Sunday March 20, 2022

Third Sunday Of Lent 

Unless You Repent

We all know that Lent is a time for conversion. There is much evil in the world and we know that there are also things wrong with us. These are certainly reasons for change. But the deepest reason for conversion is not the evil we see in the world and in us, nor the penalties we may have to pay for it. The ultimate “why” for conversion is God himself, that we encounter God and his love. Our faith in God and his fidelity to us and the goodness God showed us in Christ are the most profound motives to repent and to respond to his holiness and patient love.

                 

First Reading: Exodus 3:1-8a,13-15

Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.

Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”

God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”

God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”

Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”

Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey.

Then Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What do I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.’”

God continued with Moses: “This is what you’re to say to the Israelites: ‘God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.

 

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12

Remember our history, friends, and be warned. All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life. They all ate and drank identical food and drink, meals provided daily by God. They drank from the Rock, God’s fountain for them that stayed with them wherever they were. And the Rock was Christ. But just experiencing God’s wonder and grace didn’t seem to mean much—most of them were defeated by temptation during the hard times in the desert, and God was not pleased.

The same thing could happen to us. We must be on guard so that we never get caught up in wanting our own way as they did.

We must be careful not to stir up discontent; discontent destroyed them.

These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.

 

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. Jesus responded, “Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die. And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die.”

Then he told them a story: “A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any. He said to his gardener, ‘What’s going on here? For three years now I’ve come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?’

 “The gardener said, ‘Let’s give it another year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn’t, then chop it down.’”

 

Prayer

we are reluctant and slow
to make the change of heart we need.
Give us the time to understand
the extent of your mercy and your love,
which your Son Jesus showed us in its fullness
in his suffering and death.
Recognize your own Son in us
and accept us in our poverty.
Raise us up, change us,
that we may proclaim your persistent love,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

  

Reflection:

It is never too late to repent.

Since February 24, Russia has declared war against Ukraine. News Media have brought us stories of deaths of hundreds of civilians – including pregnant women and children. Pope Francis personally went up to the Russian Embassy in Rome to dissuade Russia from going ahead with the war. He had called on the faithful for prayer and fasting for peace. The Polish Catholics took to the streets, kneeling on the stone pavements and praying the rosary. Yet, despite the prayers of millions of people worldwide, the aggressors march ahead, destroying lives and livelihood.

In today’s Gospel, two tragic events are reported: a cruel suppression carried out by Roman soldiers in the temple and the collapse of the tower of Siloam in Jerusalem, which resulted in 18 deaths. These tragedies could potentially lead to two reactions from the superstitious Jews. First, they could misinterpret the incidents and believe that it was God’s punishment for some grave sin they had committed, as if to say “they deserved it”. The second reaction could be cultivating feelings of violence, vengeance, and resentment against the Roman oppressors.

Jesus however, refuses to buy the misinterpretations of the Jewish leadership. He knows that aggression, anger, hatred, and desire for revenge are useless and counterproductive. Wars are no solution for peace. God does not allow tragedies to punish people for their sins.

Seeing certain misfortunes and sorrowful events in history, we too are tempted to blame God for allowing them to happen. But, the Gospel invites us to reflect: What is our idea of God? Are we truly convinced that God wants his children suffer? The problem is, we have made an image of a god, according to “our idea and likeness”? Today, Jesus’ call to conversion is a call to change our way of thinking and to give up our stubbornness.

Unfortunately, often times we behave like the tree in the parable of Jesus. Despite the grace of God, we refuse to be productive. However, fortunately for us, Jesus is the farmer who, with limitless patience, still obtains a concession for the fruitless vine. “Leave it alone this year” — he said to the owner — “we shall see if it bears fruit next year” (cf. v. 9).

This one year is a “year” of grace – the period of Christ’s mercy offered to us as occasions of repentance and salvation. The invincible patience of Jesus! During the time of Lent, the Lord invites us to convert. Each of us must correct something in our lives, in our way of thinking, behaving, and living our relationships with others.

Have you thought about the patience of God? Have you ever thought as well of his limitless concern for sinners? It is never too late to convert. God’s patience awaits us until the last moment.

 

Video available on Youtube: It is never too late to repent.