MARCH 03, 2013 : THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

Third Sunday of Lent
Lectionary: 30

Reading 1 Ex 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, AMoses! 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 Ps 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 2 1 Cor 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.

Gospel Lk 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.’”

www.usccb.org

Scripture Study

March 3, 2013 Third Sunday of Lent

The liturgical season of Lent began on Ash Wednesday and runs until Holy Thursday night. Lent has a two fold character. It serves as a time for the immediate preparation of the catechumens and candidates who will be fully initiated into the church at the Easter Vigil when they celebrate the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist). It also serves as a time for the rest of us to prepare ourselves, by penance, alms-giving and prayer to celebrate the Paschal Mystery and the renewal of our own baptismal promises at Easter. This double character actually speaks of two ways to describe the same journey. All of us, whether new catechumen or long time believer, are constantly being called to more complete conversion. God always calls us to approach Him more closely. During this time, the church invites us to spend time with Jesus, John the Baptist and the ancient prophets of Israel in the wilderness, listening to this call from God and reflecting on the mystery of redemption through the cross and resurrection of Jesus and on what it means for each of us today.

On this third Sunday of Lent the readings call upon us to undergo continuing conversion. They ask us to turn more and more toward God and less and less toward our own wants and desires.

NOTES on First Reading:

* The portion of the text in brackets, {} is left out of the reading.

* 3:1 This account (from a combination of the Yahwist or "J" tradition and the Elohist or "E" tradition) of the call of Moses follows the Pattern of prophetic vocation and is placed at the mountain of God, that is Sinai/Horeb. The mountain is called Sinai in J and in the Priestly or "P" traditions and Horeb in E and in the Original Deuteronomic or "D" tradition.. Another account (from P) of the call is described in Ex 6:2-13 and 6:28-7:7. The name of Moses father-in-law is given as Jethro here instead of Raguel or Reuel as in verse 18. The differences here and in Numbers are due to different traditions woven together and it is pointless to try to reconcile them. The historically correct name is probably Jethro as given in Ex 3:1, 4:18, 18:1. Other variations are found in Num 10:29, and Jdgs 1:16, 4:11. An attempt to reconcile the traditions appears to be present in Numbers 10:29 The designation, "mountain of God" was probably used because of the divine apparitions which took place there, such as on this occasion and when the Israelites were there after the departure from Egypt. Horeb is the name for the Sinai Range in the historical context of the Deuteronomist and in the Deuteronimic editing of the Book of Kings. Here it is a gloss as in Ex 17:6.

* 3:2 The account begins with an appearance of the "Angel of the Lord" in verse 2 and is identified with the Lord himself in verses 4 and 7. The term, "An angel of the LORD" is often used as the visual form under which God appeared and spoke to men. It is referred to indifferently in some Old Testament texts either as God's angel or as God himself. See Genesis 16:7, 13; Exodus 14:19,24,25; Numbers 22:22-35; Jdgs 6,11-18.

* 3:4 The bush called seneh in Hebrew is a word play on Sinai.

* 3:6 The appearance of God caused fear of death, since it was believed that no one could see God and live; See Genesis 32:30. This verse is cited by Christ in proof of the resurrection since the patriarchs, long dead, live on in God who is the God of the living. See Matthew 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37.

* 3:7 Verses 7-8 are from the J source and are duplicated from the E source in verses 9-10.

* 3:8 "I have come down" is a figure of speech signifying an extraordinary divine intervention in human affairs. See Genesis 11:5, 7. "Flowing with milk and honey" is an expression denoting agricultural prosperity, which seems to have been proverbial in its application to Palestine. See 13:5; Numbers 13:27; Joshua 5:6; Jer 11:5; 32:22; Ezekiel 20:6, 15.

* 3:8b-12 These verses are left out of the reading.

* 3:11 Moses shrinks from such a tremendous undertaking, but he also realized that, as a fugitive from Pharaoh, he could hardly hope to carry out a mission to him. Perhaps he also recalled that on one occasion even his own kinsmen questioned his authority. See Exodus 2:14.

* 3:12 Of all the prophets of the Old Testament Moses is unique in that the sign of his commission comes after the fact rather than before he accomplished his task. Compare Judges 6:36-40.

