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(23rd March 2025) Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent

READ: (Exo 3: 1-8, 13-15; 1 Cor 10: 1-6, 10-12; Lk 13: 1-9)

REFLECT: God Initiates, Instructs and intervenes our lives…

My dear friends, we are in the third Sunday of Lent. The readings of the day reveal how God handles us with lots of love and care, encouragement and support. Pope Francis shared that the anchor is one of his favorite symbols of hope and thus says, “Our life is anchored in heaven. We move on because we are sure that our life has an anchor in heaven and the rope is always there to grab onto.” Yes we have a God who remains with us and that’s what we see in the Gospel of Mathew. In the beginning of the Gospel we have a birth narrative of Jesus, giving us hope that God is with us - Emmanuel and at the end of the Gospel we read that the risen Christ gives assurance that He will be with us till the end. So we have a God who is with us always. That’s what the reading of the day reminds us that God initiates, instructs and intervenes in our lives and continues to remain with us. So based on the liturgy of the word I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1.      God Initiates

We read in the first letter of St. John , “this  is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son as a n atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10).  We do initiate and take a quite a lot of initiatives to do things in life. But everything does not become a success, because we don’t allow God to initiate it. The fact is that God initiates and takes initiatives in all that we do good and to promote good, so that, we do well and are satisfied for the good that we do. That’s what we see in the First reading: from exodus Burning bush and revelation of God to Moses to redeem the people of Israel from the slavery of Egyptians. God feels for his people and so says, I have heard my people cry, so rescue them from oppression and slavery of Egyptians. If Israel had been saved it is because of the God who initiated the process of saving help and who took initiative to send Moses to give release from the captivity.

Yes, God’s call to Moses is more important for the growth of Israelites as God’s chosen people. It highlights that God does not do everything by himself although he has every power and capacity to act on. God chooses human instrument to fulfill God’s plan of salvation for humanity. The choice of Moses to redeem the Israelites from the Egyptian slavery shows how much God loves the people who are in pain and agony. God did not choose, all the more, a king or a knight or a man of valor and strength to redeem the people of Israel rather he chooses ordinary person, Moses. It shows God initiates the salvation of God through human agent or instrument. What God expects from each one of us is to co-operate with his plan of redemption.

When we glance through the episodes or events of the bible, we would find that it is God who initiates the plan of salvation for humanity. Today’s first reading is a vivid example of how God initiates redemption for the people of Israel. The salvation of God arise out of mercy and compassion for the poor and the weak, the suffering and sinful humanity. Moreover, God’s manifestation to Moses in the burning bush and his plan for the people of Israel is God’s desire to be in intimate relationship with the people. It shows his love for the people and his ever-living presence amidst the chosen people or prophets. Thus, God is not a distant person, who never comes into contact or whom people find difficult to approach rather God always remains with his people, accompanying and initiating every good deed for the good of his chosen people.

Pope Francis aptly points out in Evangelii Gaudium, “The mission of evangelization is primarily the work of God; it is God who calls, who sends, and who gives the strength to go forward. We are instruments in His hands, and only by being attentive to His call can we be effective in His mission.” Yes, today, it is a gentle reminder to all of us that we are in one way or the other chosen by God as Christians, Catholics, religious or lay persons. It is God who initiates his plan for us. The human persons are only an instrument in the initiated plan of God. We all need to co-work with God to see a joyful humanity. Most of the time, we experience failure due to our unacceptance that we are agents and not owners of the world. The attitude that we are agents or instruments of God in his plan of salvation will open ways for spiritual growth and spiritual perfection. So let us not be frustrated for failures, because God initiates every event to give happiness and sends people to lead us on the right direction and destination. Let us allow God to initiate so that good things may happen in life.

2.  God instructs:

We  read in the Gospel of John, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him” (Jn: 14:21). God instructs us in many ways so that we learn from the past and turn away from evil and do good. Bible is full of instructions of what we should do and what we should not do to inherit eternal life. Someone has very beautifully shared the expansion of the word BIBLE (Basic instructions before leaving earth). Yes, I am sure if we follow the instructions of the bible that are written; we shall be the happiest people on earth and as well would obtain the fullness of life. That’s what Jesus said as well in Matt 7:21, “It is not those who call me Lord Lord who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven but one who does the will of the father.” So where do we have the will of God or what is the will of God? It is in the bible, God’s word and work, the words of Jesus and the teaching and life of Jesus. The word of God in the bible becomes a source of inspiration. That’s what we read in the Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to First Corinthians.

