3 March 2024: Third Sunday of Lent B

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 20:1-17 or Ex 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17	Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11	1 Cor 1:22-25	Jn 2:13-25
RCL: Ex 20:1-17		RCL:1 Cor 1:18-25	RCL: Jn 2:13-22

Lent: a discipleship journey of more than rules or signs

In the season of Lent, the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, cleanses the temple, explains how God loves, and announces his hour has come. This week’s readings focus on the journey from signs to faith.

First reading (Ex 20:1-17)

The first reading is from Exodus, the second book of Torah. Exodus tells the stories of Moses, Passover, freedom from Egypt’s slavery, the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings. At its core, Exodus proclaims Israel’s divine redemption from Egypt’s oppression and the Sinai covenant’s eternal salvation.

In today’s pericope, God, appearing at Sinai in fire, smoke, earthquakes, and thunder, speaks the covenant commandments to the Israelites. The commandments are the people’s part of the covenant between God and Israel. God’s covenant requires exclusive worship of God and prohibits actions against fellow Israelites. The commandments reveal God as both a God of creation (“the Lord made the heavens and the earth”) and a God of history (“who brought you out of Egypt”), who breaks into human history to save God’s people. The commandments reveal a God who cares for God’s people by defining each person’s obligations to other humans.

The Lectionary editors chose this reading because the commandments are the sign of the covenant. Both the second reading and the gospel describe the Jewish desire for signs.

Second reading (1 Cor 1:22-25)

The second reading is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinth ekklesia. Paul writes to real flesh-and-blood people working out how best to live their faith. Paul teaches disciples to reject any words, actions, or distinctions that disrupt the community’s unity and holiness. Love is the basis and context for community life.

In today’s pericope, Paul addresses the limits of human understanding of God’s plans. God’s wisdom defies human wisdom; human wisdom cannot understand the cross. Paul uses Jewish and Greek reactions to show why human wisdom rejects the cross. Jews “demand signs” because their experience is a God who delivered and saved Israel through power and wondrous acts. Jews cannot see God’s power and wisdom in a crucified messiah, they see only shame and a “stumbling block.” Greeks “look for wisdom” because their experience is philosophical teaching that lead to personal power, success, and honor. Greeks cannot see power or honor in a failed, foolish, crucified man. Paul notes the cross’ paradox: Jews and Greeks reject the cross, but through this sign and its wisdom, God saves both (“those who are called”). Paul preaches “Christ crucified,” which overturns human approaches to knowing God’s wisdom and power. Paul summarizes the cross’ paradox: the cross’ weakness (“weakness of God”) is God’s power, more powerful than human strength; the cross’ absurdity (“foolishness of God”) is God’s wisdom, wiser than human wisdom. Only those willing to see differently and to live in the paradox’s tension understand the cross’ strength and wisdom.

The Lectionary editors chose this reading because Paul’s comment that “Jews require signs” connects this reading to the first reading (commandments as covenantal sign) and to the gospel (resurrection as a sign).

Gospel (Jn 2:13-25)

John’s gospel is the story of Jesus cleansing the Jerusalem temple. Jesus takes offense at the merchants turning the temple into a marketplace. Seeing Jesus acting as a prophet, his opponents ask for a sign that will authenticate his prophetic work.

• Behaving like a prophet. Jesus reacts to humans turning God’s place of prayer and worship into a place of buying and selling. He restores the Temple’s holiness as the place to encounter God. Jesus’ disciples (and even his opponents) recognize Jesus’ reaction as prophecy-in-action (“recall the words of scripture,” “Zeal for [God’s] house”).
• Show us an authenticating sign. In Hebrew scripture, a prophet often “proved” his prophetic words or action with a miraculous act. Jesus’ opponents now ask Jesus to authenticate his prophetic action with a sign (σημεῖον/sēmeîon). Jesus gives his death and resurrection as the sign. As often happens in John’s gospel, Jesus’ opponents misunderstand his answer. They are standing in the Jerusalem temple (ἱερόν/hierón). Jesus says if they “destroy this temple or sanctuary (ναός/naós),” he will raise it up in three days. His opponents think Jesus’ sign is that he will rebuild the Jerusalem temple in three days, but Jesus’ sign is that after his body is put to death, he will be “raised up” three days later. John writes his gospel long after the Romans have destroyed the Jerusalem temple, and John’s believing community comes to understand Jesus as the new temple: the place where they encounter God. After the resurrection, the believing community remembers Jesus’ words and actions and reinterprets them in the context of their own experience.
• Believing and trusting. Although many in Judea and Jerusalem see Jesus’ signs and “begin to believe in his name,” Jesus is skeptical (“would not trust himself to them”) of their faith. Jesus highlights the danger of superficial or incomplete faith throughout John’s gospel.