* 3:14 The divine name manifests God to the worshiper; the old name is not adequate for the new age. "I AM WHO I AM" is the name Yahweh transposed into the first person. In the perspective of E, God revealed himself as Yahweh for the first time to Moses. For J however, the people had always called upon the name of Yahweh (Gen 4:26). The etymology of the name Yahweh is disputed. It is surely a form of the verb, "to be" or "haya" and probably the causative form, "cause to be, create". It is commonly explained in reference to God as the absolute and necessary Being. It may be understood of God as the Source of all created beings. "Yahweh" became accepted as the proper personal name of the God of Israel. Out of reverence for this name, the term Adonai, "my Lord," was later used as a substitute when speaking so that the name of God would not be pronounced. The word, LORD (all upper case) which has traditionally been used in English language translations represents this traditional usage. The translation, "Jehovah", was based on a faulty understanding of the preserved Hebrew text which combined the consonant letters for Yahweh with the (later) vowel sound markings for Adonai. The full answer given in v 14 is "ehyeh 'asher 'ehyeh." Some have interpreted God's answer to the question as a refusal to answer the question. God will be known not by a name but by what He does. Yahweh may also have been the name of the tribal god that Jethro served as priest.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* The portion of the text in brackets, {} is left out of the reading.

* 10:1-5 Paul's survey of the events of the Exodus period indicate that the privileges of Israel in the wilderness are described in terms that apply strictly only to the realities of the new covenant ("baptism," "spiritual food and drink"). This interpretation has them point forward to the Christian experience (1 Cor 10:1-4). Even so those privileges did not guarantee God's permanent pleasure (1 Cor 10:5).

* 10:4 The Torah speaks only about a rock from which water issued. However, rabbinic legend amplified this into a spring that followed the Israelites throughout their migration in the desert. Paul uses this legend as a literary type, making the rock itself accompany the Israelites, and he gives it a spiritual sense. Thus the rock becomes a type of Christ. In the Old Testament, Yahweh is the Rock of his people (See Deut 32, Moses' song to Yahweh the Rock). Paul applies this image to the Christ, the source of the living water, the true Rock that accompanied Israel, guiding their experiences in the desert.

* 10:6-13 This section draws more heavily on the typological method of interpretation and specifies the typological value of these Old Testament events so that the desert experiences of the Israelites are examples, meant as warnings, to deter us from similar sins (idolatry, immorality, etc.) and from a similar fate.

* 10:7-9 These verses are left out of the reading.

* 10:9 Some manuscripts read "the Lord" in order to avoid Paul's concept of Christ being present in the wilderness events.

* 10:11 It is our period in time toward which all of the past events and ages have been moving and in which they arrive at their goal.

* 10:12-13 Here Paul whole reason for the comparison with Israel was to caution against overconfidence, an improper' sense of complete security (1 Cor 10:12). This warning is immediately balanced by a reassurance, based, however, on God, rather than ourselves (1 Cor 10:13).

NOTES on Gospel:

* 13:1-5 The death of the Galileans at the hands of Pilate (Luke 13:1) and the accidental death of those on whom the tower fell (Luke 13:4) are presented by the Lucan Jesus as timely reminders of the need for all to repent, for the victims of these tragedies should not be considered outstanding sinners who were singled out for punishment.

* 13:1 Although the slaughter of the Galileans by Pilate is unknown outside Luke, it seems to be in keeping with the character of Pilate from what is known about him from the Jewish historian Josephus. Josephus reports that Pilate had disrupted a religious gathering of the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim with a slaughter of the participants (Antiquities 18, 4, 1 86-87), and that on another occasion he had killed many Jews who had opposed him when he appropriated money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct in Jerusalem (Jewish War 2, 9, 4 175-77; Antiquities 18, 3, 2 60-62).

* 13:4 Like the incident mentioned in Luke 13:1 nothing of this accident in Jerusalem is known outside Luke and the New Testament.

