Ever wonder why going to church is important?

As we journey through Lent, this might be a good time to ask ourselves: “What is the ultimate purpose of our going to church? Why are we a part of our faith community? Are we engaging in a spiritual quest? Are we looking for God? Are we striving for holiness, trying to embrace the moral life? Are we seeking answers to life’s questions in a religious context?”

Hopefully, we can come up with answers that are personally satisfying and expressive of the faith of God’s people.

In John’s gospel, after Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, she believed that he might be the Christ. St. John tells us, “The woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people.”

We have to remember that St. John did not waste words. When he tells us something, there is an important reason for doing so.

The jar that the woman carried was a vessel that she used to bring water back to her house. The Samaritan woman’s need for water was a symbol of the many thirsts in her life. When she puts down the water jar, John is telling us that she finally recognizes the deeper needs in her life. She is acknowledging that what she really needs is not water, but a relationship with her Savior. She clearly saw that what she thirsted for was not another drink, nor another husband, but the God who gives her living water.

From what wells have we been drawing our water?

It is so easy to get all wrapped up in consumerism, entertainment, addictions, materialism, the exploitation of sex, the constant sounds that make up our environment. If we find ourselves depressed from “nothing to do,” we can always find some new stimulant to snap us out of our boredom.

However, the problem with the worldly well is that its water does not bring life. When its influence declines, we find ourselves needing more. We have to turn on the TV tonight and tomorrow, eat that pizza, pour that drink, or buy that new sofa. Will it bring the happiness the ads promise? How many sofas will we buy before we wake up and realize that we are drawing water from the wrong well?

When the Jews were in the desert and God provided water for them from the rock, they asked the question, “Is the Lord in our midst or not?” This is the question all people of faith must answer. If we decide that God is with us, then we have to stop going to the worldly well for the water that will never satisfy.

Is the Lord in our midst or not?

This is why we come to church and why we are church: to learn how to be a community of faith, hope, and love, to cultivate these three virtues. We might believe alone and we might keep the flame of hope alive alone. However, no one loves in isolation. Love is not a game of solitude. Just as God’s love seeks us, so our love seeks expression in special relationships, in commitment to the common good, and in solidarity with the least of Christ’s brothers and sisters.

The woman at the well rushed away from her meeting with Jesus to invite others to come and see the one who had touched her so deeply.

As we journey through Lent, let us pray that we will have the same enthusiasm and passion for sharing the Good News. When people around us ask, “Is God with us or not?” they should recognize God’s presence in our attitudes and actions of generosity and compassionate love.