The example of a tired Jesus

Reflect, with me, on what St John writes: So he came to a town of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well (John 4:5-6). It is moving to see our Lord tired. He is also hungry: the disciples have gone to a nearby village in search of something to eat. And he is thirsty: A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink” (John 4:7). There follows all that enchanting conversation in which Christ’s priestly soul overflows and seeks to recover the lost sheep, forgetting his tiredness, his hunger and his thirst. Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work” (John 4:31-34).

Forgetting oneself

Jesus Christ, perfectus Deus, perfectus homo,³⁴ offers himself for our consideration, so that we might be serene in the face of the legitimate needs of our poor human nature, and learn to forget them or at least put them in second place behind the needs of souls ‒ of all souls. This will encourage us to fulfil the Work that God has entrusted to us and learn to love his most holy will, ever nourishing ourselves with this desire.