The Third Sunday of Lent

The Third Sunday of Lent

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March 24, 2019

Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9

Jesus tells his friends plainly that not all suffering is caused by sin. He illustrates bad luck with the fall of the Siloam tower and the malice of Herod. He reminds us that sometimes accidents happen and there is no preceding cause for them, even though we often want to find causes. Someone’s state may be unfortunate, but the person is not sinful. Jesus draws our attention to the mystery of suffering and then gives us a parable that instructs us to be patient with those matters in life we cannot explain.

The Exodus reading draws us into the mystery of God and the mystery of suffering during the encounter of Moses at the burning bush. At first Moses is curious about this bush that burns but is not consumed, but as he approaches, God asks him not to come any nearer for his own protection, and as Moses looks deeply into the mystery of God, he comes to know the Living God, an incomprehensible God, who is part of human history. This God is not just the God to whom Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prayed, but is the God who knew them and remembers them and sees a continuity between them and Moses. This is a God who lives, has feelings, is very concerned about creation’s well-being, and is always working to bring about a better existence.

By gazing upon the bush that signifies God, Moses encounters the depths of suffering. Moses sees that God suffers because he has seen the oppression of the Israelites and God seeks to rescue them from their slavery. God calls Moses to bring about human justice and promises divine assistance on his improbably mission. When people ask Moses the name of the God that sent him, God replies in words that mean something like this, “Tell them the living God has sent you – the God of their ancestors and of their present-day families. Tell them God hears the cries of those who are suffering. Tell them I have been with you all along and I will be with you in your ordeals, and I will ease your pain.”

Moses teaches us about the model for contemplation. When we become immersed in our gaze toward the divine and lose ourselves in this meditative action, something unexpected happens. We are assaulted by distractions that we think might be from the evil one or are nuisances that keep us away from thinking about God. However, God is the one who is bring forward these thoughts we think are distractions. God brings in front of us all the unresolved worries and anxieties that plague us and keep us from being at peace. God is not doing this to lord it over us or to make us feel bad. God is bringing it to us so that God can heal us, or reconcile us, or settle those matters that keep us from being balanced. This is a gift from God, but the caution is that we cannot look at these matters on our own. We have to look at them with God so we can get a larger picture, to correct a misperception, or to find out that we are partly wrong and partly right. God can re-member our memory, which means to put it in the right order once again.

 At this point in Lent, it is time to gaze upon the incomprehensibility of God just as Moses did at the burning bush. We do not know what we will find, but I suspect we will find something similar to Moses – a God who stresses that he has always been near us, that God is here now, that God is aware of your suffering and wants to lead you through your personal exodus to a new reality. We have to look deeply into our suffering so we can get through the other side. God does not want us to be paralyzed or held back anymore. Jesus chose to pick up his cross and enter freely into his suffering. This is our model too, but we have many supporters along the way who will ease the pain. Like God, we will walk with you and help you go forward.

Scripture for Daily Mass

First Reading: 

Monday: (2 Kings 5) Naaman, the king of Aram, contracted leprosy. A captured girl wanted him to present himself to the prophet in Samaria. Naaman was instructed to wash seven times in the Jordan River and his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child.

Tuesday: (Daniel 3) Azariah asked for the Lord’s deliverance. He asked that the Lord deal with them in kindness and with great mercy.

Wednesday: (Deuteronomy 4) Moses spoke to the people asking them to hear and heed the statutes and decrees he received from the Lord. Do not forget the things the Lord has done.

Thursday: (Jeremiah 7) They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts and turned their backs, not their faces, to me. 

Friday: (Hosea 14) Return to God, who forgives all iniquity. The Lord will heal their defection and love them freely for his wrath is turned away from them. 

Saturday: (Hosea 6) Come, let us return to the Lord. It is love that I desire, not sacrificed, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Luke 4) Jesus reminded people that a prophet is without honor in his own land and he called the mind the story of Naaman, the foreigner from Syria, who was cured.

Tuesday: (Matthew 18) Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness. He said to forgiven seventy-seven time because unless each person forgives from the heart, he will not be forgiven.

Wednesday: (Matthew 5) Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Each commandment is to be observed; the one who does it will be the greatest in the Kingdom.

Thursday: (Luke 11) Jesus drove out a demon that was mute and was then accused of being in league with Beelzebul. Jesus explained to them how that does not make much sense.

Friday: (Mark 12) A scribe asked Jesus to declare which is the first commandment. Love the God with you whole soul and your neighbor like yourself. The scribe was well pleased. 

Saturday: (Luke 18) Jesus told a parable about prayer to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. The one who is humble is favored by God. 

Saints of the Week

March 25: The Annunciation of the Lord celebrates the announcement that God chose to unite divinity with humanity at the conception of Jesus. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to inform her of God’s intentions to have her conceive the future Messiah. The boy’s name was to be Jesus – meaning “God saves.” This date falls nine months before Christmas Day.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      March 24, 1578: At Lisbon Rudolf Acquaviva and 13 companions embarked for India. Among the companions were Matthew Ricci and Michael Ruggieri.

·      March 25, 1563: The first Sodality of Our Lady, Prima Primaria, was begun in the Roman College by a young Belgian Jesuit named John Leunis (Leonius).

·      March 26, 1553: Ignatius of Loyola's letter on obedience was sent to the Jesuits of Portugal.

·      March 27, 1587: At Messina died Fr. Thomas Evans, an Englishman at 29. He had suffered imprisonment for his defense of the Catholic faith in England.

·      March 28, 1606: At the Guildhall, London, the trial of Fr. Henry Garnet, falsely accused of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot.

·      March 29, 1523: Ignatius' first visit to Rome on his way from Manresa to Palestine.

·      March 30, 1545: At Meliapore, Francis Xavier came on pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle.