Lenten Moments of Mercy: Third Sunday of Lent

Third Sunday of Lent   Lent is a time when we respond to Jesus’ call to build a society based on mercy.

Scripture “He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” Exodus 3:6   Reflection The secular culture in our society has done an excellent job in privatizing religious belief. Religious belief is expected to be kept out of the public sphere. Each person is seen to have the right to believe what they want, just as long as they keep their beliefs to themselves. But in the story of Moses’s encounter with God in the third chapter of Exodus, we see that God has not come to give Moses a personal revelation. God identifies himself as the God of the people. He is preparing Moses to lead a social revolution. The people are suffering under their Egyptian taskmasters, and God is getting ready to lead them to build a new society. Pope Francis’s call to mercy is clearly in line with the iconic description of God’s purpose in the world that we find in Exodus. God is not a complacent deity who is content to observe the world from a distance; quite the contrary: God is actively concerned for the world, as he most clearly shows by sending his Son Jesus to redeem us and call us to build a society of mercy. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus vividly calls all to repentance. The parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6‒9) is for anyone of us who ignores the needs of a world in which 842 million people face hunger every day and suffer under the taskmasters of our age. God continuously calls out to those who ignore him. God is patient, but we will eventually face God’s judgment: “If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” (Luke 13:9) Image: Alexey Pismenny, Parable of the Fruitless Fig Tree

Pope Francis “Doing whatever we can so that everyone has food, but also reminding the world’s powerful that God will call them to be judged one day, and it will be demonstrated whether they have truly tried to provide food for Him in each person.” (cf. Mt 25:35) Homily, 12 May 2015   Lenten Action ► The number of those hungry every day is from Catholic Relief Services. Review the work of Catholic Relief Services. ► Reflect on this Sunday’s Gospel with Arts & Faith: Lent and the Sunday Connection.   Prayer Lord, help us to be open to your nurturing word that the seeds of faith you planted may blossom into a life of love and mercy.

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