THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

First Reading (Ex 3:l-8a, 13-15)

 

The reading begins by showing us Moses who is shepherding his flock in the Sinai desert. How did he arrive there? Because a few years before he had got into serious trouble: he had witnessed the beating of a Jewish man by an Egyptian. The incident had enraged him so much that he had killed the aggressor of his fellow citizen (Ex 2:11-15). As they began looking for him to punish him for the murder, he fled into the desert where he was welcomed by a sheep breeder, whose daughter he married and began to lead a poor but quiet life. He went out daily taking the flock of his father-in-law for grazing and never forgot the lesson he had learnt in Egypt: never meddle in somebody else’s affairs. It is certainly heart-rending to see how the weak are oppressed by injustice, but what should one do? Intervention means to risk getting involved in so many problems. Better pretend not to see and let others look after their own business! Moses had already suffered too much to help others, all he now wanted was to be left in peace.

The way he defended justice in Egypt is certainly not worthy of praise, far from it: you can't kill a man, whatever the reason. This brutal reaction, however, revealed that he harbored in his heart a great love for the oppressed and an irresistible need to help the victims of injustice. Even in the desert he can't forget how his Jewish brothers in Egypt are being victimized and suffer oppression at the hands of their masters. God knows these feelings of his and decides to reveal him his plan: he will free the people of Israel from slavery. As Moses is guarding his flock near Mount Horeb, God told him: "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying for help on account of their taskmasters. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings. And I have come down to rescue them" (7-8).

Moses understands that God needs him and has come to take him away from his simple and quiet life in the desert. He is about to involve him once again in matters he had decided never to meddle with, but how is he to say no to the call of his Lord? He raises an objection: "Look, if I go to the Israelites and say to them: ‘the God of your ancestors has sent me to you’ and they say to me ‘what is his name’ what am I to tell them?" (13).

In the second part of the reading (13-15) we have the revelation of the name of the Lord. God replies to Moses: you will tell the children of Israel that "I am who is". Why should God be wanting to be called in such a strange way? What is the meaning of this name that in the bible we find repeated 670 times? It means: you will see who I am; you will see what I can do for you.

And what are the children of Israel going to see? A god who quietly sits in Paradise, busy to keep count of people's sins, who does not want to be disturbed and takes no interest on the earth? No. The God that will be revealed to Israel is a God that feels passionately the problems of his people, doesn't tolerate oppression of the poor and unarmed, who intervenes to "liberate".

God nowadays hasn't changed his name. He is always one who hears the cry of the suffering, and continues to be the "liberator". Won't he be asking us too, like Moses, to become in turn "liberators" of our brothers and sisters? Aren't there oppressors, tyrants who use their power to dominate the weak and unarmed, to keep people enslaved by fear, misery, ignorance and shame? Aren't there women enslaved by customs and traditions that maintain the supremacy of the male and justify very many abuses? Aren't there girls who are not free to choose their marriage partner? What do we do: do we just stand around thinking like Moses: it is not my business? Why should I get in trouble for others? Don’t I have enough problems to cope with already? But if the cries and tears of our fellows fail to touch our hearts, if the sight of the oppressed does not urge us to intervene in their favor, how could we still call ourselves children of the one who called himself the "Liberator”?

 

Second Reading (1 Cor 10:1-6,10-12)

 

The Christian community in Corinth is fairly good, but like everywhere else, certain things should not be there at all: dissents, immorality, envies. Some of these Christians go about saying that baptism is all they need to be sure of salvation.

Paul sees that Corinthians are indulging in a very dangerous illusion. To correct this false certainty he brings the example of the people of Israel. He says: see, all the children of Israel believed Moses and followed him; they all crossed the Red Sea and were under the cloud, ate manna and drank the water from the rock; and yet because of their infidelity none of them entered the promised land.

That same thing can happen to Christians too. They should keep in mind that God's favors do not work automatically or perform salvation as if by magic. It is not enough to have believed in Christ (new Moses), to have been baptized (the crossing of the Red Sea), to have received the Spirit (protection of the cloud), to have eaten the Eucharist (the bread and wine correspond to the manna and the water in the desert), one must lead a consistent life, otherwise they too can go astray, like the children of Israel in the desert

 

Gospel (Lk 13:1-9)

 

Pilate was not a tenderhearted man. Historians credit him for several bloody events. The gospel of today mentions one such episode: Some Galilean pilgrims had arrived at the temple to offer sacrifices. Pilate, probably suspecting a revolt, sent in the soldiers that killed them all. A crime and a sacrilege. Is there any explanation for such a dramatic event?

The Pharisees were saying: "there is no punishment without fault”; if God has allowed these Galileans to be struck down by the sword, they were certainly sinners. Somebody tells Jesus what had happened, thinking perhaps that he would finally decide to take part in an armed revolt. At the sight of such a crime he certainly can't invite people to be patient or to forgive! He will at least speak out against Pilate!