Summary and reflection

Lent’s readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask us to think about discipleship as more than just signs and rules. God gives the commandments as a covenant sign, but the commandments define only the minimum required to make the people holy. Paul teaches disciples to reject signs and human wisdom so they can encounter God’s power and wisdom in the cross’ paradox. Jesus’ opponents misunderstand his resurrection sign, and Jesus understands that faith based on signs alone is weak and incomplete.

Throughout Lent, the readings call us to change our minds and hearts and to transform how we think and act. Are our covenantal relationships with God and others based on only following rules, or on our call to holiness and wholeness? Are we willing to experience God’s plan and love unconstrained by human measurements and categories? Can we put away our demand for divine signs and mighty works long enough to trust in the miraculous present in our daily lives?

—Terence Sherlock

12 March 2023: Third Sunday of Lent A

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 17:3-7	Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9	Rom 5:1-2, 5-8	Jn 4:5-42
RCL: Ex 17:1-7		RCL: Rm 5:1-11

Lent: the living water of right relationships

In the season of Lent, the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, gives living water to a woman, heals a blind man, raises a dead man, and arrives in Jerusalem. This week’s readings focus on water as a symbol that brings people to faith and life.

First reading (Ex 17:3-7)

The first reading is from Exodus, the second book of Torah. Exodus tells the stories of Moses, Passover, freedom from Egypt’s slavery, the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites’ wilderness wanderings.

In today’s pericope, the Israelites, traveling in the wilderness, complain to Moses that they need water for themselves, their “children, and their livestock.” Moses, in his role as their leader and as mediator between God and the people, pleads (“cried out”) with God for direction and help. God, caring for the people, gives water from a rock (“Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink”). The story concludes with the theme of testing. In the garden, God tested Eve and Adam. Now the Israelites test their covenant with God, asking “Is the LORD in our midst or not?” That is, “In the Sinai covenant, God promised to remain with us and to save and protect us. Is God with us, or has God abandoned us in the wilderness?” The miraculous water from the rock shows God is present among the people.

The Lectionary editors chose this reading because the sign of water: water “gushes” from the rock; in the second reading the Spirit is “poured out;” in the gospel, Jesus gives “living water.”

Second reading (Rom 5:1-2, 5-8)

The second reading is from Paul’s letter to the ekklesiai (multiple communities) in Rome. Romans, written in 56-57 AD, is Paul’s final letter. He has completed his missionary work in Asia and now plans a missionary trip to Spain, with a stop in Rome. He writes to the Roman believing communities to introduce himself and to give an authentic and acceptable account of the gospel he preaches.

In today’s pericope, Paul’s very dense reflection examines the consequences of a believer’s right relationship with God (“justification”). First, believers have “peace with God.” Because God accepts a believer’s “faith,” God repairs the believer’s relationship, broken by sin, with the Godself. Second, through Jesus’ transformative death, believers have access to God’s grace (“the grace in which we stand”). That is, before God justifies a believer, the relationship between God and the believer is loveless: nonexistent or fearful. After God’s justification, the believer experiences God’s favor (“grace”): a relationship based in love. Finally, God’s grace and love gives believers “hope.” Jesus’ transformative death and resurrection is a promise that believers have a share in “God’s glory.” Christ’s saving act gives a believer access to God (“the grace in which we stand”) as well as confidence (“hope”) in a future sharing in Christ’s resurrected life. Justification is really the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. With the gift of the Spirit (“God’s love poured out”), God has initiated the messianic age, the age of reconciliation between God and humans. The proof of God’s love for us is that God sent his Son to save humans before humans believed and were justified (“while we were sinners”).

