20220320 RECEIVING THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN
20 March, 2022, Sunday, 3rd Week of Lent
First reading |
Exodus 3:1-8,13-15 © |
'I AM has sent me to you'
Moses was looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law priest of Midian. He led his flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in the shape of a flame of fire, coming from the middle of a bush. Moses looked; there was the bush blazing but it was not being burnt up. ‘I must go and look at this strange sight,’ Moses said, ‘and see why the bush is not burnt.’ Now the Lord saw him go forward to look, and God called to him from the middle of the bush. ‘Moses, Moses!’ he said. ‘Here I am,’ Moses answered. ‘Come no nearer,’ he said. ‘Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers,’ he said, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ At this Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God.
And the Lord said, ‘I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal to be free of their slave-drivers. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings. I mean to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land rich and broad, a land where milk and honey flow, the home of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.’
Then Moses said to God, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This’ he added ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel: “I Am has sent me to you.”’ And God also said to Moses, ‘You are to say to the sons of Israel: “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.” This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 102(103):1-4,6-8,11 © |
The Lord is compassion and love.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
The Lord is compassion and love.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion,
The Lord is compassion and love.
The Lord does deeds of justice,
gives judgement for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses
and his deeds to Israel’s sons.
The Lord is compassion and love.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
The Lord is compassion and love.
Second reading |
1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12 © |
The life of the people under Moses in the desert was written down to be a lesson for us
I want to remind you, brothers, how our fathers were all guided by a cloud above them and how they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in this cloud and in this sea; all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them as they went, and that rock was Christ. In spite of this, most of them failed to please God and their corpses littered the desert.
These things all happened as warnings for us, not to have the wicked lusts for forbidden things that they had. You must never complain: some of them did, and they were killed by the Destroyer.
All this happened to them as a warning, and it was written down to be a lesson for us who are living at the end of the age. The man who thinks he is safe must be careful that he does not fall.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt4:17 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel | Luke 13:1-9 © |
'Leave the fig tree one more year'
Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’
He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’
RECEIVING THE GRACE OF GOD IN VAIN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Ex 3:1-8, 13-15; Ps 103; 1 Cor 10:1-6,10-12; Lk 13:1-9]
At the very beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, St Paul said, “As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.” Indeed, the season of Lent is a season of special grace for conversion and reconciliation with God and our fellowmen. It is a call to repentance.
Like the Israelites in the first reading, we have received the grace of deliverance from our enemies, especially from our slavery to sin. Moses was called by God after happily taking refuge in Midian and settled down comfortably looking after the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law. The Hebrews who were slaves in Egypt and oppressed by their slave-drivers, pleaded to the Lord for mercy and deliverance. So God sent Moses telling him, “I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal to be free of their slave-drivers. Yes, I am well aware of their sufferings. I mean to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land rich and broad, a land where milk and honey flow.”
We too have been set free by Christ. St Paul told the Christians in Corinth. “I want to remind you, brothers, how our fathers were all guided by a cloud above them and how they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in this cloud and in this sea; all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them as they went, and that rock was Christ.” St Paul likened Christian baptism to that of the liberation of the Hebrews from Egypt when they passed through the sea under the pillar of cloud. And when they were fed manna in the desert or water from the rock, they were receiving the bread of life, the Eucharist and drinking from the heart of Christ for He is the rock. St Peter, citing scripture says, “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (1 Pt 2:6) Indeed, Jesus Himself said to Peter, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Mt 16:18) This rock is the faith of Peter in Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God who will see us through the vicissitudes of life.
Unfortunately, we are not unlike the Christians in Corinth. We have taken the grace of God for granted. St Paul was writing to the Corinthians because of the abuses of the freedom that Christ had gained for them. They were still practicing idolatry, eating food offered to idols, engaging in sexual immorality, getting drunk in revelry, and abusing the sacredness of the Eucharist. St Paul warns us too that we are repeating the same mistake of our forefathers because after being delivered from the slavery in Egypt, they were never satisfied with what God gave them; manna, quails and water from the rock. “In spite of this, most of them failed to please God and their corpses littered the desert.” They were ingrates, complaining and lamenting to God through Moses that they did not have the luxuries they used to enjoy in Egypt. Today’s text is in reference to how the Israelites were punished for their disobedience. God punished them as the letter to the Hebrews said, “Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” (Heb 3:17-19)
This is the same warning given by our Lord in today’s gospel. “Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices.” The Lord took this occasion to help the Jews to reflect for their own lives. Very often, we see tragedies and mistakes in other people’s lives but we fail to learn from their mistakes or experiences. Instead we simply like to talk about it, gossip about people’s failures and weaknesses, but failing to remember that what happened to them could very well happen to us. We think we are immune from falling into such temptations, or such accidents in life until it happens, then it is too late. Or we like to speculate what happened and what could be the cause. We intellectualize such events as if they do not concern us. Like them, we theologize but we are not facing our own moral frailties, for we too are sinners in so many ways.
Hence, the Lord used these tragic incidents not too speculate the cause but rather to remind us to be prepared at all times. The truth is that life is unpredictable. He said pointedly, “Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.” Such incidents should be a wake-up call to us all to repent of our sins lest the Lord calls us home and we are be ready. As St Paul wrote, “These things all happened as warnings for us, not to have the wicked lust for forbidden things that they had. All this happened to them as a warning, and it was written down to be a lesson for us who are living at the end of the age. The man who thinks he is safe must be careful that he does not fall.”
Following this warning, the Lord told the parable of the Fig Tree. This parable tells us of our responsibility in life according to the graces we have received. When the owner of the vineyard found the tree not bearing figs, He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” Indeed, when we are not producing fruits in life, why should we take up space in this world? God has put us here for a reason even when we are sickly, old or physically and mentally challenged because the weak help to challenge the strong to give more of themselves to humble and patient service. God has given us gifts and resources so that we can use them well, for His greater glory and for the service of His people. We are not here to exist for ourselves. Indeed, there are some people who make use of the graces they have received only for their selfish benefits instead of using their talents and position and wealth for others.
However, this parable also tells us of God’s mercy and compassion. The psalmist sings, “It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the grave. The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.” Like the farmer, the Lord said, “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.” God is patient with us. He gives us time after time, opportunity after opportunity to turn away from sin and from self-destruction. Alas, we take His patience and blessings for granted.
The truth remains, that no matter how patient God is with us, there is a time of reckoning. This is inevitable. If we are not ready and have not repented, it might be too late to regret. Sometimes, God is merciful to us and permit us to suffer earthly punishment, like being sent to prison, losing our jobs, suffering from ill-health or loss of wealth and reputation so that we can repent. But there could be times when we might have to meet our creator without warning. Hence, the psalmist exhorts us, “My soul, give thanks to the Lord all my being, bless his holy name. My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings.” We must be grateful for what we have by living a responsible and accountable life to God and our fellowmen. This was what the letter to the Hebrews also said, “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, ‘So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.'” (Heb 4:1-3) Indeed, let us take hold of God’s promise so that we can enter into His rest, His peace, joy, love and life.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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