To
help me to find the main idea in the readings, I read the Gospels of the third
Sunday of Cycle A and B. A: the
Samaritan woman; B: the purification of the Temple. Both Gospels are from John.
I
think that one of the themes in the gospels of the three cycles is CONVERSION,
seen as FIDELITY to our call.
FIRST READING Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15
Ø Today’ reading speaks of
the call YHWH makes to Moses.
Ø Moses comes with the flock
of his father in law to the Horeb, Sinai, the mountain of God.
Ø God reveals himself to Moses
o as the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, that is, the God of the fathers.
o God is the God of history
who takes care of the oppressed, the needy, the one who suffers. This means
that he is a God close to human beings who can say “I have seen the oppression
of my people in Egypt, I have heard their complaints against their oppressors
and I have come to deliver them.”
o God besides being so close (immanent) is also a transcendent God:
§ The burning bush which is not consumed
§ The order given to Moses to take off his shoes because he is on holy ground. God is present there.
§ His mysterious name
o The name
§ For the peoples of the
Bible the name is the same as the person, it has to be respected like the
person is respected.
§ Also to know the name of a
person is in certain measure to have dominion over him or her, to be able to
manipulate him or her.
§ God cannot be manipulated,
because he is the totally OTHER. He says to Moses his name which seems
enigmatic, or even a way not to say his true name
§ But in reality this is his
true name, his true identity I AM WHO AM, it means I am the one who does not
depend on others to exist, I exist by myself.
Ø And
after explaining to Moses why he has come, he tells him to go to deliver his
brothers and sisters.
Ø You
will tell them I AM (YHWH) sends me to you to deliver you from Egypt and to
lead you into a fertile land.
Ø What
a beautiful text which narrates the conversation between God who calls and the
one called that looks for excuses
because he is afraid but finally he find his strength in God to be faithful “I
am with you.”
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 103
THE LORD IS GOOD AND MERCIFUL
ü This
psalm is a hymn to the mercy of God.
Bless the Lord, my soul
May my whole being bless his holy Name
Bless the Lord, my soul,
And never forget his benefits.
He pardons all your faults
And heals all your illnesses
He rescues your life from the grave
He crowns you with love and tenderness
The Lord does works of justice
And gives the right to the oppressed
He showed his ways to Moses
And his mighty deeds to the people of Israel
The Lord is compassionate and merciful
As much as the sky is high above the earth
So is his infinite love toward those who fear him.
SECOND READING 1 Cor 10:1-6. 10-12
Paul reminds the community of
Corinth how those who left Egypt and journeyed through the desert had the same
experiences: the sea, the cloud, the manna, the Law.
But their fate was different due
to the different way each one accepted the gratuitous gifts that God gave them.
And Paul continues to say that
this happened to teach us. Teach what? Fidelity to the call we received at baptism.
And it is also a call not only
to be faithful but humble and trusting in the Lord. “Therefore whoever thinks he is standing secure
should take care not to fall.
GOSPEL Lk 13:1-9
ü Some people came to Jesus and
told him about the Galileans that Pilate had them killed. We do not know with what intention they communicated that to Jesus.
ü But Jesus takes the opportunity to remind all his listeners that this
happened to them not because they were worst sinners than the rest of us, but
that we all need to “convert to the Lord” and do good works, be faithful to our
call, on the contrary we will perish. We
will not perish because Pilate or somebody else kills us, but because with our
sins we will kill us.
ü And the Lord continues to tell them a parable to illustrate what he had
told them:
o A man had a fig tree planted in his orchard.
o When he came to pick up fruit there was none.
o
He called the gardener and told
him to cut it down because for three years he had come to search for fruit and
had found none. Why should it exhaust the soil for nothing?
o The gardener said to him, leave it for one year I shall cultivate the
ground around it and fertilize.
o If it continues not to give fruit you can cut it down.
ü This parable seems like the history of salvation accomplished by Jesus.
o He is the one who takes care of the fig tree, wait a little Father, let
me go and live among them, and let me tell them how much you love them and how
he wishes them to live, and you will see how they change.
o I will hand myself over in their hands, loving them unconditionally as
you love them, so they can see your love in me, learn and even if they kill me
I will continue to love them.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CLARET,
Antonio María. Autobiography.
PAGOLA, José
A. Following in the Footsteps of Jesus –
Gospels Year C
PARIS, María
Antonia. Autobiography
RAVASI, Gianfranco. Según
las Escrituras – Ciclo C. San Pablo 2006.
SCHÖKEL , Luis Alonso, La Biblia de nuestro Pueblo.
SAGRADA BIBLIA, Versión Oficial de la Conferencia
Episcopal Española
One time I was very afflicted praying for a
certain person that I knew had committed three or four mortal sins, and my soul
was pierced because this was a religious, consecrated to God. One of those
days, in which I was most afflicted, our Lord told me with great sadness. This
is the way the sons of my church repay my benefits. Let me, my daughter, rest
in your heart. I have no place to rest. Venerable María Antonia París, Foundress of
the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography
70.
To give still greater edification, I have
refrained from smoking or taking snuff. Furthermore, I have never said or even
hinted that I prefer any one thing to another. This, of course, is an old habit
with me. The Lord had already given me this heavenly blessing while my dear
mother (R.I.P.) was still alive. She died without ever knowing what I liked
best. Because she loved me so much and wanted to please me, she would sometimes
ask me whether I liked this or that. I would answer that whatever she chose for
me was what I liked best. Then she would say, "I know, but there is always
something we like better than something else." I would still tell her that
what she gave me was what I liked best. Naturally I, like everyone else, prefer
some things to others; but the spiritual joy I feel in doing the will of others
is far greater than that of any particular physical preference, so that I was
telling my mother the truth. Saitn Anthony Mary Claret, Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters. Autobiography
410.
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