Third Sunday of Lent
28 February 2016
Moses was looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law priest of Midian. He led his flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the shape of a flame of fire, coming from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing but it was not being burnt up. ‘I must go and look at this strange sight,’ Moses said, ‘and see why the bush is not burnt.’ Now the Lord saw him go forward to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush. ‘Moses, Moses!’ he said. ‘Here I am,’ Moses answered. ‘Come no nearer,’ he said. ‘Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers,’ he said, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God.
And the Lord said, ‘I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal to be free of their slave-drivers. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings. I mean to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land rich and broad, a land where milk and honey flow, the home of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.’
Then Moses said to God, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This’ he added ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel: “I Am has sent me to you.”’ And God also said to Moses, ‘You are to say to the sons 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 all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.’
Psalm Psalm 102:1-4,6-8,11
| Second reading 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12 |
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I want to remind you, brothers, how our fathers were all guided by a cloud above them and how they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in this cloud and in this sea; all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them as they went, and that rock was Christ. In spite of this, most of them failed to please God and their corpses littered the desert.
These things all happened as warnings for us, not to have the wicked lusts for forbidden things that they had. You must never complain: some of them did, and they were killed by the Destroyer.
All this happened to them as a warning, and it was written down to be a lesson for us who are living at the end of the age. The man who thinks he is safe must be careful that he does not fall.
Gospel Luke 13:1-9
Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’
He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’
Reflection
Fr Anong was assigned to a big parish in the city. Since he began his ministry, people saw him as a zealous minister, an eloquent preacher, and an effective leader. Apart from having a lively celebration of the sacraments, this priest organised seminars, talks, recollections, etc. to educate his parishioners.
One day, he came to visit Lolo Tasyo, an old man who was very ill, to administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The priest was accompanied by a few manangs (older women known for their active participation in church day in and day out) who knew the old man. They were welcomed by Lola Alice. After returning to church, Fr Anong confronted his companions. "I have been with you for five years already and you still haven't learned what I have taught you!", he told the women. “Bakit po, Father?” (Why, Father?), asked one of the women. “Lolo Tasyo has been living with Lola Alice without the blessing of the Church! Now the poor man is about to die. Why did no one tell me about this beforehand?”, he lamented.
I sometimes identify myself with those manangs or with that fig tree in today's Gospel. Though immersed in prayer and other religious activities for years, there are moments when I am not meeting God’s expectations. He taught me how to love and yet I am full of hatred. He taught me how to be generous, but I kept counting on the costs of giving. He taught me how to be grateful, but I have been envious of others’ blessings. He taught me humility, but I kept on staying in my ivory tower.
Today’s Gospel is a wakeup call for us to change, to become more pliable to Jesus the Gardener so as to bear fruit abundantly.
Merciful Father, thank You for putting up with our fruitlessness. Through Your Son Jesus, You keep on nurturing us to be fruitful. This Lent, help us to make every effort to be open to Your mercy. In Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen.
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