THE DIVINE CHOICE

HOMILY FOR 3RD SUNDAY OF LENT, YEAR C

THEME: THE DIVINE CHOICE

R1: Exodus 3:1-8.13-15

R2: 1 Cor. 10:1-6.10-12

Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Dear friends in Christ, today’s readings explain the choice God has made of us. He loves us so much and has called all of us to leave behind our past lives and our sinful state, and accept the new life of grace which he is offering us out of his love and mercy.  The readings explain this choice and the role we should play to make this choice of God realizable. We have the following lessons to learn:

*1. The Enduring Compassion of God:*

 In our first reading today we hear the call of Moses. God having heard the cry of His people called Moses to be their liberator. Here God is seen as a compassionate and ever loving Father. It is worthy of note that before now God had made a covenant with Israel, to bless his generation forever. Notwithstanding, this promise of God was interrupted by a temporary suffering in Egypt. The situation of the Israelites made them cry to God and He heard them.

We are sometimes faced with life challenging situations.These do not present the fact that God hates us. In our suffering or life experiences, many times God wants to use that to teach us a lesson and to demonstrate how much He loves us. In situations like this, there are two important things we are expected to do before God will respond. These are: i. we MUST cry to Him before He would respond. In the first reading God says, “I have heard the cry of my people” (Ex 13:9). Thus, there is always need for us to ask before we receive (Mt 7:7).  ii. We MUST be ready to cooperate with Him. The Israelites needed to listen to the voice of God through Moses. They needed to follow Moses’ instructions. In the same way, even though God has made choice of us, we must cooperate with His voice through the commandments, the Church, our good conscience and the advice of good friends. These would lead us to the desired goal and the eternal happiness we seek. 

*2. Sin and Punishment:*

In some cultures, when someone is suffering or having a health challenge or other negative experiences in life, it is common to say that the cause of that negative experience is one’s sin. However, in the Gospel reading of today, Jesus corrects that impression. We are not in any way better than those who are undergoing challenges in life. Their experience does not in any way suggest that God hates them.

People generally experience problems, sickness, accidents, disappointments, and pain because of the fragile nature of life and to teach us how helpless and weak we are and the limit of our human power. These can befall anyone, both good and bad, not for a specific reason per say. Hence, my difficulties are not punishment from God. There were many God’s elect that experienced same; Job, Jesus, Stephen, the apostles and many others.  In fact, it does seem that those who love God experience challenges more than others. Jesus maintains, “Blessed are you who hunger now, you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, you shall laugh” (Lk 6:25).

*3. The Limit we should not exceed:*

 It is very important for us to know that even though God loves us so much that He can and He is always ready to intervene in our situations, as Paul narrates in the second reading, there is a limit we must not exceed, and that is, the rejection of God’s love through sin.

Sin kills. Jesus in the Gospel reading states that “Unless we repent we must perish” (Lk13: 5). Repentance is the acceptance of God’s love. Sin is the rejection of God’s love. 

While God is always demonstrating His love towards us, we on our side must accept it before it becomes a reality. In the second reading Paul reminds us that those who rejected God’s love all died in the desert (1 Cor. 10:5) and so will it be on the last day for those who will not repent.

 Therefore Jesus is giving us a warning as well as an opportunity for second chance within this Lenten season. He is inviting us to dig round our spiritual roots and add manure so that we can bear fruits. The fruits we shall bear will be the evidence of our acceptance of God’s love and call. May God help us all, Amen.

Reflection by:

*Fr Vincent Chukwuemeka Livinus, SMMM.*