St. Paul very beautifully says at the end of the second reading, “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” The phrase ‘these things’ in the second reading refer to the crossing of the red Sea by people Israel, the spiritual food and spiritual drink is an allusion to Jesus the real food and drink, who offered his body and blood for the redemption of humankind.  Whenever, we read such episodes and events in the bible, it is a reminder or a warning for us that we should not go astray from God and stop committing sins or mistakes, so that we could renew life from the past experience and obtain God’s blessings. All that is recorded or instructed in the bible is for our reference to learn and to grow.

Today, life experiences are the live examples for people to understand life better. Every event and episode in the bible instructs us and places an example for us to understand how much God loves us and what we should do and what we need to avoid. The lack of realization and rationalization to follow and pursue what has been instructed in life is our failure. Live examples are those which give us learning and re-orientation. Today, many of us quote our past experiences in order to make people understand the intensity of the matter or seriousness of life to live, so that we may not fall into the pit of destruction rather we may rise above all obstacles to live a better life. St. Paul, although lacked this realization and rationalization at the initial stages of his life as Saul, yet, he never fails to retell his conversion stories to the people. Because, it is his life experience and it has taught him; he has realized it and he does not repeat the same mistake; he has learnt and has become a new creation in proclaiming good news of Christ to all.

That’s why Pope Francis has very clearly mentioned, “Every encounter with Jesus changes our life; it transforms us and makes us new. That’s the witness the Church gives. We need to be close to one another, not to be cold, distant or indifferent.” Yes, we all need a encounter with Jesus. There are number of episodes and events in the bible that offer us encounters with Christ. When we encounter God or Jesus in and through the instructions in the bible, we become a new creation. We become living examples and inspiration to people around us. Let us then follow the instructions of God that are offered to us every day through the daily word of God we read or hear.

3.  God intervenes

Bible presents before us full of God’s intervention in the lives of the people. That’s what we hear in Heb 1:1-2, in the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe.” The intervention of God in life is to pause for a while to rethink the past with repentance and renewal of life. God intervenes in our lives in order that we repent and renew life. We see the intervention of God by John the Baptist (Matt 3:2) and in what Jesus proclaims before he could begin his public ministry (Matt 4:17), “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

That’s what we find in the gospel reading of the day as well, “Repent! Otherwise you all will perish. It is not the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices were worse sinners or not the eighteen who were killed by the fall of Siloam tower were worse sinners. But people who don’t repent for the sins are sinners. In additions to the above reference we see Jesus giving us another reference through the parable of a fig tree. Jesus gives a chance but with a condition, if the tree does not produce the fruit for the purpose for which it was made, even after giving a chance, it shall be cut, because it is a waste of time, waste of manure and waste of its presence in the land, contributing nothing. It does not serve the purpose for which it is created or planted. Perhaps, even if we have a situation, which does not help us to produce the results, we should try the best. That’s what Jesus is communicating to us through the gospel reading of the day.

The best effort that Jesus proposes and confirms is ‘repentance.’ Yes, repentance is a change, a change of mind or heart or purpose or the change of inner-self, particularly when it comes to accepting the will of God and doing what is pleasing to God. We not only repent mourning in sorrow and sadness rather we resolve to renew life from the miserable past experiences. Renewal of life is the fullness of life. Renewal of life is a satisfied and well-contented life. Renewal of life is the newness of life. Renewal of life through repentance would also mean that we no longer define life by our past mistakes or failures. Instead, we take courage and confidence in affirming that our identity is found in God who offers every chance for restoration and renewal of life.

Today we need to understand that repentance is a call and as well as a gift from God. It is a call because, it helps and enables us to participate in the salvific work inaugurated by God in Christ. It is a gift, because repentance enables us to experience new life in Christ, which only God could provide and no one else could. We fail a quite a many times in life, it is because we have failed to see the intervention of God; we failed to see or learn that repentance is a tool or means for transformed life in Christ; we fail in life because we don’t believe in the interventions of God that offers change within to change outside of us, the society, the family and the world at the larger level. As Pope Francis would say in Evangelii Gaudium, “The Church’s mission is first and foremost to proclaim the Gospel to those who are distant or excluded. But it also has to help us to experience, through our life, the joy of repentance and conversion, which lead to reconciliation with God.” Yes, let us reconcile with God and with another by means of repentance and allowing the Lord to intervene our lives.

RESPOND:

Do we cooperate with God’s initiatives and direct our lives according to his plan?

Do we follow the instructions offered to us every day in the scripture for our nourishment in life?

Do we allow God to intervene our lives for a transformed and renewed life on earth?

Let us believe that God takes initiatives, God instructs in various ways, God intervenes in our life for a purpose. Let us allow God to enter the door of heart and penetrate our inner selves for a change of life, change of life for the better of each one. Amen.

Amen.

God bless us all! Live Jesus!