* 13:6-9 Following on the call to repentance in Luke 13:1-5, the parable of the barren fig tree presents a story about the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet given evidence of their repentance (see Luke 3:8). This should give comfort to the disciple who stumbles on the path of Jesus. The parable may also be alluding to the delay of the end time, when punishment will be meted out, and the importance of preparing for the end of the age because the delay will not be permanent (Luke 13:8-9). Procrastinators and unproductive disciples are warned that the end will come. On another level the fig tree was often a symbol of Israel. Here is presented the situation of Israel in the Old Testament where God was constantly providing one opportunity after another for Israel itself to produce the abundant harvest for which He searched. He constantly sent his servants the prophets out to cultivate the tree but now at the end (Jesus' arrival) the tree will fail to produce the fruit for which God waited.

www.st-raymond-dublin.org

Meditation: If no fruit, cut it down"

What can a calamity, such as a political blood-bath or a natural disaster, teach us about God's kingdom and the consequences of bad choices and sinful actions? When calamity and disaster hit the Jewish people, such as their 400 year enslavement in the land of Egypt, they often saw it as the consequence of  their unrepentant sin and persistent unfaithfulness to God. God, however in his mercy, promised to deliver the Israelites when he sent his servant Moses to lead his people to freedom.
Jesus was asked by some listeners to address the issue of sin and its consequences in the light of two current disasters that befell the residents of Jerusalem. The first incident occured in the temple at Jerusalem. Pilate, who was the Roman governor of Jerusalem at the time, ordered his troops to slaughter a group of Galileans who had come up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice in the temple. We do not know what these Galileans did to incite Pilate's wrath, nor why Pilate chose to attack them in the holiest of places for the Jews, in their temple at Jerusalem. For the Jews, this was political barbarity and sacrilige at its worst! The second incident which Jesus addressed was a natural disaster, a tower in Jerusalem which unexpectely collasped, killing 18 people. The Jews often associated such calamities and disasters as a consequence of sin. Scripture does warn that sin can result in calamity! Though the righteous fall seven times, and rise again; the wicked are overthrown by calamity (Proverbs 24:16).
The real danger and calamity which Jesus points out is that an unexpected disaster or a sudden death does not give us time to repent of our sins and to prepare ourselves to meet the Judge of heaven and earth. The Book of Job reminds us that misfortune and calamity can befall both the righteous and the unrighteous alike. Jesus gives a clear warning - take responsibility for your actions and moral choices and put sin to death today before it can destroy your heart, mind, soul, and body as well. Unrepentant sin is like a cancer which corrupts us from within. If it is not eliminated through repentance - asking God for forgiveness and for his healing grace, it leads to a spiritual death which is far worse than physical destruction.
Jesus' parable of the barren fig trees illustrated his warning about the consequences of allowing sin and corruption to take root in our hearts and minds. Fig trees were a common and important source of food for the people of Palestine. A fig tree normally matured within three years, producing plentiful fruit. If it failed, it was cut down to make room for more healthy trees. A decaying fig tree and its bad fruit came to symbolize for the Jews the consequence of spiritual corruption caused by evil deeds and unrepentant sin. The unfruitful fig tree symbolized the outcome of Israel's unresponsiveness to the word of God. The prophets depicted the desolation and calamity of Israel, due to her unfaithfulness to God, as a languishing fig tree (see Joel 1:7,12; Habakuk 3:17; and Jeremiah 8:13). Jeremiah likened good and evil rulers and members of Israel with figs that were good for eating and figs that were rotten and useless (Jeremiah 24:2-8). Jesus' parable depicts the patience of God, but it also contains a warning that we should not presume upon patience and mercy. God's judgment will come – sooner or later – in due course.
Why does God judge his people? He judges to purify and cleanse us of all sin that we might grow in his holiness and righteousness. And he disciplines us for our own good, to inspire a godly fear and reverence for him and his word. God is patient, but for those who persistently and stubbornly rebel against him and refuse to repent, there is the consequence that they will lose their soul to hell. Are God's judgments unjust or unloving? When God's judgments are revealed in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9). To pronounce God's judgment on sin is much less harsh than what will happen if those who sin are not warned to repent.
God, in his mercy, gives us time to get right with him, but that time is now. We must not assume that there is no hurry. A sudden and unexpected death leaves one no time to prepare to settle one's accounts when he or she must stand before the Lord on the day of judgment. Jesus warns us that we must be ready at all times. Tolerating sinful habits and excusing unrepentant sin will result in bad fruit and eventual destruction. The Lord in his mercy gives us both grace and time to turn away from sin, but that time is right now. If we delay, even for a day, we may discover that grace has passed us by and our time is up. Do you hunger for the Lord's righteousness and holiness?
"Lord Jesus, increase my hunger for you that I may grow in righteousness and holiness. May I not squander the grace of the present moment to say "yes" to you and to your will and plan for my life."

