3RD SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR C)

1st Reading    Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15

Psalm              103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8 & 11 (R. 8a)

R:// "The Lord is compassionate and gracious"

2nd Reading    1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

Gospel              Luke 13: 1-9

SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY NOW

Beloved, we usher ourselves into the 3rd Week of Lent (Year C) and the 4th Sunday in March. There are 5 Sundays in Lent. Arriving at the 3rd Sunday means that we are practically midway through Lent, and therefore, we need to assess and examine our journey so far. Some will find it tough and difficult, and others will find it easy. Regardless, we need to examine our Lenten journey with the basic question: "How has it been thus far?" because 'the unexamined life is not worth living,' as Socrates wisely puts it. Let us pick two details, one each from the first reading and the Gospel passage for today.

The 1st reading is from Exodus 3: 1-8a, 13-15. This is a familiar passage about Moses' call and encounter with God on Mount Horeb (otherwise called "Sinai") in the burning bush while Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. Let us read that passage closely and discover that the first command Moses gets from God is "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5). Let us zoom in on "Put off your shoes from your feet". The word for shoes is "NA'AL" and could otherwise be translated as Sandals.

This is the first recorded instance of someone being asked to remove his sandals in the Bible. This is strange to us, but perhaps not to Moses because he might have understood it quickly. The nature of the land requires you to put on sandals so that your feet do not become dirty or smelly, especially for one who is journeying. This is a protective item. In fact, sandals, by their design, can show one's status or influence. Aside from these, one thing is very observable from the use of sandals. 

Notice that it is only a person who is home or who has arrived who is likely not to put on sandals. At Midian, Moses is a stranger (or an "alien"). He was chased by Pharoah for killing an Egyptian. At the point where his own people, fellow Hebrew, gave him out, he had to run away. Practically, the man is not home. He is jounruing and looking for a place of safety, a place to feel comfortable. In fact, later in the book of Exodus, the Hebrews are instructed to prepare for their journey out of Egypt by eating the Passover meal1 with their staves in hand and SANDALS upon their feet (Exodus 12:11). The only time when sandals are removed is when a journey has ended. The true goal of every journey is to arrive home or at one's destination. There, sandals do not become necessities. 

Therefore, in the presence of God, even on a mountain, where sandals are not luxuries but necessities, God tells Moses that he is his safety and sure home. Moses has arrived. He has arrived at where he longs to be and who he longs for. God tells him to remove his sandals, his trusted source of protection. The message is clear then. As we journey in Lent, in order to arrive home, to ward off attachment to sin and evil of any kind, do not trust in yourself but in God's protection. As you evaluate your journey thus far, it is only right to consider that if it is becoming too difficult to ward off the evil in the heart and leave sin, it is because you are beginning to trust in your own power when the opportunity has been given you to hold onto a lasting source of liberation. 

By removing his sandals, Moses found solace in God. Halfway through Lent, the Lord tells us that we are home. We arrive when we utilise the opportunity granted us now to trust in God's power alone to save us. Even in Lent, we would have sinned countless times. Hold onto the Lord, and you will arrive. Moses finds his true home not with humans but with God, the God of his ancestors, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6). 

The second detail, from the Gospel narrative from Luke 13:1-9, also deals with the issue of opportunities in Lent. It is also a very interesting passage, and we need to read that very closely. Let us consider its second part, which is a parable — the parable of a fig tree planted in a vineyard (Greek is "Ampelōn"). 

There are basically three essential things about a vineyard. The first is that it is capital intensive. We notice that from Matthew 21:33. The one Matthew speaks about, after planting the vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Vines are very expensive to grow. In fact, vines do not grow anywhere. Their places of growth are carefully and technically chosen. 

The second issue is that the one who works on a vineyard is called the Vinedresser or the Vinegrower. We get this understanding when we read from John 15:1-8. The person who works on a vineyard is one with expertise. It means that not everyone can work on vines. It takes the professional, the one with the technical knowledge about vineyard, to take proper care of vines. 

The third thing about vineyard is that it has a legal backing to it. In Deuteronomy 22: 9-11, you are not allowed to plant vines and add any other crop to it on the same farm. The vineyard needs a perfect concentration and care to be given it. Additionally, in Deuteronomy 20:6, a person who has planted a vineyard is not allowed to go to war, and not even the king can require him to go to war. He needs to attend to his vine. 

Jesus says that a man planted a fig tree in his own vineyard. In fact, he deliberately did what the Law (Deut. 22: 9-11) does not permit him to do. The man simply wants the fig tree to have the special and dedicated care given to a vine. Whatever care was given to a vine, he wants that care also to be given to the fig tree. Usually, no one cares for a fig tree like a vine. A fig tree can mature by itself. If after receiving the additional care, the best care, the fig tree does not bear fruit, it will be right to cut it off. It means that even without giving it the special care of a vine, it would not even bear fruit. Every opportunity has been given to it to bear fruit. In fact, it is not any kind of opportunity but an opportunity that goes beyond what is normal given. 

Lent becomes that given opportunity to bear fruit. We are the fig trees. God cares and gives us the opportunity  and care of vines. Let us utilise this Lenten season well because it is an opportunity we do not deserve. It may not come again. You actually have no excuse if you do not use this Lenten season well and bear fruit. 

Pax et Bonum