LIVING WATER FLOWS FROM THE ROCK.

The readings...

"Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst? Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink. Is the Lord among us?" [Ex. 17:3-7]

"But God proves his love for us in that while we still sinners Christ died for us." [Rom. 5:1-2, 5-8]

"Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." [Jn. 4:5-42]

The homily...

My brothers and sisters, today's readings overflow in the richness of God's mysteries that were not understood in the days of Moses, these mysteries being revealed to us through Jesus Christ. In them, you see the progressive plan of God for mankind in the three Divine Presences of the Trinity.

The First Reading speaks of the rock. Strike the rock and water will come out of it. Reading from the Book of Psalms, we learn that God is the Rock. "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock and my refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." [Ps 18:2] "The Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." [Ps. 92:15] [Also Ps. 31:2, 62:2, 62:6, 71:3.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock." [Mt 7:24-5] This passages teaches us that the foundation of our faith is based on a solid Rock foundation, that being Jesus Christ. No obstacles of life can shake our living faith when it is in Christ.

In the First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul tells us that what happened in the days of Moses was prophetic of things to come. "I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ." [1 Cor. 10:1-4] This passage is prophetic in that:

- The Rock of the Old Testament, God the Father, is now Jesus Christ, the Rock of the New Testament.

- The Baptism into Moses in the cloud and the sea of the Old Testament was symbolic of the requirement of faith and Baptism in Christ that is found in the New Testament.

- The cloud of the Old Testament is symbolic of the disciplining Father that is found in the New Testament through the purifying of the Holy Spirit.

- Drinking from the spiritual Rock is symbolic of being sanctified in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The First Reading tells us, "Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Jesus was the Rock that was struck, opening the door to the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is confirmed in the words, "They have conquered him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony for they do not cling to life even in the face of death." [Rev. 12:11] Jesus is the Lamb of God who was struck. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we as saints, are called to drink of the Holy Spirit so we may be purified to become most pleasing in the eyes of God the Father.

The First Reading ended by asking, "Is the Lord among us?" Here, we hear of the old human nature that always seeks to doubt. Is God here? Is Jesus here? Is the Holy Spirit here? If so, why is the world the way it is? In the Third Reading, we are told to worship the Father in spirit, not with our physical nature. Are we doing that?

In the Book of Ezekiel, God promised to give His people a new heart and put within us a new spirit. [Ezek. 11:19] God also promised to put His spirit, the Holy Spirit, within us. [Ezek. 36:26-7] Has God fulfilled His promises? Certainly He has, this being obvious by the growth of the Church, the Body of Christ, during the last two thousand years. So, is the Lord among us? Yes, He is!

Since some fail to see the presence of the Lord among us, why is that? It is because they are striving to perceive a physical Jesus. They have not embraced a spiritual approach. They are not striving to perceive Jesus with their new heart. They are not worshipping God in spirit. They go to Church and throughout the celebration of the mass, references are made to the new spirits that God has given us. But do we all know what we are saying? When the priest says, "The Lord be with you." and you answer, "And with your spirit," what are we saying? We did not answer "And with you." but rather "And with your spirit." Those words clearly recognize the worship in spirit that is taking place during the celebration of the Holy Mass.

What is the Holy Mass? Is it not the children of God gathering to partake in the Holy Eucharist? This is how we perceive it with a worldly mind. But what exactly is happening in the invisible world of our spirits during the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? Is it not our spirits who are partaking in a great feast with the Lord Jesus in the invisible Kingdom of God that is now present on earth?

To think spiritually is to realize the fulfillment of this mystery. It is to be thankful to God in spirit for the privilege of being invited to His invisible feast. When our physical bodies partakes in the Holy Mass, we have to think spiritually, remembering that at the same moment, our spirits are rejoicing in the presence of the Lord at a great banquet. As newly created spirits through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are children of God. We are a holy people. We are members of the common priesthood, the Kingdom of God. We have been called and set aside to rejoice in the glories of the Lord that are here today and in those to come.

During today's Gospel reading, we heard Jesus say, "The hour is coming, and IS NOW HERE, WHEN THE WORSHIPPERS WILL WORSHIP THE FATHER IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH." This is the truth. We worship in spirit. Therefore, let us now continue to worship the Heavenly Father in spirit, thanking Him for all He has done for us.

Total: 1052 words

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