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Thứ Bảy, 22 tháng 3, 2025

MARCH 23, 2025: THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

 

March 23, 2025


 

Third Sunday of Lent
Year C

Lectionary: 30

 

Reading I

Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro,
the priest of Midian.
Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,
the mountain of God.
There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire
flaming out of a bush.
As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,
though on fire, was not consumed.
So Moses decided,
“I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,
and see why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,
God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
God said, “Come no nearer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground.
I am the God of your fathers, “ he continued,
“the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”
Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
But the LORD said,
“I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt
and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers,
so I know well what they are suffering.
Therefore I have come down to rescue them
from the hands of the Egyptians
and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land,
a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites
and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’
if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”
God replied, “I am who am.”
Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites:
I AM sent me to you.”

God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.

“This is my name forever;
thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”

 

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11.

R. (8a)  The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
            and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
            and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
            heals all your ills,
He redeems your life from destruction,
            crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
The LORD secures justice
            and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
            and his deeds to the children of Israel.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
            slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
            so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

 

Reading II

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
that our ancestors were all under the cloud
and all passed through the sea,
and all of them were baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea.
All ate the same spiritual food,
and all drank the same spiritual drink,
for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them,
and the rock was the Christ.
Yet God was not pleased with most of them,
for they were struck down in the desert.

These things happened as examples for us,
so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.
Do not grumble as some of them did,
and suffered death by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as an example,
and they have been written down as a warning to us,
upon whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure
should take care not to fall.

 

Verse Before the Gospel

Matthew 4:17

Repent, says the Lord;
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

Gospel

Luke 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to 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?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032325-YearC.cfm

 


Commentaries on Exodus 3:1-8,13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6,1-12; Luke 13:1-9

One of the recurrent themes throughout the Lenten season is the compassion and mercy of our God. It is something that we constantly need to be reminded about. 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—an idea still being fostered by those who claim to have had special revelations.

Does anything matter?
If God’s love for us is so constant and unchanged by our behaviour, does that mean we can do anything we like? Does it matter whether we lead good or bad lives or whether we sin or not? It is very doubtful if we would be justified in drawing that conclusion.

Today’s readings seem to be saying three things to us:

  1. We cannot find our salvation and wholeness as persons without the love and the help of God.
  2. God does not punish people because of their bad behaviour.
  3. God will not save us against our will or without our co-operation.

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—a bonding. Love is not complete 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.

Does God kill people?
In today’s Gospel, some people approach Jesus and tell him of how some Galileans had been killed by Roman soldiers in the Temple sanctuary. Did they want Jesus, as a Galilean himself, to denounce the Roman authorities? Jesus responds by taking another tack altogether. Instead, he mentions another incident, apparently a sheer accident when a building fell on some purely innocent people and killed many. Jesus asks his questioners:

…do you think that they were worse offenders than all the other people living in Jerusalem?

It is quite common to meet people who believe that such events are acts of punishment by God. Perhaps even more frequently one meets people who ask why a loving God does not prevent such things happening—as if God was a kind of puppet master who rules the world by pulling strings.

When an airplane crashes and everyone is killed, is it because those passengers were more deserving of death? When thousands are killed or made homeless as the result of some terrible natural disaster, an earthquake or a cyclone, are we to read it as an act of punishment for those people or even for the whole country?

Does God love some people more?
Does God love those victims less? Are those who escape such disasters more loved by him? Maybe it is the other way round. Those who died may have been ready to meet their God, while those who survive are being given an opportunity to put things right with their lives. Jesus gives a clear warning:

I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish just as they did.

‘Repent’ (Greek, metanoia) implies not just regret for the past, but a radical conversion and a complete change in our way of life in responding to and opening ourselves to the love of God.

What Jesus is saying is:

  • If I am regarded as very ‘successful’ in my life (e.g. I have money, career or status), it does not at all mean that I am a good person, a person without sin or that God somehow loves me more. Jesus makes that quite clear in the Gospel.
  • If I suffer in my life, it does not at all mean that God does not love me or that I am more sinful than others.

In fact, every single experience I have is a sign of God’s love. If I am showered with blessings—spiritual, emotional or material—they are given that I may share them with others, so that I become a channel of God’s love to others. If I am struck down with disaster, disease, pain or failure, it is again a message for me 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. Disease and serious illness can draw out of relatives and friends extraordinary depths of compassion and care. Unhealthy behaviour and material prosperity 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.

No unconditional guarantees
Jesus is also saying that, just because I am a baptised Christian and call myself ‘Catholic’, it is of itself no guarantee that I will experience salvation and wholeness as a person. In today’s Second Reading, Paul, speaking of the Israelites in the desert with Moses, says:

…[they] were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

Having an identity card or passport is no guarantee that I am a good and responsible citizen. Being baptised, even my presence at Mass or my going to Confession 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.

Taking a close look
So today’s readings are asking us to take a good look at ourselves. We are like that fig tree that Jesus speaks of in the parable in today’s Gospel. It is alive but it bears no fruit. It should be cut down. The man responsible for the tree asks the owner to give it one more year. If after that, there is no fruit, it should be cut down.

