Lent is an intensified time of being aware of the ways in which God is calling us, and working in us, to a deeper way of love.. One way in which God’s continues to work in the lives of people is through the invitation to experience God’s promise of salvation through the waters of baptism. Our parishes have witnessed over many years, adults who have accepted God’s invitation to explore the possibility of deepening their relationship with God and to become members of a faith community.
This year there are a group of adults from our various parishes who are looking forward to celebrating the joy of rebirth through the waters of baptism, as well as being anointed with the sacred Chrism oil at the Easter Vigil. In the company of those who have journeyed with the candidates for initiation, and in the midst of the believing community, Kylie, Trevor, Rebecca and Ray will be presented with the Apostles’ Creed during Mass this weekend. This minor ritual, which is part of the process towards initiation, is meant to highlight the importance of publicly proclaiming the faith that we have been entrusted with, the faith we believe and the faith which we are proud to profess. A faith which was given to us as a gift at our Baptism. A gift that is to be shared with those who accept the invitation to encounter God in a most extraordinary way.
The writer of this weekend’s Gospel provides us with a description of a life-changing encounter with the person of Jesus. It was the persistence of Jesus that the woman finally succumbed to letting go of the obstacles which were preventing her from receiving the gift Jesus was offering. In the quietness of the midday sun she left her jar behind, was transformed and renewed to become a witness in her community of God’s gift of salvation. Did her jar serve as a metaphor for the life she had been living? As she came to understand the person of Jesus during their encounter her life took on purpose. She took a risk by leaving her jar behind which may have represented her former self. In the following days of Lent we can ask ourselves: Are we willing to take a risk to be transformed, in search of new ways of encountering Christ in others?