HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Third Sunday of Lent (Year C)

Mar 3, 2013

4214

Listen Read

First Reading

A reading from the Book of Exodus (3:1-8a, 13-15)

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned."

When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am." God said, "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. But the Lord said, "I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey."

Moses said to God, "But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," if they ask me, "What is his name?" What am I to tell them?" God replied, "I am who am." Then he added, "This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you."

God spoke further to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, this is my title for all generations."

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11)

(R) The Lord is kind and merciful.

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R)

He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion. (R)

The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed. He has made known all his ways to Moses, and his deeds to the children of Israel. (R)

Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (10:1-6, 10-12)

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for "they were struck down in the desert."

These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things as they did. Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer. These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

Gospel Acclamation

(R) Alleluia, alleluia!

Repent, says the Lord; the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (R)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (13:1-9)

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?" By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them - do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!"

And he told them this parable: "There was once a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, "For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?" The gardener said to him in reply, "Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not, you can cut it down.""

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

A ferryman lived by a river. Every day as he ferried people on his small boat, he also preached about God to them. Once he happened to ferry a small group of irreligious people. While preaching, he warned them to repent for their sins and prepare themselves for God's judgment, as death could always take anyone by surprise. As they were making fun of him, a thunderstorm suddenly broke out and threatened to swamp the boat. The passengers fearing for their lives, cried out, "Please tell us what we can do so that God may forgive us and save us from death!" The ferry man said, "Beware of greed and sinful actions. Promise God that you will cease to lead such an unholy life, and I am sure that the Lord will spare us in His mercy and lead us to safety. Trust me, you all will be saved. Oh! By the way - look over there, I can see the pier! You see I told you so.

As we enter into the third week of Lent let us reflect upon the importance of repentance and sorrow for sins. In the gospel we just heard Jesus telling us about two incidents and a parable. One incident occurred when Pilate was governor. Some Galileans had come to offer sacrifices in the temple of Jerusalem. Pilate, suspecting an insurrection against the Roman Empire from them, ordered his soldiers to kill them and then mix their blood with the blood of the animals that were slaughtered. Some people who witnessed both the brutal massacre and desecration of the temple told Jesus about it. Why did they tell Jesus? What might have been the reason?

Prior to today's gospel, in chapter 12, Luke tells us that when talking about the urgent need of repentance, in preparation for the unknown time of death, Jesus first told the parable of the rich farmer who was making plans to build bigger barns not knowing he was facing death that very night. Then he used a parable in which he encouraged them to be watchful like a faithful servant waiting for his master whom they know not when would come. And then he also urged them to reconcile with those who had offended them or accused them of wrong doings. Otherwise, a harsh punishment could be meted out to them. Therefore, people came to Jesus for more clarification on the implications of his teaching. On the one hand they could not accept the unfairness and injustice in society and on the other hand they associated their physical suffering and death with their sins. At the time, they thought that the Galileans were killed because they were sinners.

Many texts in the Old Testament describe that suffering and death are the results of sin, whereas righteousness results in life and peace. For instance, when you read the book of Job you will notice that his friends tell him that the reason Job is suffering is because of his sins. But Jesus completely disagreed with such a notion and belief. For instance in John 9:1-3 the disciples asked Jesus, while pointing to a blind man, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be manifested in his life." And Jesus in reply to those who came to report about the killing of the Galileans said, "By no means! If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did", implying that the Galileans that were killed were no worse sinners than all the others and they themselves too were in need of repentance for their sins. And then he referred to another incident, an accidental death of eighteen people of their own in Jerusalem upon whom the tower of Siloam fell and again said, "If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did", implying that suffering, deaths and disasters are not necessarily an indication of divine judgment against sinners and that misfortune can befall the righteous as well as the unrighteous. Jesus used both the incidents from today's gospel and all the healings to serve as signs to help them prepare themselves for the inevitable approach of death, the time of which is unpredictable.

Friends, it is an opportunity for us to correct our distorted view of God. Like the people of Jesus' time we also tend to look at the circumstances of life - illnesses, suffering, disasters and tragedies as the result of sin. At the same time we certainly also experience consequences for our sins. Therefore we are reminded that those who suffer are not worse sinners than anyone else. And when others suffer it should serve as a reminder to all of us that the reason we are spared is not because God loves us more than them but that we are all sinners and in need of repentance.

Finally, Jesus also told them a parable of the unfruitful fig tree to warn people of the consequences of sin and God's mercy upon all. According to the story, a landlord came across a fig tree which had failed to produce. He told his servant to cut it down. The servant pleaded with him to leave it for another year and meanwhile he would loosen the soil around it and fertilize it so that it may bear fruit. But if it did not then he suggested He, the Master, could get rid of it.

The unfruitful fig tree in the parable symbolizes the outcome of our unresponsiveness to the word of God. The patience of the Master symbolizes the compassion and mercy of God for sinners. Jesus Christ stands as the servant who intercedes with God his Father on our behalf to ask Him to give us another opportunity to repent for our sins. Each time we are spared from suffering or death or disaster, we are given a gracious extension of time and another chance to repent and become fruitful. We are given opportunities to respond to his commandments and reorder or reshape our lives. Let us make the effort to rid ourselves of the wickedness in our life. Let us truly repent for sins so that we may live and not perish. Let us use the remaining time to get right with God and others. Let us remove the obstacles that keep us from God so that we can become fruitful.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

Content Options

to download the audio file Sign In » or Register ».
generate Google Translate Layout ».
share this homily via:

Top of Page

More Homilies this Month

Use the Prev or Next buttons to read or listen to the other homilies of the month.

« Prev Next » Fourth Sunday of Lent (Year C)