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The Third Sunday of Lent - C
Sacred Scriptures

Exodus 3:1-8,13-15
Psalm 103
1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
"This is my name forever;
     this is my title for all                                            generations."
                            -Exodus 3:15
Saint Frances De Sales taught a simple phrase, which seems to sum up the message that the Scriptures proclaim this weekend:  "Let us be who we are and be that well."  How obvious this sounds!  But we tend to complicate our lives to the point that we become like the fig tree in today's gospel.  Instead of allowing ourselves to grow in one direction, we spread ourselves out thin.  Then we neglect areas of our lives that need to be nourished and nurtured.  We become stressed and parched because somthing is missing.  We cease to bear fruit.

What is missing in our lives, and what Lent is, is time to look more deeply for the balance and serenity that comes through the Lord Jesus.  When we invite Christ into our lives and respond to the love and grace that Jesus pours out upon us, we will find peace, we will bear fruit.  For myself, I know that there are many times when I must step back from a situation and just give it to God.  Sometimes things happen that seem to be overwhelming.  I want to stretch myself beyond my limits to make sure everything should happen as it should.  But I am not capable of doing everything on my own.  I am powerless over many things.  I need the Lord Jesus.

I need to be renewed in the waters of Baptism, which we move closer to as Lent progresses.  I need to be nourished by the word and the Eucharist.  I need to renew my relationships with relatives and friends so that they and I can grow.  We all need these things in our lives.  Lent is a time for these things to happen.  Lent is our spring, our preparation to bear fruit.

The first reading reminds us that by God's own name, God is a God of the present.  I AM calls us to make today the day that we begin to renew, to grow and to bear fruit.  This may mean making difficult decisions.  This may mean giving a situation over to God.  This may mean beginning a new stage of discernment.  This may mean quitting a job and beginning a new one.  Whatever renewal means, it must happen and it must happen today.

Let us pray that we will respond to the grace that the Lord Jesus gives us by his risen presence in our lives so that we, with his help, may open our hearts, renew our lives, and rejoice in the eternal promise of Easter.  If we respond to the call to renew ourselves, the Risen Christ need not be a sign of what can or will be in our lives, but rather of what is. 
Peace,
Shaun Lowery
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