Every Lenten season is our chance to fertilise our tree and to see how it can be more fruitful. For some reading this, it may indeed be their last year, their last Lent to take care of their tree.

I am being called not merely to survive personally as a Christian, to ‘hang in there’ (just staying out of sin and being in the ‘state of grace’). I am being called to grow continually in being a truly loving person, loving God and loving all those around me.

For instance, let us look at a few examples:

  • What kind of influence am I within my family circle?
  • In work, how do I relate with my colleagues and is my presence a positive element in our workplace?
  • What is my attitude towards strangers, that is, people I do not know and who are not ‘useful’ to me?
  • What kind of contribution (apart from giving money and being physically present in church) do I make to the life of the Christian community in that part of the world where I live?
  • In general, what kind of contribution could I be said to be making in my society, or do I expect society to satisfy only my needs and those of my immediate family?

Two-way love
On the one hand, I need to realise that God always and everywhere loves me. But that love is only fully completed in me when I become a genuinely loving and caring person, one who loves both God and others in word and action.

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 or, like the Prodigal Son, go our own way, separate ourselves from him and wallow in the cesspools of life. The choice is up to us. God’s love is there for the taking. What are we waiting for?

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Sunday, March 23, 2025

Third Sunday of Lent

Opening Prayer

 Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us read the Scriptures in the same way that You read them to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. With the light of the Word in the Bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the distressing events surrounding Your condemnation to death. The cross, which seemed to put an end to all hope, was revealed to them as the source of life and resurrection.

Create in us the silence necessary to hear Your voice in creation and in the Scriptures, in the events of daily life and in people, above all in the poor and the suffering. May Your word give us direction, just as it did to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, so that we too will experience the power of Your resurrection and bear witness to others that You are alive in our midst as the source of community, of justice and of peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, You who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.

Gospel Reading – John 4: 5-42

A Key for Unlocking the Text:

The text describes the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. It is a very human conversation, which shows how Jesus related to people and how He Himself learned and became enriched in talking with others. While reading the text, try to be aware of what surprises you most about the attitude both of Jesus and the woman. A Division of the Text to Assist a Careful Reading:

           Jn 4: 5-6: Sets the scene in which the dialogue takes place

           Jn 4: 7-26: Describes the dialogue between Jesus and the woman

     7-15: about water and thirst

           John 6-18: about the husband and family

     19-25: about religion and the place for adoration

           Jn 4: 27-30: Describes the effect of the conversation on the woman          Jn 4: 31-38: Describes the effect of the conversation on Jesus     Jn 4: 39-42: Describes the effect on the mission of Jesus in Samaria The Text:

           5-6: So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as He was from His journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

           7-15: There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to Him, "How is it that You, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." The woman said to Him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

           16-18: Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered Him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly."

           19-26: The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

           27-30: Just then His disciples came. They marvelled that He was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or "Why are You talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" They went out of the city and were coming to Him.

           31-38: Meanwhile the disciples besought Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

           39-42: Many Samaritans from that city believed in Him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."

A Moment of Silent Prayer

so that the Word of God can enter into us and light up our lives.

Some Questions

to help us in our meditation and prayer.

           What most attracted your attention in Jesus’ attitude toward the woman during the dialogue? What method did Jesus use to help the woman become aware of a deeper dimension to life?

           What most attracted your attention about the attitude of the Samaritan woman during her conversation with Jesus? How did she influence Jesus?

           Where in the Old Testament is water associated with the gift of life and the gift of the Holy Spirit?

           How does Jesus’ attitude during the conversation question me or touch something within me or correct me?

           The Samaritan woman led the discussion towards religion. If you could come across Jesus and talk to Him, what would you like to talk about? Why?

           Do I adore God in spirit and in truth or do I find my security in rituals and regulations?

A Key to the Reading

for those who wish to go deeper.

The Symbolism of water:

Jesus uses the word water in two senses. The first sense is the material, normal sense of water that one drinks; the second is the symbolic sense as the source of life and the gift of the Spirit. Jesus uses a language that people can understand and, at the same time, awakens in them the desire to go deeper and to discover a more profound meaning to life.

The symbolic sense of water has its roots in the Old Testament, where it is frequently a symbol for the action of the Spirit of God in people. For example, Jeremiah compares running water to water in a cistern (Jer 2: 13). The more water is taken from a cistern, the less it has; the more water is taken from a stream of living water, the more it has. Other texts from the Old Testament: Is 12: 3; 49: 10; 55: 1; Ezek 47: 1-3. Jesus knew the traditions of His people and He uses these in His conversation with the Samaritan woman. Suggesting the symbolic meaning of water, He suggests to her (and to the readers) various episodes and verses from the Old Testament. The Dialogue Between Jesus and the Woman:

Jesus meets the woman at the well, a traditional place for meetings and conversations (Gen 24: 10-27; 29: 1-14). He starts off from His own very real need because He is thirsty. He does this in such a way that the woman feels needed and she serves Him. Jesus makes Himself needy in her regard. From His question, he makes it possible for the woman to become aware that He depends on her to give Him something to drink. Jesus awakens in her the desire to help and to serve.

