Third Sunday of Lent 2026
“I don’t like going to church because it’s filled with hypocrites.” That’s a line many people have heard over the years. And if we’re honest, it’s not entirely wrong. The church is filled with people who believe the Gospel, struggle to live it, fall short, and keep coming back anyway. But today’s Gospel invites a deeper question: why would that keep someone away from Jesus? The Samaritan woman at the well gives every reason to stay away. She has a reputation. She carries a complicated past. She comes to the well alone, at noon, in the heat of the day—almost certainly to avoid other people. Even the disciples are shocked to find Jesus speaking with her. Not because she is talking to him, but because he is talking to her . That reaction matters. It reveals something uncomfortable but very human. There are people who surprise us when they show up near Jesus. There are people whose presence in church still causes raised eyebrows. And yet, those are often the very people Jesus seems ...