www.dailyscripture.net

Finding Fruit

Third Sunday of Lent

Luke 13:1-9 At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He 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.´" Introductory Prayer: My Lord and my God! I believe that you came as my Savior. I know you wish to save me from everlasting harm. Thank you. I place all my trust in you. I love you, Lord, and I offer myself as an instrument for you to help others to know and love you, too. Petition: Teach me, Lord, to repent, to turn to you and to spread your Good News. 1. Scandalized by Evil: It can happen that people become scandalized or doubt God because of the evil and suffering they see in the world around them. Christ shows us that this attitude is mistaken because God says, “I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man´s conversion, that he may live. Turn, turn from your evil ways!” (Ezekiel 33:11). God does no evil. It is we, his creatures, who do evil, and God suffers the consequences twice: He suffers when we reject him through our sins, and he then takes our sins upon himself and suffers on the Cross so that we might be redeemed. If anyone has a right to complain about the evil in the world, it is God. However, it is through forgiveness that God shows his power and his love. We should not be scandalized by evil, but examine our souls and repent of our own sinful deeds. 2. Wrath of God or Wrath of Man? “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).   I am that tree which so far has given little or no fruit. Jesus is the gardener who sticks up for me and pleas to “fertilize me” instead of cutting me down. The fertilizer is Christ’s Body and Blood, which he sacrificed so that I might have life to the fullest. He wishes to give me his very self and to fill me with grace and thus “reconstruct” my weak, worn heart and person. What does he ask of me? I need to turn to him with both contrition for my sins and confidence in his healing love. I need to open myself to his saving grace. Am I fully aware of my need for Christ, and do I turn to him hungrily? If not, why not? 3. Finding Figs: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). After three years of public ministry, we see in today’s Gospel that Jesus is ready to put his life on the line for me – but does the Son of Man find any faith or love in my heart? “God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:17). He will soon shed his blood under Pontius Pilate – for my sins. Will he find my tree barren and grant me this one last “year” of mercy? Or will he find my tree blooming with sweet-smelling fruits in good works performed out of love for him? He will hang from a dead tree on Good Friday, and his corpse, given out of love for me, will become real fruit, real moisture and fertilizer to my arid soul. Let him make of me a fruitful fig tree, so that others, too, may come to repentance on my account. Conversation with Christ: Teach me, Lord, to repent, to turn to you, and to spread your Good News. I believe in your mission of saving souls, including mine. I hope in you because of the time of mercy that you grant me. I want to love by spreading the Good News of your salvation. Let me be a messenger of your love. Resolution: I will serve others by voicing Christian hope in my conversations today.

www.regnumchristi.org

SUNDAY, MARCH 3

THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT
LUKE 13:1-9
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
(Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12)
KEY VERSE: "Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did" (v 13).
READING: In Jesus' time, there were those who hoped for a triumphant Messiah who would reestablish Israel in power. They found his teaching on the cross difficult to accept. Jesus pointed out recent disasters that they believed were the consequence of sin. In one incident, Pontius Pilate's men killed some Jewish Galileans in cold-blood while they were offering sacrifice in the Jerusalem Temple at Passover. In another case, several construction workers were accidentally killed when a water tower fell on them. These individuals did not die because of their own sins. Although they were innocent of wrongdoing, they nonetheless suffered the reality of evil in the world. Without faith, these calamities would be seen as terrible tragedies, but with faith, all events in a person's life, whether good or bad, can be sanctifying and redemptive. Jesus told a parable about a fruitless fig tree planted in the vineyard (a symbol of barren Israel, Jer 8:13; Is 5:1-7). While God was merciful and patient in waiting for it to bear fruit, time was running out. The kingdom of God was at hand and God's people should repent while there was still time.
REFLECTING: Do I view the trials in my life as punishment for sin or opportunities for growth?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to uproot sin in my life so that I might bear good fruit.

