3rd Sunday of Lent (Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word: Obedience to God’s call always bears much fruit in our lives.
Theme: We obey God’s call when we repent and ask for His mercy and grace.
Promise: “He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills.”(Ps 103: 3)
Reflection:
Human sinfulness and guilt are not necessarily measured by, or associated with the tragedies that happen to us. Jesus uses two known disasters of his time to challenge this misguided view and redirect the minds of the Jews to His call for repentance – “I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” (Lk 1:3). Jesus is not denying that there could be a causal connection between sin and tragedy. But He wants to draw emphasis to what can become of man if he does not turn away from his wickedness, continues to maintain his arrogance and disobedience, and persists in going against the law of God and nature.
St. Paul tells the Corinthians that even if the Israelites were “baptized into Moses”, God was not pleased with all of them. They were, as a result, struck down in the desert as an example for the present generation not to desire evil things they did. But, if we take account of the disasters and wars in our world today, it appears that the marks of an unrepentant generation is taking its toll. On the other hand, God said “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land,” (2 Chron 7:14).
The gospel tells the story of a barren fig tree that the owner wants to cut down because it has remained fruitless for many years. Jesus wants us to bear fruit from a renewed and repentant life. Like the fig tree, a person’s life is futile and random until he comes to repentance and begins to pursue the Kingdom of God. Initial repentance is a significant, personal, life-changing decision that can lead us to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is characterized by understanding the seriousness of sin, a desire to be forgiven, and a determined commitment to change behavior and thoughts in order to stop sinning. Sinning literally means missing the mark. Sin separates us from God who is our purpose and our eternal destiny.
It is now the 3rd Sunday of Lent and we are moving closer to commemorating the passion and death of Christ. After the temptation in the desert, Jesus starts his ministry by proclaiming: “Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” We are again given a chance to reexamine our lives and to turn away from our life of comfortable self-indulgence, pleasure, sinful ways and habits. We are once more called to assess if our life has borne the fruits of love, kindness, gentleness and forbearance, if we have changed our sinful ways and now enjoy the fruit of joy and peace.
The gospel does not just end with ominous warning of doom and hopelessness. It pictures God as giving sinners the chance to change their ways – “I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future,” (Lk 13: 8 & 9). Here we see that God’s mercy abounds despite our arrogance and disobedience. David was truly sorry for his transgression. He relented and submitted himself to God’s judgment, knowing that God is full of mercy. With genuine faith, we can rely on God’s forgiveness and claim this promise from Psalm 103:3 – “He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills.” As God forgives, we must also forgive others, and as we forgive, we will also receive healing from the Lord.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help us to be like David in acknowledging our sinfulness before You. We believe that You will always forgive us when we are truly repentant of our wrongdoings. Allow us to surrender our will to Yours, that we may walk in Your ways. Help us to forgive, especially in times of trial, because it is in those times that we will see Your light and receive Your healing grace. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever been truly repentant of your sins and surrendered to God your future no matter what lies ahead?
2. Following the call of the Lord for sincere repentance, what preparations are your making to have a meaningful Lenten season and Holy Week?
3. How committed are you to follow Jesus’ commandment to forgive those persons who have hurt you?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
February 28, 2016 (Sun) Ex 3:1-8,13-15/Ps 103:1-2,3-4,6-7,8,11/1Cor 10:1-6,10-12/Lk 13:1-9
February 29, 2016 (Mon) 2 Kgs 5:1-15/Ps 42:2,3;43:3,4/Lk 4:24-30
March 1, 2016 (Tue) Dn 3:25,34-43/Ps 25:4-5,6,7,8,9/Mt 18:21-35
March 2, 2016 (Wed) Dt 4:1,5-9/Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20/Mt 5:17-19
March 3, 2016 (Thu) Jer 7:23-28/Ps 95:1-2,6-7,8-9/Lk 11:14-23
March 4, 2016 (Fri) Hos 14:2-10/Ps 81:6c-8,8-9,10-11,14,17/Mk 12:28-34
March 5, 2016 (Sat) Hos 6:1-6/Ps 51:3-4,18-19,20-21/Lk 18:9-14
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
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