The Lectionary editors chose this reading because it connects God’s “outpouring” or gift of the Spirit with Jesus’ “living water” in the gospel.

Gospel (Jn 4:5-42)

In John’s gospel, Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman and brings her to faith over a bucket of water. The “Samaritan woman at the well” story includes the themes of conflict, water, and coming to faith.

• Conflicts. First, Samaritans and Jews were religious enemies. Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC, resettling many Israelites throughout the Assyrian empire (the “ten lost tribes”), and bringing other conquered people to repopulate the land. In Jesus’ time, Jews considered Samaritans gentiles and heretics, even though Samaritans read a version of Torah and followed many Jewish practices. Second, according to cultural norms, men didn’t speak to women in public, and men never spoke to women not related to them. John shows Jesus breaking religious boundaries (talking with a Samaritan, asking to use an unclean Samaritan bucket to drink) and cultural boundaries (speaking to a woman).
• Water. Throughout this story, John plays on the different words and meanings for water. In Jesus’ time, water stored in a jar or a cistern was called simply “water.” Water from a flowing stream or spring was called “flowing water” or “living water.” Hebrew scripture uses the metaphor “living water” to describe divine life and grace (Jer 2:13, Zech 14:8). The Samaritan woman misses Jesus’ distinction between “flowing water” and “living water.”
• Coming to faith. As Jesus and the woman continue in conversation, the woman changes the way she addresses Jesus as he reveals himself to her. She moves from the impersonal “you” (Jn 4:9) to “sir” (Jn 4:11, 15, 19) to “prophet” (Jn 4:19) to “anointed one” (Jn 4:29). Her titles for Jesus reflect her gradual coming to believe who Jesus is and what he offers her. She evangelizes the townspeople, who also come to believe that Jesus is “the savior of the world” (Jn 4:42).

Summary and reflection

Lent’s readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask us to think about water as satisfying different kinds of thirst. The Exodus author shows God providing life-giving water to the Israelites as they thirst in the wilderness. Paul reflects on how justification brings an outpouring of God’s loving Spirit on believers. John tells of Jesus’ encounter of a woman at a well and how a request for water becomes an outpouring of living water for a whole town.

What are we thirsting for, and what will satisfy our thirst? Are we trapped in a physical, emotional, or spiritual wilderness, looking for any miraculous thing to keep us alive? Do we live in hope because of the Spirit of love God has already poured out on us? Are we satisfied with worldly water, or do we seek God’s living water that overflows with eternal life?

—Terence Sherlock

20 March 2022: Third Sunday of Lent C

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15	Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11	1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12	Lk 13:1-9
RCL: Is 55:1-5		RCL: 1 Cor 10:1-13

Lent: learning discipleship through examples

In the season of Lent, the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, tells parables, forgives, and arrives in Jerusalem. This week’s readings focus on learning discipleship from others’ examples.

First reading (Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15)

The first reading is from Exodus, the second book of Torah. Exodus tells the stories of Moses, Passover, freedom from Egypt’s slavery, the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. In this pericope, God reveals the Godself to Moses and charges him to lead God’s people out of Egypt’s slavery and into the land promised to Abraham and his descendants. Shepherding his father-in-law’s flocks, Moses sees a bush on fire, but the bush isn’t burned up. This “remarkable sight” leads Moses to a personal encounter with God and a commission to free and to save God’s enslaved people. Like many Hebrew scripture leaders and prophets, Moses doesn’t want to accept his divine call (“But when I go . . . ,” “What do I say?”). God responds by revealing not only God’s personal name, but also God’s essence: “I AM who am.” God is a living and acting being who is the source of existence. In the ancient world, knowing someone’s name gave the other person power over the named person. In revealing God’s name, God becomes vulnerable to Moses. In this vulnerability, God is no longer an abstract God, but a personal God who intervenes in history to save God’s chosen people. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because the Exodus story provides the basis for Paul’s examples and warning in the second reading.

