Fr. Jeff’s Weekly Homily

March 11, 2007
3rd Sunday of Lent, 2007

READING 1: Exodus 3:1-8a
God replied, “I am who am.”

Psalm 103
The Lord is kind and merciful

READING 2: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.

GOSPEL: Luke 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.’”

How’s Lent going for you? Is your life any clearer to you? Making any changes? When Jesus says, “Repent,” he means “change,” he does not mean to feel bad about yourself. So what do you think you ought to be working on? The point is that it is about each individual in our unique relationship with God.

We Catholics traditionally abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent and often think of something we might give up for the forty days. When I was in first grade I learned that this could be very serious. On Ash Wednesday, Sr. Karen Francis, our teacher, folded pieces of paper in a fishbowl. Each of us had to go to the front of the classroom and pick one then give it to her and she would announce to the class what we would be giving up for Lent because Jesus loved us so much he gave up his life. Each one did it. Ana Mae Valenti had to give up cupcakes. Joe Buchler had to give up chewing gum. When Bill Lange had to give up chocolate; the whole class gasped. I don’t know what I was thinking but I imagine thinking the worst was over so I was probably okay. But then it was my turn and I reached all the way in and took what seemed a very modest little slip of paper. I will never forget this, though, Sister took my card and said, “TV,” …uh, and the blood just sank to my toes. Joe O’Malley got “pretzels,” I didn’t like this game at all. Alright, so life isn’t fair. But I was in first grade and didn’t even understand the concept. I will never stop complaining about it.

Now, as a priest, when people ask what to give up I tell them. If you are a person who likes a martini before dinner and wine with the meal, I suggest you give up coca-cola. If you like chocolate, I suggest you give up lima beans. The discipline is remembering and sticking to it; not making it impossible. It’s good to make a significant sacrifice for the Lord. I don’t want to belittle sacrifice to parents, spouses, or as a priest. When we love, we will make sacrifices. When we are in love, we will discipline ourselves. I’d like to suggest, though, that Lent is the time to look at our own lives and our relationship with our God, remember that love was enfleshed in Jesus Christ and welcome the Holy Spirit into our considerations.

It is easy to look at others and notice their sins. We might find ourselves thinking that someone has cancer because of smoking, someone else has heart disease because of their lifestyle, diabetes because of eating habits, or that it is their own fault that they are homeless or out of work. The people of Jesus day were not so far removed from the twenty-first century. They believed other people suffered because of their sins. It is a way of reassuring ourselves that we can continue living the way we do because our prosperity is assured. We might think we are on solid ground in our relationship with God. Jesus reminds us to look at our own sins and be advised that our lives could end suddenly or over time, but each of us will die and our lives will be our testimony not our comparisons or boasts. Paul told the Corinthians in today’s second reading to be careful when they feel secure because that’s when you might lose your footing. It is all so human. It is just good sense.

Lent isn’t about feeling better or more secure than anyone else because of the discipline we practice. Lent is the time to take our relationship with the God who longs for our trust to the next level. It is the time to reclaim our souls, to refresh our spirits, a time of grace and reconciliation. The sacrifices we make are good; it would be sad if we go no further. There’s time yet but Calvary is coming. When Jesus says, “Repent,” he means change your lives for a better relationship with God; he does not mean we should feel bad about ourselves. He certainly does not mean we should feel we should judge other people. If this world is unfair; God is both merciful and just. Pray more these days, ask God to help you know and love yourself and others as God does. You never will know or love that much, of course, but if we take this time to make just some progress in that direction, then this Lent will be our own Good News!

Fr. Jeff McGowan
Queen of Peace Catholic Community
Gainesville, Florida