The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." [John 5:15]
           
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Noontime. In Jesus’ days, at Passover, it’s when the lambs are sacrificed in the Jerusalem Temple as an expiation for sin. This takes place over a three-hour period, beginning at about noon.

Noontime. In John’s telling of the Gospel, it’s when, on Passover while the lambs are taken for sacrifice, that Jesus is taken to his crucifixion, to his sacrifice. Earlier in this Gospel, John the Baptizer — John the Testifier — speaks of Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the Lamb of sacrifice. His sacrifice takes place over a three-hour period, beginning at about noon.

With today’s Gospel proclamation, it’s about noon, and a woman goes to a well for water. She’s there regularly, but her thirst is never satisfied. Her broken life is understood by her having had five husbands: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 husbands. As the country song puts it: she’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. No wonder then that, day after day, she returns to a well with the same old water jar that neither satisfies her thirst, nor offers a true sense of healing, nor brings wholeness to her broken life.

Remember that it’s about noon, and she has an opportunity for her broken life to be healed, an opportunity to be made whole. She encounters Jesus — the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world — who offers her living water, water that truly satisfies her thirsty soul. As they talk, she owns up to her broken life. She accepts what Jesus offers her, and her thirsty soul is finally satisfied, her brokenness is healed, and her life is now whole. She no longer needs that old water jar, so she leaves it behind, goes off to tell others about this Jesus, and brings them to meet him.

She seems to know our saying: Make a friend. Be a friend. Bring your friend to Jesus. It begins at about noon, when she’s thirsty and finds that Jesus satisfies her thirst, heals her broken life, and brings wholeness to her life. Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, takes away her sin, her thirst, her brokenness.

Teenagers, here’s what it can mean for you. Everyone can feel empty or broken or weighed down by bad choices. When that describes you, know that Jesus is already waiting for you to hand it over to him. Pray for the grace you need to be open to the relationship Jesus wants to have with you.
                                                      
And when someone you know feels empty, or broken, or sad with grief …

When someone you know is weighed down by bad choices or events …

When someone you know is seeking God but doesn’t know where to find God …

When someone you know keeps returning to the well with the same old water jar, but remains forever thirsty, it’s noontime.

Jesus’ mission is your mission and my mission, too. Jesus wants to use you and me to offer them the water of grace which is the only thing that can satisfy their thirsty soul.

While they keep looking for love in all the wrong places, our mission is to speak with love about the One-who-is-love. We speak of looking for love in the right place.

While they keep thirsting for and seeking God, our mission is to let them know that God has been thirsting for and seeking a relationship with them.

Here’s another metaphor. God’s grace is like a helicopter that always circles overhead, wanting to land. Our mission is to help clear a place for that helicopter to land in someone’s life.

We all know someone who keeps going to the well with the same old water jar, but whose soul (spirit) remains thirsty. For them, it’s always about noon.

Make a friend. Be a Friend. Bring your friend to Jesus.