Second reading (1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12)

The second reading is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinth ekklesia. Paul writes to the Corinthians to urge them toward unity and to correct their wrong behaviors. Paul retells the Exodus stories to teach the Corinthians (who were mostly gentiles) about their Jewish heritage and to instruct the Corinthians about their own discipleship. In today’s pericope, Paul draws parallels between the Israelites’ “passing through the sea” and the Corinthians’ Christian baptism; and between the Israelites eating manna (“spiritual food”) in the wilderness and their own Eucharistic meal. Paul’s point is that there were many who passed through the sea and who received divinely provided nourishment but who nevertheless displeased God and did not enter the promised land (“struck down in the wilderness”). Paul warns the Corinthians that being baptized and celebrating the Eucharist alone do not guarantee automatic entry to God’s kingdom. Paul says “these things happened to [the Israelites] as an example” ironically, because some Corinthian know-it-alls consider themselves to be fully mature adults, who don’t need examples and admonitions. Paul concludes with a warning about overconfidence: salvation requires active discipleship to “stand secure;” simply going through the motions means nothing (“take care not to fall”). The Lectionary editors chose this reading because Paul’s examples from scripture are similar to Jesus’ examples and parable in today’s gospel.

Gospel (Lk 13:1-9)

Luke’s gospel is from Jesus’ discipleship teachings on his journey to Jerusalem. In today’s pericope, Jesus comments on two news stories to teach about metanoia, and tells a parable about patience.

• Sudden death and metanoia. Jesus turns the reports of deaths into examples for his hearers. He makes two points: first, those who died did not deserve to die more than others; second, one cannot correlate the kind of death to sin’s punishment. When death comes without warning, it’s too late for metanoia (a change of mind/heart). Jesus’ call to metanoia is not simply turning away from sin (“repent”), but a turning toward God and acceptance of God’s kingdom.
• Parable of patience. A cared-for fig tree provides fruit ten months out of the year. In Jesus’ time, a fig tree’s cultivation followed a strict process. A farmer gave a new tree three years to grow; in years three to six, Jewish law forbade eating the fruit; in year seven, the tree’s fruit was offered to God. In the parable, the tree’s owner has been waiting three years for fruit (the tree is now nine years old); he believes the fruitless tree is wasting his orchard space. The gardener intercedes, and asks for one more year of patience. This parable provides comfort to Jesus’ hearers, and a warning: they still have time to respond to his call to metanoia, but not forever; if they do not respond quickly, they will be cut off from the kingdom.

Summary and reflection

Lent’s readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask us to think about how and what we learn from others. In his encounter with God, Moses learns that God is a personal God who seeks to save the chosen people. Paul uses the example of the Israelites to teach the Corinthians that their salvation requires active discipleship. Jesus uses stories about sudden death to teach that salvation requires a change of heart and mind, a choice disciples should make sooner rather than later.

Like a too-often-heard car alarm or an endlessly repeating announcement, examples and warnings can become easy to ignore. Lent offers space and silence for us hear what’s important. When God reveals the Godself, do we see a burning bush or a God becoming vulnerable to save? When we encounter examples of God in scripture, do we look for the startlingly miraculous or the quiet promises of care and salvation? When we hear examples of God’s kingdom in Jesus’ parables, do we hear God’s judgment or God’s patience?

—Terence Sherlock

7 March 2021: Third Sunday of Lent B

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 20:1-17 or Ex 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17	Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11	1 Cor 1:22-25	Jn 2:13-25
RCL: Ex 20:1-17		RCL:1 Cor 1:18-25	RCL: Jn 2:13-22

Lectionary note
On the third Sunday of Lent, the Lectionary offers two sets of readings. Masses that include catechumens celebrating the Scrutinies use Year A readings; all other masses use Year B readings. This reflection uses Year B readings.

