Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid'ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed And Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here am I."
Then he said, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the LORD said, "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per'izzites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites.
Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, `What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, `The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
Psalm: Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 11
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same supernatural foo and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did. nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9
There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Silo'am fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, `Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?' And he answered him, `Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"
Reflection
By Fely Santiago
“Sir, leave it for this year also, I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down”
It’s funny, I said I need to finish today the reflection for March 3. So I prayed to the Holy Spirit, “Lord what to do you want me to reflect on?” and His words just kept pouring in. I had to delete everything I initially wrote for this Third Sunday of Lent. The initial title of my reflection was “Bearing Fruit”. The Lord changed it to "Second Chances", lessons from the fig tree.
The Lord is indeed kind and merciful. He gives us second chances. If we have not been bearing fruit in our relationship with Him, now is the perfect time. In this season of Lent, we can spend more time with Him that we may bear fruits and others will see Jesus in us. Lent offers us a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God. It is a time of GREAT GRACE. Even in our busy world, we can still find time to pray more deeply, repent for all the ungratefulness that we’ve done and failed to do, and to be more generous to those in need. Every waiting time like being caught in the traffic, waiting in line in a grocery or bus stop, is an opportune time to spend moments with the Lord. It just takes an awareness of the presence of the Lord every moment of our lives.
In which areas in our lives have we not been bearing fruit? If we are in the grace of God, we can pray for the nine visible attributes of a true Christian - the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
In my case, I need to improve in the areas of joy, patience, kindness and self-control. These are my challenges and desires this Lenten season and I cannot do it alone. I need the Holy Spirit to guide me. But I truly believe nothing is impossible with the Lord! He gives me another chance to bear the fruits of joy, patience, kindness, and self-control. So my desire is that God will give me more patience to accept the things I cannot change and out of control, to wait for the right time for things to happen, believing the best is yet to come, to take time and not always be in a hurry, learn to slow down and really enjoy each moment, to be more kind to people and accept their weaknesses, to exercise self-control when things are not in accordance with what I want. And lastly, I pray that I will learn to laugh more often and always find joy in the simple things and in all the blessings that God surrounds me. The moment that I wake up everyday, I am blessed with the gift of life, my family, the beauty of His creation, the gift of friendship, the money that is working for me, the gift of my spiritual community and the many blessings and miracles He gives me everyday! These are all sources of joy that I should always be thankful and joyful about.
How about you? Which areas in your life need bearing fruit? What are the second chances that God is giving you?
May this Lenten season produce a rich harvest in your Christian life. God is GREAT! He gives us second chances to be the person that He wants us to be, to enjoy the abundant life that He gives us.
Prayer
Lord, I know how much You love me. You always give me second chances. Help me to use Your love as a way to persevere in my Lenten intentions. I am weak, but I know with Your help, I can use the small sacrifices in my life to draw closer to You. Be with me in this Lenten journey that I may truly bear all the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-contro.l In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Reflection
By Fely Santiago
“Sir, leave it for this year also, I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down”
It’s funny, I said I need to finish today the reflection for March 3. So I prayed to the Holy Spirit, “Lord what to do you want me to reflect on?” and His words just kept pouring in. I had to delete everything I initially wrote for this Third Sunday of Lent. The initial title of my reflection was “Bearing Fruit”. The Lord changed it to "Second Chances", lessons from the fig tree.
The Lord is indeed kind and merciful. He gives us second chances. If we have not been bearing fruit in our relationship with Him, now is the perfect time. In this season of Lent, we can spend more time with Him that we may bear fruits and others will see Jesus in us. Lent offers us a very special opportunity to grow in our relationship with God. It is a time of GREAT GRACE. Even in our busy world, we can still find time to pray more deeply, repent for all the ungratefulness that we’ve done and failed to do, and to be more generous to those in need. Every waiting time like being caught in the traffic, waiting in line in a grocery or bus stop, is an opportune time to spend moments with the Lord. It just takes an awareness of the presence of the Lord every moment of our lives.
In which areas in our lives have we not been bearing fruit? If we are in the grace of God, we can pray for the nine visible attributes of a true Christian - the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.
In my case, I need to improve in the areas of joy, patience, kindness and self-control. These are my challenges and desires this Lenten season and I cannot do it alone. I need the Holy Spirit to guide me. But I truly believe nothing is impossible with the Lord! He gives me another chance to bear the fruits of joy, patience, kindness, and self-control. So my desire is that God will give me more patience to accept the things I cannot change and out of control, to wait for the right time for things to happen, believing the best is yet to come, to take time and not always be in a hurry, learn to slow down and really enjoy each moment, to be more kind to people and accept their weaknesses, to exercise self-control when things are not in accordance with what I want. And lastly, I pray that I will learn to laugh more often and always find joy in the simple things and in all the blessings that God surrounds me. The moment that I wake up everyday, I am blessed with the gift of life, my family, the beauty of His creation, the gift of friendship, the money that is working for me, the gift of my spiritual community and the many blessings and miracles He gives me everyday! These are all sources of joy that I should always be thankful and joyful about.
How about you? Which areas in your life need bearing fruit? What are the second chances that God is giving you?
May this Lenten season produce a rich harvest in your Christian life. God is GREAT! He gives us second chances to be the person that He wants us to be, to enjoy the abundant life that He gives us.
Prayer
Lord, I know how much You love me. You always give me second chances. Help me to use Your love as a way to persevere in my Lenten intentions. I am weak, but I know with Your help, I can use the small sacrifices in my life to draw closer to You. Be with me in this Lenten journey that I may truly bear all the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-contro.l In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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