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 3^rd Sunday of Lent, Year C: Homily by Fr. Isaac Chima

Theme: He is a God of mercy and justice

Readings: Ex 3, 1-8.13-15; I Cor 10, 1-6. 10-12; Lk 13, 1-9

Dear friends in Christ, the story of the first reading of today, which showed God’s mandate to Moses to rescue the Israelites trapped in slavery in Egypt, demonstrates that we have a God who is not far from us in times of pain and sorrows, a God who listens to our cries of pain and comes to our rescue. The name of God as contained in this reading makes evident these wonderful qualities or nature of our God. He said His name is ‘I am who I Am’. It is a name that shows God as both transcendent and immanent: a God who is in the past, in the present and in the future; a God who is always close to His people.

This wonderful God, through the instrumentality of Moses, brought Israel out of Egypt and settled her in the promised land. To place Israel in the promised land, God displaced, and sometimes destroyed, many nations: Egyptians, Moabites, Amalekites, Jebusites, Jericho, etc. God equally provided the material needs of Israel as they journeyed in the desert to the land of promise. On Israel, God lavished His graces and blessings. What God demanded in return from Israel was obedience, true worship and justice among themselves. Unfortunately, the people of Israel were unable to reciprocate the goodness of God by living according to His demands. Thus, on several occasions, after several severe warnings from the prophets and obstinacy to God’s messages on the part of Israel, God knocked Israel hard on the head, allowing her to suffer several kinds of punishments under powerful neighbours.

Like the people of Israel, God has lavished us with many precious gifts. He also intervened in many difficult times of our lives and rescued us. What God expects from us in return is a life of holiness, of obedience to his commandments and love towards our neighbours. The question is this: are we living up to these expectations?

In the gospel of today, the same line of story is evident. It tells us about the unproductive fig tree and the patience of the farmer. A fig tree bears fruit three times a year and also consumes a lot of soil nutrients wherever it is planted. But the fig tree in the gospel of today has enjoyed the care of the farmer for three good years without bearing fruit. What a patient and caring farmer. Now, as we saw in this parable, the anger of the farmer erupted like fire, and he demanded that the fig tree be cut down. What does this parable tell us? It tells us that the God of love and mercy is also the God of justice; that the God who loves us will also punish us if we fail to reciprocate His love by living up to His expectations; it tells us that to whom much is given, much is expected.

Dear friends, God has given us life; He has given us good health and wonderful opportunities in this world. If we fail to make good use of these precious gifts for the praise of His name, we will attract His anger.

It was the intervention or supplication of the servant of the farmer in today’s gospel that saved the life of the fig tree for another year. So, a second chance was given to the fig tree to right its wrongs. Dear friends, our God is a God who never fails to give a second chance to his children. This Lent may be another second chance given to us by God to make right our past wrongs and to start bearing fruits of love, compassion, peace, and help to those in need; a chance to stop all forms of impurity, unforgiveness, lustful desires, and hatred towards others.

It is, however, sad that when God gives us a second chance, we take it as an outcome of our smartness. When people do bad and get away with it, they praise themselves for being smart or for having strong connections. Dear friends, it is good to know that those times we thought we were smart, those times we thought our strong connections were working, God was actually giving us another chance to stop evil. We must know that this other chance has a limit. The mercy of God tarries, but the more it tarries, the more severe our punishment becomes.

In the opening part of the Gospel of today, Jesus informed His audience that if they fail to repent of their evil ways, they will perish. Many people may find it difficult to believe that a merciful God used such a harsh tone, but the reality is that this God of mercy is also the God of justice. In His justice, He punishes us when we fail to make good use of His patience and His ocean of mercy.

In the second reading, Paul reminded the people of Corinth that many of their fathers died in the desert because of their failure to reciprocate God’s goodness by living lives pleasing to God. Then, he gave them (and us as well) this all-important lesson that the story of the failures of Israel in the desert was written as a warning to us so that we do not make the same mistakes they made. He said, “Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did, nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer.” He continued, “Now, these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come.”

Dear friends, we would not like to make the same mistakes as the people of the past in their relationship with God. We would not like to be punished by God. So, let us make good use of God’s patience (our second chance) this Lent. Let us drink from the ocean of God’s mercy, purifying ourselves of all sins, so that the justice and punishment of God will not catch up with us.

Happy Sunday to you and your family.

Fr. Isaac Chinemerem Chima