Daily Gospel Reflection for March 12, 2023

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Colleen O'Dowd

Today's Gospel: John 4:5-42

The woman left her water jar.

That’s my favorite line in all of scripture.

Maybe there are more important lines. But that’s my favorite. It reminds me of my perpetual marching orders.

The woman at the well is a reminder to us that Jesus doesn’t come for the faithful – He comes for the unbaptized, the uninformed, and the unknowing. And He doesn’t come to judge – He comes to us to be in an authentic relationship — first. He wants to know us personally, intimately.

We are reminded that no matter how much we think we know – we are never finished getting to know God through the person of Jesus. There is always more that we can know. And sometimes we have to be both courageous enough – and humble enough – to listen to the truth about who we have become – and leave our water jar behind to begin again.

It’s not a think-about-it-sort of thing. It’s immediate. Reckless. Scandalous. A sharp 180-degree turn. The woman left her water jar . . . and really her whole life behind and risked everything to announce the Gospel to a community that had already rejected her — after just one encounter with Jesus. They hadn’t broken her. Or perhaps her brokenness is why Jesus picked her. Jesus always chooses the underdog. The least prepared. The violently outcast. The most forgotten.

He first takes care of the woman’s human needs — relationship and belonging. Then she is open to having her spiritual needs met — and Jesus reveals Himself as the Messiah to her — an affirmation of both her dignity AND a herald of the Gospel — and then gives her a task.

Go get ‘em, girl!

Ponder:

What do I have to leave behind in order to announce the Gospel to another person?

Pray:

Lord Jesus, help me to be brave when I make known to another person my faith and love for You that my heart yearns to share.

Click to tweet:
It’s not a think-about-it-sort of thing. It’s immediate. Reckless. Scandalous. The woman left her water jar . . . and her whole life behind and risked everything — after just one encounter with Jesus. #DailyGospel

Copyright 2023 Colleen O'Dowd

Colleen O’Dowd is a parish missionary at Our Lady of Ransom in Niles, IL. She loves being Catholic; her Converse All-Stars, socks, and Crocs are always liturgically correct; and she is a super saint-geek! She blogs ultra-occasionally at www.ourheartswereburningwithin.wordpress.com and can also be found at @catholiccolleen on Twitter and Instagram.