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 23, 2025

462

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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

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

There is a story of a man who used to travel on a boat for his daily work. Since he was afraid of the sea and didn't know how to swim, he had the habit of praying for God's protection throughout the journey. Noticing this, his fellow passengers laughed at him and mocked him for being scared, but he remained composed. One day a storm suddenly broke out, and the boat began to fill with water, and it was in danger of sinking. Fearing for their lives, all the passengers took refuge in God. They prayed, "Lord, you are kind and merciful! Spare us, please! We'll be good and faithful people." As they were still praying, the man shouted, "I see land ahead. We are all saved. You all can stop your false piety now."

Every calamity that strikes human beings is a divine call to repent and a divine warning to escape from destruction by repenting in time. Today's gospel, Luke (13:1-9) reminds us that suffering is not necessarily a sign of punishment for one's sins or a sign of greater sinfulness, but a wake-up call to repent.

Prior to today's gospel, Jesus had rebuked the crowd, calling them "hypocrites" for they were so good at predicting weather patterns by observing natural phenomena but for some reason did not know how to interpret the present time or situation, referring to people's failure to recognize or understand the spiritual signs and significance of Jesus' ministry, Luke (12:56). Some in the crowd quickly rose to the occasion, pointing out to Jesus a case of unjust suffering with the implication that Jesus should interpret its meaning. It was about a group of Galilean worshippers killed in the temple apparently on the orders of Pontius Pilate, the then governor of Judea, who believed that these people were among the conspirators trying to start a rebellion against Roman rule.

But Jesus responded to them by posing a question and then giving them a warning. He asked, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way, they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?", Luke (13:2-3). During Jesus' time, the Jews held a common belief that the disasters such as the Galileans suffered was their punishment for being or doing bad, and thus those who died were greater sinners. But Jesus said, "Not at all." They should not think that way. He declared that those who died were no worse sinners than the rest who were left alive and thus deserved to die. However, Jesus pointed out that "if they did not repent and turn to God, they too would likewise die", Luke (13:3).

Jesus then referred to another tragedy - the collapse of the tower of Siloam, which had killed eighteen people - and posed the same question and gave them the same warning. So, here were two events - one an act of deliberate violence, the other an accidental disaster - which resulted in the deaths of many people. But in both cases, Jesus alluded to two things. First, it was wrong to assume that suffering and death are the results of being a lesser or greater sinner, implying they were not signs of divine punishment. Second, it was important that they repent and reconcile with God as soon as possible, lest they too face death, indicating God's judgment will come to everyone if they do not repent.

Jesus then continued his teaching by telling a parable about a fig tree. When the tree failed to yield fruit despite the care and resources for two successive years, the owner told his gardener to cut it down, but the gardener begged for another year to care for it before cutting it down. The owner agreed. The fruitless fig tree here represented Israel as a nation as well as the Jews who were indifferent and refused to respond to Jesus' call to repentance and faith despite all the privileges and opportunities that God had given them, such as being God's chosen people, their adoption as God's children, God's Word in Scripture, the presence of God, and the promises of the covenant, Romans (9:4-5).

The owner represented God the Father who rightly expected to see transformation and changes in the lives of the people but justly decided to destroy them when he found no change. And the gardener represented Jesus who pleaded for mercy and additional time for repentance.

What is the message for us?

At times, especially immediately following a disaster of some sort, we all ask ourselves the same questions that the people of Jesus' time did. Are some people far worse sinners than others so God punishes them? Why does a loving God allow bad things to happen to even good and faithful people? Why does God allow the evil to thrive? Why doesn't God prevent innocent people from being killed in violence, conflicts and natural disasters? Why doesn't God do something to stop the natural disasters, and so on?
In God's eyes, a good person is someone who is utterly perfect, righteous, holy and sinless. That means someone who is like God Himself. By that standard, St. Paul says, "no one is good - not even one", Romans (3:10). No one lives up to God's righteousness; everyone lives in a state of depravity. Everyone sins. Everyone has sinned. Therefore, none of us can claim we are good enough to deserve a longer life. In fact, we are all sinful enough to deserve the wrath of God. Paul points out that we all deserve suffering and death because of our sin, Romans (3:23). But Christ took all our sins upon Himself, and endured the judgement that we deserve. So, we shouldn't be asking the same questions as the people of Jesus' time did nor as non-believers or non-Christians do today. Instead, the more pressing question that we should be asking is: Why is God so merciful to you and me despite the fact that we choose to defy Him?
God has planted us like trees in the orchard of His Church so that we could be formed, nurtured, protected, and strengthened to bring forth the fruits of repentance, transformation and faith. But sadly, we all fail to bear the fruit expected of us even many years after our baptism. Like the tree that is wasting the soil, some of us probably are wasting our lives, wasting God's graces, not bearing any fruit whatsoever, and therefore, deserve to be cut down - not as a punishment, but because to some degree, we're already spiritually dead because we are not thinking, living, loving, forgiving like Christ. But, like the gardener, Christ intercedes to God the Father on our behalf, asking for more time so as to enrich the soil of our heart with His mercy and grace, fertilize it with His Holy Word, and water it with His Sacraments and to do all He can to give us the opportunities to turn from our sinful ways and produce fruits that are pleasing to Him. Yes, indeed, just as the orchard owner granted another year of life to the tree, God in His infinite patience and loving mercy grants us another day, another chance, another Lent to repent or perish.
If we do not take the opportunity offered to change our hearts and minds, we all will have to face destruction and perish. It does not mean that we will all die by being in the wrong place at the wrong time as a victim of some terrible accident or deliberate violence or natural disaster. But rather, unless we repent, we will also die as unprepared as the Galilean worshippers or victims of the Siloam tower or others who have died in different circumstances. Here, Jesus is not trying to instil fear but is urging us to be spiritually prepared, to live with purpose in this present moment, and to lean into the grace of God.

We shall therefore prepare ourselves to die well by truly repenting and believing in the Gospel of Jesus; by recognizing our dependence on God's mercy and letting His love transform us, by living a life in accordance with God's will, by becoming more and more like Christ here in this world, and by having the hope of eternal life which is the hope of glory in Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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