Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus 17:3-7 (Year A) (JB)

A reading from the book of Exodus

Give us water to drink.

Tormented by thirst, the people complained against Moses. ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt?’ they said. ‘Was it so that I should die of thirst, my children too, and my cattle?’ Moses appealed to the Lord. ‘How am I to deal with this people?’ he said. ‘A little more and they will stone me!’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Take with you some of the elders of Israel and move on to the forefront of the people; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the river, and go. I shall be standing before you there on the rock, at Horeb. You must strike the rock, and water will flow from it for the people to drink.’ This is what Moses did, in the sight of the elders of Israel. The place was named Massah and Meribah because of the grumbling of the sons of Israel and because they put the Lord to the test by saying, ‘Is the Lord with us, or not?’

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 (Year C) (JB)

A reading from the book of Exodus

This is what you must say to the children of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.

Moses was looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, priest of Midian. He led his flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the shape of a flame of fire, coming from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing but it was not being burnt up. ‘I must go and look at this strange sight,’ Moses said ‘and see why the bush is not burnt.’ Now the Lord saw him go forward to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush. ‘Moses, Moses!’ he said. ‘Here I am,’ he answered. ‘Come no nearer,’ he said. ‘Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,’ he said ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God.

And the Lord said, ‘I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal to be free of their slave-drivers. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings. I mean to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land rich and broad, a land where milk and honey flow.’

Then Moses said to God, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This’ he added ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel: “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.’

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Exodus 17:3-7 (Year A) (NRSV)

A reading from the book of Exodus

In the wilderness the people thirsted for water;

and the people complained against Moses and said,

“Why did you bring us out of Egypt,

to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”

So Moses cried out to the Lord,

“What shall I do with this people?

They are almost ready to stone me.”

The Lord said to Moses

“Go on ahead of the people,

and take some of the elders of Israel with you;

take in your hand the staff

with which you struck the Nile, and go.

I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb.

Strike the rock, and water will come out of it,

so that the people may drink.”

Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

He called the place Massah and Meribah,

because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the Lord,

saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 (Year C) (NRSV)

A reading from the book of Exodus

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,

the priest of Midian;

he led his flock beyond the wilderness,

and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

There the angel of the Lord appeared to him

in a flame of fire out of a bush;

Moses looked, and the bush was blazing,

yet it was not consumed.

Then Moses said,

“I must turn aside and look at this great sight,

and see why the bush is not burned up.”

When the Lord saw that Moses had turned aside to see,

God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

Then God said, “Come no closer!

Remove the sandals from your feet,

for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

God said further; “I am the God of your father,

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said,

“I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt;

I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters.

Indeed, I know their sufferings,

and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians,

and to bring them up out of that land

to a good and broad land,

a land flowing with milk and honey.

“But Moses said to God,

“If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘

‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’

and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’

what shall I say to them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.‘

He said further,

“Thus you shall say to the Israelites,

‘I AM has sent me to you.'”

God also said to Moses,

“Thus you shall say to the Israelites,

‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors,

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,

has sent me to you.’

This is my name forever;

and this my tide for all generations.”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Ps 102:1-4, 6-8, 11 (Year C) (JB)

R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord,

all my being, bless his holy name.

My soul give thanks to the Lord

and never forget all his blessings. R.

It is he who forgives all your guilt,

who heals every one of your ills,

who redeems your life from the grave,

who crowns you with love and compassion. R.

The Lord does deeds of justice,

gives judgement for all who are oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses

and his deeds to Israel’s sons. R.

The Lord is compassion and love,

slow to anger and rich in mercy.

For as the heavens are high above the earth

so strong is his love for those who fear him. R.

Ps 94:1-2, 6-9 ( Year A) (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.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12 (Year C) (JB)

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians

All this that happened to the people of Moses in the desert was written for our benefit.

I want to remind you how our fathers were all guided by a cloud above them and how they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in this cloud and in this sea; all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them as they went, and that rock was Christ. In spite of this, most of them failed to please God and their corpses littered the desert.

These things all happened as warnings for us, not to have the wicked lusts for forbidden things that they had. You must never complain: some of them did, and they were killed by the Destroyer.

All this happened to them as a warning, and it was written down to be a lesson for us who are living at the end of the age. The man who thinks he is safe must be careful that he does not fall.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 (Year A) (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.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12 (Year C) (NRSV)

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,

that our ancestors were all under the cloud;

all passed through the sea;

all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

all ate the same spiritual food,

and all drank the same spiritual drink.

For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them,

and the rock was Christ.

Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of our ancestors,

and they were struck down in the wilderness.

Now these things occurred as examples for us,

so that we might not desire evil as they did.

And do not complain as some of them did,

and were destroyed by the destroyer.

These things happened to our ancestors to serve as an example,

and they were written down to instruct us,

on whom the ends of the ages have come.

So if you think you are standing,

watch out that you do not fall.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 (Year A) (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 (Year A) (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!

Matthew 4:17 (Year C) (JB)

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

Repent, says the Lord;

the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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

cf John 4:42, 15 (Year A) (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!

Matthew 4:17 (Year C) (NRSV)

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

Repent, says the Lord;

the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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

John 4:5-15, 19-26, 39-42 (Year A) (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 (Year A) (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.

Luke 13:1-9 (Year C) (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Unless you repent you will all perish as they did.

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’

He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”‘

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

John 4:5-15, 19-26, 39-42 (Year A) (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 (Year A) (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.

Luke 13:1-9 (Year C) (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke

Jesus was teaching the crowds;

some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans

whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

Jesus asked them,

“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way

they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?

No, I tell you;

but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.

Or those eighteen who were killed

when the tower of Siloam fell on them-

do you think that they were worse offenders

than all the others living in Jerusalem?

No, I tell you;

but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

Then Jesus told this parable:

“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard;

and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.

So he said to the gardener, ‘See here!

For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree,

and still I find none.

Cut it down!

Why should it be wasting the soil?’

The gardener replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year,

until I dig around it and put manure on it.

If it bears fruit next year, well and good;

but if not, you can cut it down.'”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.