By Quin Hillyer at PJ Media;
We’ve all heard the warning against going to the same well once too often, but this week’s traditional readings remind us of what we miss if we refuse even to consider a well that is just waiting to be tapped.
In Exodus, the Hebrews were just short of open revolt against Moses and the Lord, complaining about their thirst, until Moses struck the rock at Horeb to produce the flowing water they needed but had not trusted Moses actually to provide. In the Gospel, Jesus eschewed the Hebrews’ strong anti-Samaritan tradition (and their customs in Jesus’ time against men conversing with unaccompanied women in public) in order to draw from Jacob’s well.
Such acts of faith are all too rare. All too often we see (figuratively speaking) the Lord waiting patiently to provide but never being asked to do so, never being turned to with full faith, but instead ignored or deliberately excluded as a potential source of aid.
So many people, being uncomprehending of the sometimes subtle nature of God’s relief, believe either that no relief is possible or that relief will come only accompanied by harsh judgment. Desiring none of the latter (and not understanding that even in God’s judgment comes God’s mercy), the sufferer turns away entirely and thus remains in distress, his thirst or other need unrequited, the available solace unredeemed.
Often this happens despite the powerful witness of tens, hundreds, thousands, even millions of the faithful, all carrying the message of how faith can relieve suffering and quench a thirst….
(continued) …..
The hope is not a false one, and indeed the hope itself helps bring about the hoped-for redemption because without the hope, we often don’t even recognize the redemption when it is offered…..
For the rest, please read here.