But Jesus, faced by people who are excited and upset, doesn't lose his calm and does not say hasty things. He excludes, first of all, any link between the death of these people and their sins, and explains what we can learn from such event: it is a call to conversion by God.

To explain even better what he means, he recalls another episode: the death of 18 people buried under the rubble of a tower, that had taken place perhaps during the building of waterworks near the pool of Siloam. These people, says Jesus, have not been punished because of their sins: their death is just chance, others could have been in their place. This event too is to be seen as an invitation to repent and convert.

Rather a disappointing answer, isn't it? But why doesn't Jesus take a stand on the massacre? Don't his words sound similar to those of some priests who, whatever the problem, always come up with generic replies, elusive words, lacking any reality and content? And yet Jesus is a very down-to-earth man and certainly isn't afraid of speaking out his mind.

The oppressive structures (and Pilate was one) are generally very solidly based and deeply rooted, defended by very powerful means. It would be deceptive to think that they can be toppled overnight. Some hold that violence is the only effective means to restore justice safely and rapidly. There can be no worse deception! Force never yields anything good, it does not solve the problems, it only raises new and more serious ones. Here is then why Jesus does not reply with a straightforward condemnation of the crime of Pilate: he does not want to get involved in the useless chatter of those who can only curse and swear. He is not insensitive to the suffering, accidents and misfortune, he even sheds tears for his country (and who among us never shed tears for the difficulties of our country?). But he also knows that this will not help, aggressive expressions, rage, indignation, hate, revenge will only achieve the opposite effect. These feelings will only lead to rash actions that will only make matters worse.

How do our communities speak out on the injustices committed in the world and in our country? Shouldn't we also keep our emotions in check? Are we sensitive to the sufferings of the oppressed? How do we react: rashly, like Moses who used violence? Are the solutions that we propose compatible with the Gospel?

But the words of Jesus contain also another very important teaching for us now. He denies any direct link between sin and bad luck or misfortune. There are instead even nowadays Christians who keep thinking like the Pharisees of that time: they see wealth, luck, good health as blessings that God reserves for those who are good and consider suffering a curse for the wicked. This is not true. Some evil is certainly caused by human wickedness, other evil may be the result of thoughtlessness or fatality. Poor rains, a fire, a road or work accident, the illness of a child cannot be put on God nor on the witch-doctor; they happen because they must happen, because this is our world. So what has God to do with what takes place in our world? He is involved because nothing that takes place here is outside his plan. No event, good or bad, casual or planned, escapes his love. He wants the universe to follow its course and nature to obey its laws; he lets people to act freely, but ‘keeps his eyes' on what happens and guides matters in such a way that even bad deeds may finally lead to goodness.

The call of Jesus to convert is an invitation to change the way we look at things in life. All that happens must be seen through the eyes of God. Jesus tells those who inform him about the crime of Pilate: “unless you repent you will all perish as they did". Why? Because they entertain thoughts of violence and revenge, and these feelings are not God’s feelings. It is urgent that they review their stand, and give up relying on the power of the sword. Unfortunately, they are not ready to convert and forty years later they will all be massacred, including the innocent ones.

What kind of change of attitude is God asking us during this Lenten period? What are the thoughts, which are incompatible with the Gospel and yet we entertain and that we should instead shed?

How long do we have to make this change? Can we put it off for some years or months? In the second part of today’s gospel (6-9) Jesus, using a parable, tells us that all this is urgent, very urgent. The time of our life is precious, not an instant should be lost. As soon as one sees the light of Christ he should jump up and follow it, immediately.

While the other evangelists speak of a fig-tree that is immediately (or almost) dried (Mk 11:12-24; Mt 21:18-22), Luke, the evangelist of God’s mercy, introduces a year of tolerance. It is an invitation to look on this Lenten period as a period of grace, as the precious year mentioned in the parable. If we haven’t yet decided to convert and modify our thoughts, plans or behavior, it is high time we start doing it.

 

Theme of the Sunday
LENT: TIME TO CONVERT

 

In Lent, more than in any other period of the year, God is inviting us with insistence to change our wrong ways that can only lead to death and ruin.

In the gospel Jesus is showing us how we can see in all the events the Lord's call to choose his ways; and since the time is short, we should make our choice immediately.

The first reading tells us about Moses, impulsive but sincere who changed his life radically. When called by God, he gave up all his little plans and accepted the Lord's proposal to return to Egypt and liberate his people.

But the journey to freedom is long and toilsome. The children of Israel once in the desert gave in so many temptations. This is also what happens to us Christians even when we choose to follow the ways of the Lord. This is the message of the second reading.