By Clement Harrold

February 26, 2026

The first two Sundays of Lent always provide us with the same set of readings: the testing in the desert and the transfiguration, respectively. When we arrive at the Third Sunday, however, we begin to get more variety depending on what liturgical year we are in.

Since Lent 2026 falls in Year A of the lectionary cycle, this year’s Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent is John’s account of Christ’s encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (see John 4:1–42).  

This powerful Scripture passage also forms part of the material for Episode II of Bible Across America, which you can view here.

In this blog post, we’ll look more closely at the lessons that Christ’s meeting with the Samaritan woman provides us in our Lenten journey.  

A Betrothal Scene

More than any of the other evangelists, St. John portrays Jesus as a spiritual bridegroom.  

This motif is on full display in the meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well.

For starters, there’s the setting in which this scene takes place. Anyone familiar with the Old Testament knows that the wives of Isaac (see Gen 24:10–67), Jacob (see Gen 29:1–30), and Moses (see Exod 2:15–21) were all first encountered at a well.  

This detail preps the reader to understand that Jesus, described in the previous chapter as “the bridegroom” (John 3:29), is deliberately seeking out the Samaritan woman in order to make her His spiritual bride.  

Another significant detail is the fact that the Samaritan woman has had repeated marital failings:  

“You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly” (John 4:17–18).  

In this way, the woman’s personal story parallels the historical experience of the Samaritan people as a whole. From 2 Kings 17:24–31 we know that the Samaritans intermarried with five pagan tribes, each of whom worshipped a different male deity.  

These idolatrous practices were loudly condemned by northern prophets like Hosea, who accused the wayward northern Israelites (including the Samaritans) of a form of marital infidelity in their covenant with Yahweh.  

At the same time, the prophet offered a message of hope that the true God would one day call all Israel back to Himself:  

“And I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord” (Hos 2:19–20).

The promise that God makes through the prophet Hosea begins to be realized in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. And it begins to be realized in our own lives, too, when we hear the Bridegroom’s voice and respond to His call.  

Jesus Meets Us Where We’re At

Both the Samaritan woman and the disciples express surprise at Christ’s willingness to talk with her.  

When He first asks her for a drink, she responds, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (John 4:9). And when the disciples return after going away to buy food, we are told they “marveled that he was talking with a woman” (John 4:27).  

For a Jewish rabbi to be talking alone with a woman was considered inappropriate. The fact that she was a Samaritan woman made things significantly worse.  

Samaritans lived in the geographic region of Samaria, the hill country centrally located between Judea in the south and Galilee in the north. Samaria was historically part of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, but following the Assyrian conquest of northern Israel in 722 B.C., the Samaritans became a mixed ethnic and religious population.  

In terms of theology, they only accepted the first five books of the Bible, and their center of worship was Mount Gerizim, located near the ancient city of Shechem.  

From the Samaritan perspective, they were the true descendants of the northern tribes of Israel who had preserved authentic Mosaic religion.  

In the first century, relations between Jews and Samaritans were so bad that Jews living in the north would sometimes avoid Samaria altogether when travelling down to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festivals. 

This required a longer journey and could only be achieved either by hugging the Mediterranean coastline and passing via the port town of Caesarea Maritima or else crossing the Jordan River and working one’s way along the Jordan Valley, eventually re-crossing the river near Jericho.

Interestingly, on this occasion St. John tells us that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria” (John 4:4) on His return journey from Judea to Galilee.

Perhaps all that is meant by this remark is that Samaria offered the most direct route.  

In any event, what is clear is that Jesus wanted to come this way so that He could meet the Samaritan woman in her native place. And so it was that in the midst of her humdrum daily duties, the Samaritan woman met the spouse of her soul in the unlikeliest of places, and when she least expected it.

God Thirsts for Us  

We’ve already mentioned the Samaritan woman’s checkered marital status.  

There is an additional detail in the narrative which suggests she may have carried a burden of shame as a result of her past (and present) failings.  

St. John informs us that it was “about the sixth hour” (John 4:6), or noon. What makes this detail strange is that this would have been the hottest part of the day—not the usual time for going to draw water, unless you’re hoping to avoid meeting anybody.

Fortunately for her, she did meet Somebody, and that encounter changed everything.  

For so many years this daughter of Samaria had sought happiness and fulfillment in her sinful human relationships, only to come away still thirsting for something more. But now sitting before her is the One whose thirst is so much greater than her own.

The Catechism expresses this mystery beautifully in its section on prayer:

2560 “If you knew the gift of God!” [John 4:10] The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.

By asking the Samaritan woman to give Him a drink, Jesus doesn’t simply ask her for a cup of water. He asks her for her heart. It was by responding to this invitation that she finally received freedom from the regret and shame that had crippled her soul for so long: “He told me all that I ever did” (John 4:39).

In this pivotal moment, the Samaritan woman realizes that she is known, that she is loved, and that her life can never be the same again.