3^rd Sunday of Lent (C); March 20, 2022

Ex 3:1-8,13-15.  Ps 103.  1 Cor 10:1-6.  Lk 13:1-9

Deacon Jim McFadden

            Throughout the Catholic Church, today is the First Scrutiny for catechumens.  Who are the catechumens?  They are those who have inquired into becoming a member of the Catholic Church and, after a period of discernment, have embraced a period of catechetical formation which leads into initiation into the Church at the Easter Vigil.  Today, the Nicene Creed is presented to them as they discern whether they want to profess their Faith within the Catholic Tradition.

            Today is also a day of warning to those who call themselves believers.  Christians: Watch Out!  Our Tradition tells us that all that has happened before serves as a warning: do you live what you believe?  Do you live as if you are on hallowed ground.  You may ask: well, St. John the Baptist parish may be hallowed ground, but what about the rest of Folsom or  the prison that is just a mile away from the church?  How can they be sacred?  Two reasons: God is here and you are here.  When those two are conjoined, you’re on sacred ground.  As an infant or child, most of us have been baptized.  How are we responding to our baptismal call?  As members of the priesthood of the faithful, are we sanctifying our life?  As a prophet, are we being a spokesperson for God?  Are we exercising kingly power to serve others?  In other words, is our life bearing fruit?  As this moment, in this place is God pleased with us?  The Lenten season calls us who have been baptized, confirmed, given Eucharist, and forgiveness to be faithful to our baptism.  The Lenten season is a time for us to take our spiritual temperature, to gauge our active trust in God.

            The readings begin with the call of Moses who encounters the Divine in a Burning Bush that was ablaze but not consumed—a classic description of a mystical experience.  It’s a fire that should destroy, but does not.  Brothers and sisters, as we get closer to God, our attachments and addictions will gradually be burned away.  This fire does not destroy but gives life.  It’s a fire of purification that burns away our illusions so that we can see and live the truth.  This journey of faith, which our catechumens have come to appreciate, is one of loss and surrender to the one true God.

            After revealing himself to Moses, God immediately gives Moses a challenge.  “I have heard the cry of my people; I have witnessed their affliction; I know what they are suffering….Come now!  I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt” (Ex 3:7,10).  Pharaoh represents the dominant consciousness that treats human beings as objects that can be thrown away when they are no longer useful or the innocent victims of an unprovoked war which we are witnessing in Ukraine.

            The Israelites, on the other hand, represent the poor, the marginalized, and the oppressed.  The Lord, who has witnessed how the Egyptians have oppressed his people, hears their cry and acts!  People of God, if we are truly worshiping God, we will hear the cry of the suffering and afflicted, those who are the victims of the powers of this world.  If we worship God, who cannot abide injustice and needless pain, we will obey God’s command to set others free and share our life with them.

            St. Paul’s 1^st Letter to the Corinthians cites the history of God’s people as an example for us, a warning.  We are not to take for granted what has been given to us in such overflowing abundance.  Are we grateful?  Do we share our lives and resources with the Body of Christ, the Church?  Do we belong to God?  Do we live lives of justice, peace, and non-violence as we move forward, faces towards the true worship of God.  We have all listened to the same Word and shared the same Eucharist, sacraments, community, and Spirit.  Is God pleased with us?

            Jesus in the Parable of the Fig Tree is calling us to repentance.  The parable may be asking us: do we have anything at all to show for life in the Spirit?  Are we bearing fruit?  If people followed us around for a day or a week, would they come to the conclusion that we are Christians: would they see how we love God and our neighbor?  If we were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us?

            During this Lent, let us consider carefully: what do I have to do to draw closer to the Lord, to convert myself to a deeper level of relationship, to cut out those things in my life that are not good nor bear fruit.  We have to be active and consistent in living at the People of God.  If we do, we will bear fruit.  We will be pleasing to God.  Amen.