is called the Christ).

“When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”

Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus

because of the woman’s testimony,

“He told me everything I have ever done.”

So when the Samaritans came to him,

they asked him to stay with them;

and he stayed there two days.

And many more believed because of his word.

They said to the woman,

“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe,

for we have heard for ourselves,

and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

John 4:5-42 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to John

Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar,

near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Jacob’s well was there,

and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well.

It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water,

and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him,

“How is it that you, a Jew,

ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?”

(Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her,

“If you knew the gift of God,

and who it is that 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 have no bucket, and the well is deep.

Where do you get that living water?

Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well,

and with his children and his flocks drank from it?”

Jesus said to her,

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,

but those who drink of the water that I will give them

will never be thirsty.

The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water

gushing up to eternal life.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water,

so that I may never be thirsty

or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.”

The woman answered him, “I have no husband.”

Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;

for you have had five husbands,

and the one you have now is not your husband.

What you have said is true!”

The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet.

Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain,

but you say that the place where people must worship

is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus said to her,

“Woman, believe me, 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 know,

for salvation is from the Jews.

But the hour is coming, and is now here,

when the true worshippers will worship the Father

in spirit and truth,

for the Father seeks such as these 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”

(who is called the Christ).

“When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.”

Jesus said to her, “I am he,

the one who is speaking to you.”

Just then his disciples came.

They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman,

but no one said, “What do you want?”

or, “Why are you speaking with her?”

Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city.

She said to the people,

“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done!

He cannot be the Messiah, can he?”

They left the city and were on their way to him.

Meanwhile the disciples were urging him,

“Rabbi, eat something.”

But he said to them,

“I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

So the disciples said to one another,

“Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”

Jesus said to them,

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me

and to complete his work.

Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’?

But I tell you, look around you,

and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.

The reaper is already receiving wages

and is gathering fruit for eternal life,

so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.

For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’

I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour.

Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.”

Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus

because of the woman’s testimony,

“He told me everything I have ever done.”

So when the Samaritans came to him,

they asked him to stay with them;

and he stayed there two days.

And many more believed because of his word.

They said to the woman,

“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe,

for we have heard for ourselves,

and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.