SCRUTINIES -- EXAMINING OUR LIVES

The catechumens, those preparing for baptism, become the "elect" after the Rite of Election on the First Sunday of Lent. One of the ways the Church assists them in their conversion process is through the celebration of the rites called Scrutinies. These ritual celebrations are held on the Third, Fourth and Fifth Sundays of Lent. When the Elect are present the readings are taken from the Cycle A readings. On the Third Sunday of Lent, we hear the story of the woman at the well and her thirst for God. On the Fourth Sunday we hear the story of the man born blind and the healing power of God in his life. On the Fifth Sunday we hear the story of the raising of Lazarus, which  reminds us of our own dying and rising with Christ in Baptism. The Scrutiny rites of Lent are communal prayers celebrated to strengthen the Elect to overcome the power of sin in their lives and to help them to grow in virtue. To scrutinize something means to examine it closely. The community does not scrutinize the elect; they scrutinize their own lives and allow God to scrutinize them and to heal them. Since all of us are called to continual conversion throughout our lives, we join with the Elect in scrutinizing ourselves and praying to God for the grace to overcome the power of sin that still has a hold on us, and to be strengthened in the virtues.

www.daily-word-of-life.com

The Lord is kind and merciful

God helped the Israelites to escape from the slavery of Egypt.
In spite of this, many of them rebelled against God and were destroyed. Paul tells the Corinthians to be warned by these happenings. The knowledge of what happened to those who were ungrateful to the God who saved them should warn us lest we be ungrateful to Christ who saved us from sin.

At prayer, let us repent of the ingratitude our sins have shown to God. The extra year given to the fig tree in the hope that it will bear figs reminds us that we still have time to show ourselves pleasing to God and ready for judgement when we are called. Lord, we pray for your grace to keep us faithful.

www.churchresources.info

March 3
St. Katharine Drexel
(1858-1955)

If your father is an international banker and you ride in a private railroad car, you are not likely to be drawn into a life of voluntary poverty. But if your mother opens your home to the poor three days each week and your father spends half an hour each evening in prayer, it is not impossible that you will devote your life to the poor and give away millions of dollars. Katharine Drexel did that.

She was born in Philadelphia in 1858. She had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl, she had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or death, and her life took a profound turn.
She had always been interested in the plight of the Indians, having been appalled by what she read in Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor. While on a European tour, she met Pope Leo XIII and asked him to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend Bishop James O’Connor. The pope replied, “Why don’t you become a missionary?” His answer shocked her into considering new possibilities.
Back home, Katharine visited the Dakotas, met the Sioux leader Red Cloud and began her systematic aid to Indian missions.
She could easily have married. But after much discussion with Bishop O’Connor, she wrote in 1889, “The feast of St. Joseph brought me the grace to give the remainder of my life to the Indians and the Colored.” Newspaper headlines screamed “Gives Up Seven Million!”
After three and a half years of training, she and her first band of nuns (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored) opened a boarding school in Santa Fe. A string of foundations followed. By 1942 she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states, plus 40 mission centers and 23 rural schools. Segregationists harassed her work, even burning a school in Pennsylvania. In all, she established 50 missions for Indians in 16 states.
Two saints met when Katharine was advised by Mother Cabrini about the “politics” of getting her Order’s Rule approved in Rome. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic university in the United States for African Americans.
At 77, she suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. Apparently her life was over. But now came almost 20 years of quiet, intense prayer from a small room overlooking the sanctuary. Small notebooks and slips of paper record her various prayers, ceaseless aspirations and meditation. She died at 96 and was canonized in 2000.

Comment:

Saints have always said the same thing: Pray, be humble, accept the cross, love and forgive. But it is good to hear these things in the American idiom from one who, for instance, had her ears pierced as a teenager, who resolved to have “no cake, no preserves,” who wore a watch, was interviewed by the press, traveled by train and could concern herself with the proper size of pipe for a new mission. These are obvious reminders that holiness can be lived in today’s culture as well as in that of Jerusalem or Rome.

