3rd Sunday of Lent (Year A)

Today, the elected went through the first time, the Rite of Scrutiny. They will go through three times before their baptism this Easter. We read several highly significant passages in the Bible.

In Exodus 17, we read of the story of the Israelites demanding water from Moses.
But the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and said, "Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" (Exodus 17:3)
Following the instruction from God, Moses struck the rock at Horeb to give the Israelites water to drink. Then
he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the faultfinding of the children of Israel, and because they put the LORD to the proof by saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" (Exodus 17:7) The Israelites were very human. The Exodus story blames them for putting God to the test.
In John 4, we read of the famous story of the dialogue between Jesus and a Samaritan woman.
Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water (from the Well of Jacob) will thirst again,
but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) This Samaritan woman and the Israelites in Exodus were asking for physical water. But Jesus intended to give us something far better, rivers of living water leading to eternal life, the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39). God truly transcends us.
But we are still hungry even when our thirst is quenched. During Exodus, the Israelites ate manna and quails sent from heaven. The Samaritan woman did not ask Jesus for food. But in John 6, Jesus fed 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. In the Last Supper, he gave us his body for food. Of course, this is the sacrament of the Holy Communion. Now Christians, aren't you hungry and thirsty no more? I wish to find time to reflect on this. For the moment, just for curiosity, do you know what food Jesus ate?
Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work" (John 4:34).
In Romans 5, we read of the famous lines
suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
and hope does not disappoint us, (Romans 5:3b-5a)
In a few lines, St. Paul summarizes the three theological virtues of Christians:
-- We are justified by faith,
-- We hope to share the glory of God,
-- Through the Holy Spirit, God's love fills our hearts (Romans 5:1-5).

And going through sufferings is the essential procedure to bring about the maturity of a Christian, and indeed, any person.「天將降大任於斯人也，必先苦其心志，勞其筋骨，餓其體膚，空乏其身，行拂亂其所為，所以動心忍性，增益其所不能。人恒過，然後能改；困于心，衡於慮，而後作；徵于色，發於聲，而後喻。」 【孟子‧告子下】

My God, I pray for those elected. May the Holy Spirit they will receive satisfy their thirst and carry them onward to eternal life. May the sacrament of the Holy Communion feed us, unite us closely with Jesus our Saviour. May we grow in maturity in our spirit so that, one day we will be assumed in Your glory. Amen.