Third Sunday of Lent
In Exodus 3:6 Moses respectfully hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. A good friend of mine works with me at St. Anthony’s High School and is Jewish. I always remind her that the Jewish people are our ancestors in the faith, and I often have to remind / teach our students that St. Joseph was Jewish and not Italian! When Moses saw the burning bush that was able to withstand the flames, he heard the voice of God who called his name. From that moment on his days of shepherding sheep were over, as henceforth he would be shepherding his people to freedom.
In today’s gospel Jesus speaks in a parable about someone who had a fig tree planted in his orchard that was not bearing fruit. He was about to cut it down, but the gardener told him not to cut it down, assuring him that he would cultivate and fertilize the ground around it… Lent is a time to receive God’s mercy. We do not earn it or even deserve it, but we have it because of the death of Jesus on the Cross – that is the miracle.
This Sunday there is an optional gospel reading about a Samaritan woman sitting at a well, waiting to get water at noon. At such a time in history no Jewish man would even speak to a woman in public, much less sit down next to her. This woman had been married five times and was now living with someone to whom she was not married. Yet this did not stop Jesus from talking to her, telling her that he was the promised Messiah and promising to give her life giving water.
Pope Francis has frequently spoken of the need for mercy and understanding in dealing with divorced Catholics who are truly thirsting and yearning to be able to receive their Lord in the Eucharist at Mass. In closing this reflection I encourage you to google and prayerfully listen to the words of a favorite hymn of mine, “In Christ Alone” (Keith Getty & Stuart Townend). It truly reflects the mercy of Jesus who took up his Cross in order to have mercy on us!
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