Quote:

“The patient and humble endurance of the cross—whatever nature it may be—is the highest work we have to do.” “Oh, how far I am at 84 years of age from being an image of Jesus in his sacred life on earth!” (St. Katharine Drexel)

www.americancatholic.org

Lectio: 3rd Sunday of Lent (C)

Lectio: 

Sunday, March 3, 2013  

Jesus comments on the events of the day
How to interpret the signs of the times
Luke 13:1-9
1. Opening prayer

Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.

2. Reading

a) A key to the reading:
The text of the third Sunday of Lent puts before us two different but related facts: Jesus comments on the events of the day and he narrates a parable. Luke 13:1-5: At the people’s request, Jesus comments on the events of the day: the massacre of pilgrims by Pilate and the massacre at the tower of Siloam where eighteen persons were killed. Luke 13:-9: Jesus tells a parable about the fig tree that bore no fruit.
As you read, it is good to note two things: (i) see how Jesus contradicts the popular interpretation of what is happening (ii) see whether there is a connection between the parable and the comment on the events of the day.
b) A division of the text to help with the reading:
Luke 13:1: The people tell Jesus about the massacre of the Galileans
Luke 13:2-3: Jesus comments on the massacre and draws a lesson from there for the people
Luke 13:4-5: To support his thinking, Jesus comments on another event
Luke 13:6-9: The parable of the fig tree that did not bear fruit
c) Text:
1 It was just about this time that some people arrived and told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, 2 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than any others, that this should have happened to them? 3 They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell, killing them all? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? 5 They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.' 6 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. 7 He said to his vinedresser, "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?" 8 "Sir," the man replied, "leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: 9 it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down." '

3. A moment of prayerful silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

4. Some questions

to help us in our personal reflection.
a) What struck or pleased you most in this text? Why?
b) What was the popular interpretation of these two events?
c) How does Jesus disagree with the popular interpretation of the events?
d) What is the meaning of the parable? Is there a connection between the parable and the comments on the events?
e) What is this text’s message for us who have to interpret the signs of the times today?

