The first reading deals very clearly with God’s wish to reveal Himself to mankind. In this from the Book of Exodus, God reveals himself as one who wants to free the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. God is loving and compassionate and the suffering of his children is not something which leaves him unmoved. Indeed, he cares so much about the suffering of his children that he chooses Moses to lead them out of slavery.
Furthermore, we live in the very blessed time where God has completely revealed himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the self-revelation of God to us and the way he lived his life, and especially his death on the cross showed us to what extent God is prepared to go to help us his children. The love and compassion of God is shown to us by the Pascal Mystery, the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The season of Lent is one when we are all asked to re-orient ourselves towards Jesus. And when we do that, we quickly realise that Jesus is a man of compassion, love and mercy. And we need to be constantly, be reminded of that. Our God is always faithful and consistent. His love for us never changes, no matter how we behave, no matter how serious our sins may be. It has to be that way because our God not only loves, he IS love. Love is of the very essence of his being; he cannot not love.
His love is like the sun which gives its warmth to good and bad alike; like the gentle nurturing rain which falls on good and bad alike. And we are called, as far as possible, to imitate him in this – to love always and unconditionally. Because we find that difficult, it is hard for us to think of God loving that way. We do need to get rid of the idea of an angry, disappointed, vengeful, God threatening catastrophe on a wicked world.
It is absolutely true – and we should never have doubts about this – that, if we sin, God continues to love us as he always did and does. But it is also true that, if we sin, we are not loving him. And so we become separated from him. Love is essentially mutual, it is a two- way process, it is a bonding. Love is not completed until it is reciprocated on both sides. So God’s love is not perfect, is not fully effective in me until I have opened myself to receive it and to give mine in return. When we sin, God does not stop loving us; it is we who stop loving him. It is we who break the relationship – always. However, God never loses hope in us. The parable of the fig tree reminds us of that. Even if at times we do not bear fruit, God does not simply cut us down. On the contrary, he constantly reminds us of his love for us and calls us back to him, he cultivates the ground around us and fertilises it in order that we bear fruit.
One of these fertilisers we have are the words of Jesus as they are found in the Gospels. Indeed, today, we have to listen to the words of Jesus whom God created us to be, we will repent and turn back to him. This season of Lent is the season where the call to us is more pressing to let go of our old ways and put on the ways of Christ. And these ways of Christ are to be found in the teachings of the Church, especially one of her more important teachings namely, the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. But in the more little and simple things of our daily living, Christ asks us to be generous, forgiving, patient, humble, kind, which are all ways which reveal compassion and love in the same way that Jesus’ life was the revelation of God’s love and compassion.
But the words of Jesus today are also very challenging, especially when he is confronted with the death of innocents, especially those at Siloam. Here, the whole aspect of people dying innocently is brought up. And the latest example of this is the earthquake in Chile. Sometimes, people may ask whether natural calamities are the punishment of God. Indeed, we who believe know that natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and diseases are not actions of God to punish people. Every single experience we have is a sign of God’s love. If we are showered with blessings – spiritual, emotional or material – they are given that we may share them with others, so that we become a channel of God’s love to others. If we are struck down with disaster, disease, pain or failure, it is again a message for us to seek and find there the presence of a loving God. Paradoxically, it is often only through such experiences that we can grow and come closer to God and others. Diseases like cancer can draw out of relatives and friends extraordinary depths of compassion and care. Unfortunately because it need not be the case, material prosperity, while not being wrong in itself, can often lead to selfishness, individualism and neglect of others. Where there is love, there is God. Where there is no God, one is not likely to find much real loving.
The other challenge placed before us is not to become complacent. Paul cautions us not to take our salvation for granted, when he mentions that despite being baptised into Moses, eating manna sent from heaven, some Israelites died in the desert. Being baptised, even my presence at this Mass or my going to Confession, while being essential in the life of the disciple, is again, of itself, no guarantee that I really love God and love my brothers and sisters. For we know well we can go through these rituals in a very mechanical and meaningless way. After years of attending Mass or “going to confession” our lives may show little sign of progress in spiritual or interpersonal growth and responsibility. So , if I find myself consistently giving out the same laundry list in confession or if I don’t go because I have nothing to say, then it may be time for me to ask myself what exactly is happening in my Christian life.
So, today’s readings are encouraging us to have a good look at ourselves, while knowing firmly that there is no need for us ever to be afraid of God. He will never directly punish us or the world around us. But we do have the choice to come closer to him, to experience that love he is reaching out to us, to open ourselves to that love. God’s love is there for the taking. What are we waiting for?
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Homily - The Third Sunday of Lent - 7th March 2010 |
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