Exodus 17:3-7 / Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 / John 4:5-42
It is not so often that we have to stand that long at Mass, or more precisely, that long for the Gospel reading.
In fact, the moments that we stand during Mass are not that many. Most of the time, we are either sitting or kneeling.
So, for the long gospel reading, having to stand causes some distractions, one of which is that we begin to feel tired.
Talking about tiredness, there are generally two types of tiredness.
One is the physical tiredness, which requires rest or sleep, and that kind of tiredness is usually quite obvious.
The other type of tiredness, which may not be so obvious, is the tiredness of the heart.
The heart is tired because the heart is not at rest, the heart is not at peace, the heart is troubled.
In the gospel, Jesus came to a Samaritan town and He came to a well. He was tired out by the journey, and He sat straight down by the well, obviously tired as well as thirsty.
At about the sixth hour, or around noon, a woman came along to draw water from the well.
She too was thirsty, but she was actually more tired. To come to the well at that time of the day means that she was avoiding people, and that she has something to hide.
So, other than feeling thirsty, she was feeling more tired, physically and emotionally, because her heart was troubled, she had no peace of heart.
In her encounter with Jesus, she became aware of her need for peace, a need that is deeper than the need for water or to rest.
Finally, she put down her water jar and headed back to the town to tell the people about Jesus.
She seems to have forgotten about her thirst and her troubles, because in her encounter with Jesus, she experienced Jesus as the living water of her life.
Jesus quenched her thirst, and calmed her heart, such that she forgot about her water jar and went to the people she had been avoiding.
We may not be that thirsty, but we have to admit that we are tired.
We are physically tired and maybe even more emotionally tired.
Our hearts are tired out by anger, resentment, bitterness, disappointment, shame, guilt.
Whatever it may be, Jesus Is our living water who will cleanse and refresh our hearts.
We just have to tell Jesus that we are thirsty and that we are tired.
Let us come to Jesus and sit beside Him in prayer.
It is in prayer that we will receive the healing and life-giving water from Jesus.