{"id":1002,"date":"2013-03-04T11:05:05","date_gmt":"2013-03-04T16:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=1002"},"modified":"2013-03-04T11:05:05","modified_gmt":"2013-03-04T16:05:05","slug":"homily-third-sunday-in-lent-year-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/homily-third-sunday-in-lent-year-c\/","title":{"rendered":"Homily – Third Sunday in Lent, Year C"},"content":{"rendered":"

3rd<\/sup> Sunday in Lent, Year C<\/a>
\nExodus 3:1-8a, 13-15
\n1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
\nLuke 13:1-9
\nMarch 3, 2013<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices\u201d.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know any more than this about what happened here but the people are understandably concerned and bring that concern to Jesus.\u00a0 They might have been wondering why God allowed this.\u00a0 The thought in that day was that bad things happened to those who sinned.\u00a0 So, since God did not save these people they must have sinned.<\/p>\n

Jesus knows this is what they might think.\u00a0 He asks them if they think these people must have been greater sinners than everyone else.\u00a0 He tells them it is not so.\u00a0 One might suggest their deaths were because of human conflicts.\u00a0 But Jesus uses it as an opportunity to call the people to repent, telling the people that if they do not repent, they too will perish.<\/p>\n

If we do not repent, we perish in Hell.<\/p>\n

Then Jesus speaks of the eighteen people who died in Siloam, asking the people if they think those people must have been great sinners.\u00a0 He tells them no.\u00a0 For all we know it was a simple accident or a structural failure of the tower.\u00a0 But again he calls them to repent.<\/p>\n

Why is Jesus calling them to repent now?<\/p>\n

Sometimes we seem to think we are going to live forever.\u00a0 We know we haven\u2019t been perfect, that we have sinned, but we think there is plenty of time to repent tomorrow.\u00a0 When we are young, we think we are going to live a long time.<\/p>\n

Jesus is trying to help the people realize there might not be a tomorrow.\u00a0 We could die in an accident today.<\/p>\n

So we need to repent today.<\/p>\n

What does it mean to repent?<\/p>\n

Sometimes, we just think we need to confess our sins and get on with life.\u00a0 Repentance is more than just confessing our sins. \u00a0It means having a real desire to change our behavior.<\/p>\n

God knows we are not perfect.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he gives us the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.\u00a0 Think of the Act of Contrition we say after we confess our sins.\u00a0 There are various versions out there but there are two points common in them.\u00a0 First, that we are sorry for our sins.\u00a0 And secondly, that we resolve to sin no more.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t easy to change.\u00a0 Sometimes it happens instantly and sometimes it takes years.\u00a0 The good news is that when it takes us years, as long as we really try, God will forgive us over and over.\u00a0 Our God is a god of infinite chances.<\/p>\n

Jesus knew the people needed to repent.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he takes the people\u2019s question about the blood shed by Pilate and turns it into a teaching moment, an example and warning of what might happen to us.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we think death is something that only comes to the elderly.\u00a0 We might think that as long as we believe in Jesus nothing bad can happen to us.\u00a0 Remember, I already mentioned that the people in Jesus\u2019 time on Earth thought that when bad things happen it meant you must have sinned.<\/p>\n

Well, sometimes bad things happen.\u00a0 When they do, we might ask, \u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes they happen because of choices we make.\u00a0 Sometimes, they happen because of choices other people make.\u00a0 Sometimes they just seem to happen (like natural disasters).<\/p>\n

When bad things happen (or as Moses wrote \u201caffliction\u201d), we cry out to God.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the Israelites did as slaves to Egypt.\u00a0 God heard their cry.<\/p>\n

Hearing their cry, he sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt to lead them to \u201ca land flowing with milk and honey.\u201d\u00a0 We might say why not me?<\/p>\n

Why aren\u2019t my prayers being answered?<\/p>\n

Sometimes we say we aren\u2019t asking for the right thing.\u00a0 Sometimes we say God will answer in his time.\u00a0 Remember the Israelites prayers were not answered immediately.\u00a0 Even when they were led out of Egypt, they spent forty years in the desert.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t know why some bad things happen but we do know we have a God who is all-powerful\u00a0and all-knowing.\u00a0 When Moses asked God his name, he responded first \u201cI am who I am\u201d and then said his name is \u201cI AM.\u201d<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t seem like much of an answer.<\/p>\n

I can say myself \u2018I am who I am\u2019 but it isn\u2019t the same when God says it.\u00a0 God is great.\u00a0 God is more than we can imagine. \u00a0God is one who we can trust in.<\/p>\n

Do bad things happen to us?\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Should we pray that bad things don\u2019t happen?\u00a0 Yes.<\/p>\n

Should we ask God to rescue us from our afflictions?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 (God doesn\u2019t want us to suffer).<\/p>\n

Should we trust in God to provide?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Remember the \u2018land flowing with milk and honey?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called Heaven and it\u2019s there for all who believe in Jesus.<\/p>\n

Let us not just say we believe but live like we believe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3rd Sunday in Lent, Year C Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12 Luke 13:1-9 March 3, 2013 \u201cSome people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices\u201d.\u00a0 We don\u2019t know any more than this about what happened here but the people are understandably concerned and bring …<\/p>\n

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