5. For those who wish to go deeper into the theme

a) The literary and historical context of then and now:
Luke writes his Gospel about 85 A.D. for the Christian communities in Greece. Generally, he follows the narrative in Mark’s Gospel. Here and there he introduces some minor differences or changes some words so as to adapt the narrative to his purpose. Apart from Mark’s Gospel, Luke also consults other books and has access to other sources: eye witnesses and ministers of the Word (Lk 1:2). All the material that is not found in Mark, Luke organizes into a literary form: Jesus on a long journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. There is a description of the journey in Luke 9:51 to 19:28 and this includes ten chapters or one third of the Gospel!
In these chapters, Luke constantly reminds his readers that Jesus is on a journey. He rarely tells us where Jesus is, but he lets us know clearly that Jesus is travelling and that the end of the journey is Jerusalem where he will die in accordance with what the prophets had foretold (Lk 9:51.53.57; 10:1.38; 11:1; 13:22.33; 14:25; 17:11; 18:31. 35; 19:1.11.28). And even after Jesus reaches Jerusalem, Luke goes on talking of a journey to the centre (Lk 19:29.41.45; 20:1). Just before the journey begins, on the occasion of the transfiguration with Moses and Elijah on the mountain, the going to Jerusalem is considered as an exodus for Jesus (Lk 9:31) and as an ascension or climbing up to heaven (Lk 9:51). In the Old Testament, Moses had led the first exodus liberating people from Pharaoh’s oppression (Ex 3:10-12) and the prophet Elijah went up to heaven (2 Kings 2:11). Jesus is the new Moses who comes to liberate people from the oppression of the Law. He is the new Elijah who comes to prepare the coming of the Kingdom.
The description of Jesus’ long journey to Jerusalem is not just a literary device to introduce the material proper to Luke. It also reflects the long and arduous journey that the communities in Greece were going through in their daily lives in Luke’s time: passing from a rural world in Palestine to a cosmopolitan environment in the Greek culture at the edges of the great cities of Asia and Europe. This passage or inculturation was marked by a strong tension between the Christians from Judaism and the new converts who came from other ethnic and cultural groups. Indeed, the description of the long journey to Jerusalem reflects the painful process of conversion that people connected to Judaism had to make: to leave the world of the observance of the law that accused and condemned them, to go towards a world of the gratuitous love of God to all peoples, to the certainty that in Christ all peoples meld into one before God; to leave the closed world of a race to go towards the universal territory of humanity. This is also the journey of our lives. Are we capable of transforming the crosses of life into an exodus of liberation?
b) A commentary on the text:
Luke 13:1:The people inform Jesus of the massacre of the Galileans
Like today, the people pass comments on the events that happen and want to hear comments from those who can form public opinion. That is why some people went to Jesus to tell him of the massacre of some Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. It was probably the assassination that took place on Mount Gerazim, which was still a place of pilgrimage and where people were wont to offer sacrifices. This event underlines the ferocity and stupidity of some Roman rulers in Palestine who provoked the religious sensibility of the Jews through irrational actions such as this.
Luke 13:2-3: Jesus comments on the massacre and draws a lesson for the people
Asked to give an opinion, Jesus asks: “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than any others, that this should happen to them?” Jesus’ question reflects the popular interpretation common then: suffering and violent death are a punishment from God for some sin committed by that person. Jesus’ reaction is categorical: “They were not I tell you. No!” He denies the popular interpretation and transforms the event into an examination of conscience: “unless you repent you will all perish as they did”. In other words, unless there is a real and proper change, the same massacre will overtake all. Later history confirmed Jesus’ foresight. The change did not take place. They were not converted and forty years later, in 70, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Many people were massacred. Jesus saw the gravity of the political situation of his country. On the one hand, there was the ever heavier and unbearable Roman domination. On the other, there was the official religion, which was growing more and more alienated without understanding the importance of the faith in Yahweh in the lives of the people.
Luke 13:4-5: In support of his thinking, Jesus comments on more than one event
Jesus takes the initiative of commenting on another event. A blizzard causes the tower of Siloam to crumble and eighteen people are crushed by the stones. People thought that it was “a punishment from God!” Jesus’ comment is: “No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish as they did”. His concern is to interpret events in such a way that God’s call to change and conversion becomes transparent. Jesus is a mystic, a contemplative. He reads events in a different way. He can read and interpret the signs of the times. For him, the world is transparent, revealing the presence and call of God.
Luke 13:6-9: The parable of the fig tree that bears no fruit