The conversation between Jesus and the woman has two levels:

   The superficial level, in the material sense of water that quenches someone’s thirst, and in the normal sense of husband as the father of a family. At this level the conversation is tense and difficult and does not flow. The Samaritan woman has the upper hand. At the beginning, Jesus tries to meet her by talking about daily chores (fetching water), but He does not succeed. Then He tries by talking about family (call your husband), and still there is no breakthrough. Finally the woman speaks about religion (the place of adoration). Jesus then gets through to her by the door she herself has opened.

   The deeper level, in the symbolic sense of water as the image of the new life brought by Jesus, and of the husband as the symbol of the union of God with the people. At this level, the conversation flows perfectly. After revealing that He Himself is offering the water of new life, Jesus says, "Go and get your husband and then return." In the past, the Samaritans had five husbands, or five idols, attached to the five groups of people who were taken off by the King of Assyria (2 Kings 17: 30-31). The sixth husband, the one the woman had at present, was not truly her husband: "the one you have now is not your husband" (Jn 4: 18). What the people had did not respond to their deepest desire: union with God, as a husband who unites himself to his spouse (Is 62: 5; 54: 5). The true husband, the seventh, is Jesus, as promised by Hosea: "I will espouse you to me forever; I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy. I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the Lord." (Hos 2: 21-22). Jesus is the bridegroom who has arrived

(Mk 2: 19) to bring new life to the woman who has been searching for

it her whole life long, and until now, has never found it. If the people accept Jesus as "husband," they will have access to God wherever they are, both in spirit and in truth (vv. 23-24).

Jesus declares His thirst to the Samaritan woman but He does not drink. This is a sign that we are talking about a symbolic thirst, which had to do with His mission: the thirst to accomplish the will of His Father (Jn 4: 34). This thirst is ever present in Jesus and will be until His death. At the moment of His death, He says, "I am thirsty" (Jn 19: 28). He declares His thirst for the last time and so He can say, "It is accomplished." Then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (Jn 19: 30). His mission had been accomplished. The Importance of Women in the Gospel of John:

In John’s Gospel, women feature prominently seven times, which are decisive for the spreading of the Good News. To women are given functions and missions, some of which, in the other Gospels, are attributed to men:

           At the wedding feast in Cana, the mother of Jesus recognizes the limits of the Old Testament and affirms the law of the Gospel, "Do whatever He tells you."

(Jn 2: 1-11).

           The Samaritan woman is the first person to have revealed to her by Jesus the great secret, that He is the Messiah. "It is I who speak to you." (Jn 4: 26). She then becomes the evangelizer of Samaria (Jn 4: 28-30, 39-42).

           The woman, who is called an adulteress, at the moment of receiving the forgiveness of Jesus, becomes the judge of the patriarchal society (or of male power) that seeks to condemn her. (Jn 8: 1-11).

           In the other Gospels it is Peter who makes the solemn profession of faith in Jesus (Mt 16: 16; Mk 8: 29; Lk 9: 20). In the Gospel of John, it is Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus, who makes the solemn profession of faith (Jn 11: 27).

           Mary, the sister of Martha, anoints the feet of Jesus for the day of his burial (Jn. 12: 7). At the time of Jesus, the one who died on a cross was not buried nor embalmed. Mary anticipated the anointing of Jesus’ body. This means that she accepted Jesus as the Messiah-Suffering Servant, who must die on the cross. Peter did not accept this (Jn.13: 8) and sought to dissuade Jesus from this path (Mt. 16: 22). In this way, Mary is presented as a model for the other disciples.

           At the foot of the cross, Jesus says, "Woman, behold your son; son, behold your mother" (Jn. 19: 25-27). The Church is born at the foot of the cross. Mary is the model for the Christian community.

           Mary Magdalene must announce the Good News to the brothers (Jn. 20: 1118). She receives an order, without which all the other orders given to the apostles would have no effect or value.

           The Mother of Jesus appears twice in John’s Gospel: at the beginning, at the wedding feast in Cana (Jn. 2: 1-5), and at the end, at the foot of the cross (Jn. 19: 25-27). In both cases, she represents the Old Testament that waits for the arrival of the New, and, in both cases, assists its arrival. Mary unites what has gone before with what would come later. At Cana, it is she, the Mother of Jesus, symbol of the Old Testament, who perceives its limits and takes steps so that the New will arrive. At the hour of Jesus’ death, it is the Mother of Jesus, who welcomes the "Beloved Disciple." In this case the Beloved Disciple is the new community, which has grown around Jesus. It is the child that has been born from the Old Testament. In response to Jesus’ request, the son, the New Testament, welcomes the Mother, the Old Testament, into his home. The two must journey together. The New Testament cannot be understood without the Old. It would be a building without a foundation. The Old without the New would be incomplete. It would be a tree without fruit.

Psalm 19 (18)

God Speaks to Us Through Nature and Through the Bible

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tent for the sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is Thy servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults.

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your word, which has helped us see better the will of the Father. Let Your Spirit illumine all that we do and give us the strength to carry out what Your Word has made us see. Let us, like Mary, Your Mother, not only listen to the Word but also put it into practice. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

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