by Jose “joesum” Sumampong, Jr.
MARCH 13, 2022
Third Sunday of Lent (Year C)
Exodus 3: 1-8, 13-15 / Psalm 103: 1-4, 6-8, 11 /
I Corinthians 10: 1-6, 10-12 / Luke 13: 1-9
STANDING UP AGAIN
Word: This passage is a call to repentance. The gospel recalls two events that are recorded nowhere else in the Bible or in secular histories: the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices (Lk 13:1), and those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them (Lk 13:4). Implicit in this passage is what was commonly believed during those times that painful experiences were signs of God’s judgment. Jesus tells them that these tragic deaths had nothing to do with the personal sins of the individuals. However, he warns them “… if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” (Lk 13:3, 5). The threat of Jesus is a warning of merciful divine Love which cannot bear seeing us march to our doom. This is a powerful reminder of what we need to be seriously concerned during this Lenten season. Conversion is an essential and on-going necessity if we wish to be disciples.
In the parable that Jesus told, a man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. When the man went to look at it for a fruit, he found none on it. The tree had now been without fruit for three consecutive years. Finally, tired of that useless tree, the man told the gardener, “For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ (Lk 13:7). Upon hearing this, the gardener asked the owner to patiently wait another year during which time he would dig around the tree and put manure on it in the hope that it would bear fruit. If this helps after one year and there are fruits on it, good; if not, then it shall be cut down.
This parable is very instructive. God returns again and again to offer us a chance to be a productive community, to bear fruit. Nonetheless, there is such a thing as the last chance. In Jesus’ time, it was Israel who was being given another chance. Today it is us. Let us stand and not miss it!
o0o
Order: But what is the experience of this salvation that Christ calls us to? The answer lies in a radical conversion of heart. We can illustrate what this means in four common Filipino types. First, some Filipinos don’t really believe that God loves them, accepts them and cares for them. They cannot “trust” God. To them Christ reveals that God really is their “loving Father” who is truly compassionate (cf. Lk 6:36). His “love was revealed in our midst in this way: He sent His only Son to the world that we might have life through Him” (1 Jn 4:9).
Second, others lack all self-confidence. Their poor self-image makes them hesitant to reach out and share with others. They are always afraid of what others might say. Christ “saves” them by revealing their inner goodness. His life and death prove how much they mean to God. In bringing them God’s forgiveness and acceptance, Christ radically grounds their new positive self-image.
Third, some Filipinos find it hard to get along with others. They tend to hold grudges against anyone who hurt them. Christ “liberates” them by calling them to turn toward being a “man/woman-for-others” in self-giving service. Through word and example, Christ taught that true happiness and self-fulfillment come from forgiving others, and helping the poor and needy. Moreover, he empowers them for this service by sending them his own loving Spirit. It is Christ’s Spirit that brings deep “love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness and chastity” (Gal 5:22-23).
Lastly, to those who seek happiness in riches, reputation and power, Christ gave the example of rejecting these temptations (cf. Mt 4:1-11) and urging simplicity of life (cf. Mt 6). He called the poor “blessed” because they could more easily recognize their dependence on God. He warned the rich against being tied down by concern for their wealth. He asks: “What profit does a man show who gains the whole world and destroys himself in the process?” (Mk 8:36) His answer was to picture the poor Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, while the rich man suffered the torments of the damned (cf. Lk 16:19-31). (Catechism for Filipino Catholics, nos. 584-586).
o0o
Realities: After a flat tire on my car, I stopped at the nearest gas station and had the attendant patch my spare. When I said, “How much?” he waved me off. “It’s on the house,” he said.
“That’s very kind of you,” I said, “but why are you doing this for a
stranger?”
“Well, yesterday I woke up with a toothache and I took it out on everyone in sight. This morning I feel fine. So today I’m making up for yesterday: favors for the customers, kind words for the help. That’s how I payoff for the bad days.”
As I drove off, I thought, “Now there’s a man who makes sense: he settles his personal accounts day by day.”
That is what learned people call “mental hygiene.” The tiny patch which the filling station attendant put on my tire, saved me only a dollar. But it saved him a week’s worry about yesterday’s meanness. (Sydney Harris, REPARATION BY KINDNESS)
o0o Direction: Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness. Not according to the mercy of human beings, which is small, but according to your mercy, which is great, immense, and incomprehensible, and which infinitely exceeds all sins: according to that mercy through which you have so loved the world as to give your Son for it. Have mercy on me, O God, but not according to your small mercy. Your small mercy alleviates the corporal miseries of people, while your great mercy consists in remitting sins and raising people above all the grandeurs of the earth by means of your grace. Have mercy on me, O Lord, according to that great mercy, in order to convert me to you, to destroy my sins, and to justify me by your grace. (Prayer to Receive God’s Mercy, Girolamo Savonarola <1452-1498>, religious prophet and reformer)