Deacon Mike Meyer / Sunday, March 8, 2026 / Categories: Blog, Homilies Ask Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, Year A People ask a lot of questions. According to a February report, Google alone receives about 250 billion queries each month globally. “What day is today?” is the most frequently asked question, with 16.7 million searches. “Where’s my tax refund?” comes in at number 4 with 3.4 million searches. Not surprisingly, “What does six-seven mean?” is way down in 49th place, with only 458,000 searches, proving that we don’t really care.[1] Asking questions is a good thing. It’s how we learn, create, and innovate. It helps us grow and connect with others. Curiously, though, there are no questions about faith or religious belief among the 100 most frequently Googled questions. We seem to be afraid to question or challenge our faith. That’s a shame, because our readings encourage us to ask. Today’s readings are filled with questions, 12 altogether if we’re counting. In our first reading from Exodus, the Israelites aggressively interrogate Moses, demanding proof that God will care for them. In our Gospel, we meet the Woman at the Well, one of my favorite characters in all of Scripture, because she asks a lot of questions. She doesn’t understand what Jesus is talking about, let alone why he’s talking to her at all, so she asks, and Jesus answers. In fact, many characters in John’s Gospel ask Jesus questions: Nicodemus, the disciples, religious leaders, and Pontius Pilate, and in every encounter, Jesus answers. It’s “part of John’s strategy to call future believers to faith in Jesus, who is the [very] embodiment of truth.”[2] Catholics believe that we’re called to faith, but not blind faith. “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.”[3] That’s why God graces each of us with curiosity, a desire to learn and understand. In fact, we’re biologically designed to learn through questioning. Our brains reward our curiosity with a healthy dose of dopamine, the feel-good hormone and neurotransmitter that makes learning something new so satisfying. Why did God create us to be curious? So we can know, love, and serve God in this world and “be happy with [God] forever in Heaven.”[4] God wants us to ask questions about our faith because God wants us to love him, and love can’t be forced; it’s a voluntary act of the will. We need to decide to love God on our own, and we do so, in part, by asking questions. Loving God when life’s a bowl of cherries isn’t all that difficult, but when life gets tough, our questions and our willingness to accept the answers become crucial to developing a loving relationship with God. Take the story of the Israelites in our first reading as an example of what not to do. When the water dried up, and they were thirsty, the Israelites lost hope. Even though God’s miraculous signs, including the parting of the Red Sea, had led them safely out of Egypt, the Israelites still refused to trust and believe that God would save them again, hardening their hearts instead. And what did God do? He saved them again. Let’s turn to the Woman at the Well as an example of what we should do. The Samaritan woman is, in a word, confused. She doesn’t understand why Jesus is speaking to her and asking her for water since Jews in Jesus’ time avoided all contact with Samaritans. She can’t fathom how he could give her living water since he doesn’t even have a bucket to carry it in, and she wonders how he could possibly know so much about her past. What does she do in her confusion? She asks questions, contemplates Jesus’ answers, and grows in faith along the way. The Woman at the Well approached Jesus with skepticism, for sure, but also with an open mind and an open heart. She’s the model of faithful interrogation. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that our faith journey isn’t easy. It can be hard, sometimes, to believe that God has our best interests at heart or even that there is a God. In these times, especially, we have to ask ourselves whether we’re the Israelites or the Samaritan woman. Will we get angry, harden our hearts, and turn away from God, or be curious, ask questions with open hearts, and enter more deeply into our loving relationship with God? It’s our choice, and I warn you that a lack of resources is no excuse. While I don’t recommend Googling questions about faith, there’s as much bad information on the internet as good, there are plenty of ways to find answers to the faith questions that perplex us—reading Scripture and talking with clergy, trusted friends, and family are just a few. The best resource, though, is asking God directly in prayer. Pray before meals and bedtime, pray in your easy chair, pray while walking the winding roads of Hunterdon County. God responds to all our prayers, sometimes by giving us a sense of conviction, sometimes by inspiring us, and sometimes in silence. For as much as we may not like it, silence and mystery are answers to our questions, too. We’re not meant to know everything all at once, but that shouldn’t stop us from asking. If we approach prayer with an open heart, we’ll find the answers we need, and we’ll enter more deeply into a loving relationship with God. “Who am I?” “What’s the meaning of life?” “Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue in this world?” These questions and many more like them are important; they matter now and for all eternity, but for some reason, we’re not asking them. Today’s readings assure us that it’s OK to ask questions about our faith, and they show us how to do it, too. Lent’s a great time to overcome the stumbling blocks we face on our faith journey and cultivate our relationship with God. So as we prepare for Easter, the greatest sign of God’s boundless love for us, let’s consider whether we’re confused by our faith, challenged by its demands, or doubtful that God’s on our side. And if we have questions, ask. Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4: 5-42 As a bonus, click the link for Peter, Paul and Mary’s “Jesus Met the Woman at the Well.” [1] Brian Dean, “100 Most Frequently Asked Questions on Google (February 2026),” Exploding Topics (February 18, 2026), https://explodingtopics.com/blog/top-google-questions. [2] Stephen J. Lampe, “Third Sunday of Lent,” Workbook for Lectors, Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word: 2026, Year A (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 2025), 81. [3] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio (September 14, 1998). [4] Baltimore Catechism 6. Life Is Beautiful, Not Always Pretty Print 117 Please login or register to post comments.