Jesus then tells the parable of the fig tree that bears no fruit. A man had planted a fig tree in his vineyard. For three years the tree bore no fruit. So he says to his vinedresser: “Cut it down”. But the vinedresser replies: “Leave it one more year….it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down”. We do not know whether Jesus told this parable immediately after his comments on the massacre and the crumbling of the tower of Siloam. It was probably Luke who placed this parable here, because Luke sees a connection between the comments on the events and the parable of the fig tree. Luke does not say what this connection is. He leaves us to discover this. What meaning does Luke see? I shall dare to give an opinion. You may discover another meaning. The owner of the vineyard and of the fig tree is God. The fig tree represents the people. Jesus is the vinedresser. The owner of the vineyard has grown tired of looking for fruit from the fig tree and finding none. He decides to uproot the tree. Thus there will be more room for another plant that may bear fruit. The chosen people were not producing the fruit that God expected. He wants to pass on the Good News to the pagans. Jesus is the vinedresser who asks that the fig tree be spared a little longer. He will redouble his efforts to obtain a change and a conversion. Later in the Gospel, Jesus recognizes that his redoubled efforts have borne no result. They will not be converted. Jesus mourns the lack of conversion and weeps over the city of Jerusalem. (Lk 19:41-44).
c) Further information:
A short history of the popular resistance against the Romans in Jesus’ time
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Luke makes clear allusions to the repression of the Roman legions against the popular resistance of the Galileans. Hence we give a schematic overview of the popular resistance of Judeans against the Roman domination. Over the years this resistance grew deeper and took root in the faith of the people. Here is an outline that runs parallel with Jesus’ life:
i) From 63 to 37 before Christ: A popular revolt without any clear direction. In 63 before Christ, the Roman Empire invaded Palestine and imposed a peasant tribute. From 57 to 37, in just 20 years, six rebellions broke out in Galilee! The people, aimless, followed anyone who promised to liberate them from the Roman tribute.
ii) From 37 to 4 before Christ: Repression and dislocation. This is the time of the government of Herod, called The Great. He is the one who killed the innocents in Bethlehem (Mt 2:16). Brutal repression prevented any kind of popular manifestation. Herod thus promoted the so-called Pax Romana. This peace gave the Empire a certain economic stability, but for the oppressed people it was the peace of a cemetery.
iii) From 4 to 6 after Christ: Messianic revolutions. This is the period of Archelaus’ government in Judea. On the day he took power, he massacred 3000 persons in the Temple square. The revolution exploded all over the country, but it was aimless. The popular leaders at this time were seeking for motives connected with ancient tradition and presented themselves as messianic kings. The Roman repression destroyed Seforis, the capital of Galilee. Violence was the mark of Jesus’ childhood. In the ten years of Archelaus’ government, he saw Palestine go through one of the most violent periods of its history.
iv) From 6 to 27: Zeal for the law: A time for revision. In the year 6, Romolus deposed Archelaus and transformed Judea into a Roman Province, decreeing a census so as to make sure that the tribute was paid. The census produced a strong popular reaction inspired by Zeal for the Law. This Zeal (hence the term zealots) urged people to boycott and not pay the tribute. This was a new form of resistance, a kind of civil disobedience that spread like a repressed fire under embers. However, Zeal had a limited vision. The "zealots" ran the danger of reducing the observance of the Law to opposition to the Romans. It was precisely during this period that Jesus grew in awareness of his mission.
v) From 27 to 69: The prophets reappear. After these 20 years, from 6 to 26, the revision of the aim of the journey appears with the preaching of the prophets who represented a step forward in the popular movement. The prophets called the people together and invited them to conversion and change. They wanted to reform history from its origins. They gathered the people in the desert (Mk 1:4), to begin a new exodus, proclaimed by Isaiah (Is 43:16-21). The first was John the Baptist (Mt 11:9; 14:5; Lk 1:76), who drew many people (Mt 3:5-7). Soon after, Jesus came on the scene and was considered by the people to be a prophet (Mt 16:14; 21:11.46; Lk 7:16). Jesus, like Moses, proclaimed the New Law on the Mountain (Mt 5:1) and nourished the people in the desert (Mk 6:30-44). Like the fall of the walls of Jericho towards the end of the forty years in the desert (Is 6: 20), so also Jesus proclaimed the fall of the walls of Jerusalem (Lk 19: 44; Mt 24:2). Like the prophets of old, Jesus proclaimed the liberation of the oppressed and the beginning of a new jubilee year (Lk 4:18-19), and asked for a change in the way of life (Mk 1:15; Lk 13:3.5).
There are other prophets after Jesus. That is why revolution, messianism and zeal continue to exist simultaneously. The authorities of the time, Romans and Herodians, as also priests, scribes and Pharisees, all concerned with the security of the Temple and the Nation (Jn 11:48) and with the observance of the Law (Mt 23:1-23), could see the difference between prophets and other popular leaders. For them they were all the same. They mistook Jesus for a messianic king (Lk 23:2.5). Gamaliel, the great doctor of the law, for instance, compared Jesus with Judas, leader of the revolutionaries (Acts 5:35-37). Flavius Josephus himself, the historian, mistook the prophets for "thieves and impostors". Today we would say that they were all "good for nothing"!

6. Praying Psalm 82 (81)

God warns human authorities
God takes his stand in the divine assembly,
surrounded by the gods he gives judgement.
'How much longer will you give unjust judgements
and uphold the prestige of the wicked?
Let the weak and the orphan have justice,
be fair to the wretched and the destitute.
'Rescue the weak and the needy,
save them from the clutches of the wicked.
'Ignorant and uncomprehending,
they wander in darkness,
while the foundations of the world are tottering.
I had thought, "Are you gods,
are all of you sons of the Most High?"
No! you will die as human beings do,
as one man, princes, you will fall.'
Arise, God,
judge the world,
for all nations belong to you.

7. Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice that which your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

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