Lent: give us a sign

In the season of Lent, the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, purifies the temple, explains how God loves, and announces his hour has come. This week’s readings ask us to see beyond the limits we place on trusting God.

The first reading is from Exodus, the second book of the Torah. Exodus tells the stories of Moses, the first Passover, the Ten Commandments, the Israelites’ liberation from Egyptian slavery, and their wilderness wanderings. Today’s pericope is from the covenant and law section, specifically, God giving the commandments. The commandments are the text or contract of the covenant between God and God’s people. God’s covenant requires exclusive worship of God and prohibits actions against fellow Israelites. The commandments reveal God as both a God of creation (“the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them”) and a God of history (“who brought you out of Egypt”), who breaks into human history to save God’s people. The commandments reveal a God who cares for God’s people by defining each person’s obligations to other humans. The Lectionary editors chose this reading because the commandments are the sign of the Mosaic covenant; both the second reading and the gospel talk about the Jewish need for signs.

The second reading is from Paul’s first letter to the Corinth ekklesia. In this letter, Paul corrects misinterpretations of his teaching, which cause divisions within the community. In today’s pericope, Paul addresses cultural biases and traditions in the ekklesia. Paul recognizes that because Jews are taught the importance of God’s wonders in the Torah and Prophets, they always expect (“demand”) signs from God. In the same way, the Greeks are proud of their philosophy, and so constantly search (“look”) for wisdom. Paul’s message about an executed savior (“Christ crucified”) is a “stumbling-block” or scandal to Jewish expectations (“signs”) and to Greek logical thought (“wisdom”). Paul subtly criticizes the Corinthians’ biases by turning them around; he contrasts God’s “weakness” with their perceived human power (“God is stronger than human strength”), and God’s “foolishness” with their perceived human wisdom (“God is wiser than human wisdom”). The Lectionary editors chose this reading because Paul’s comment that “Jews require signs” connects this reading to the first reading and to the gospel.

John’s gospel is his version of Jesus’ purification of the Temple. John’s story is about the Temple’s meaning and how a person comes to believe in Jesus.

• Many meanings of temple. The Jewish people encounter God at the Jerusalem Temple, which is God’s dwelling place (“your house”) on earth. By allowing animal sellers and moneychangers to transact commerce within the Temple precincts, the religious leaders have turned God’s meeting place into a market place. Jesus expresses his special connection with the Temple: it is his Father’s house. When unbelieving religious leaders demand a sign (see today’s first and second readings), Jesus offers them another temple or house as a sign: his own body. Jesus is now the place to encounter God, and, after his resurrection, Jesus will be the new temple (Jn 4:21-23).
• Signs vs faith/belief. John’s gospel focuses on the relationship between signs and believing. The Jewish leaders reject Jesus’ sign (“You? You will raise the Temple in three days?”) and will not believe in him. The “many” who started believing because of “the signs he was doing” do not gain Jesus’ trust toward them (“he knew them all”); their faith rests on signs alone. Jesus’ disciples “come to believe” because they remember the words of Hebrew “scripture and the word Jesus has spoken;” their faith rests on Jesus’ promise of life. In John’s gospel, Jesus does not perform signs (miracles) to cause faith, but to invite witnesses to deepen their faith.

Lent’s readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask to think about the ways we limit our faith. In Exodus God invites Israel into covenant though the sign of the commandments, but the sign is not the covenant. Paul asks the Corinthians to put aside their biases to see the salvation that God offers them. John asks his hearers to see God dwelling among them and to trust in Jesus’ words to them. What signs or personal biases condition our trust? Do we expect God to appear in person and tell us exactly what to do? Do our personal beliefs or human wisdom get in the way of discovering God as God is? Do we trust in God conditionally, believing only after God passes our tests?

—Terence Sherlock

15 March 2020: Third Sunday of Lent

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 17:3-7 RCL: Ex 17:1-7	Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9	Rm 5:1-2, 5-8 RCL: Rm 5:1-11	Jn 4:5-42

Lent: faith and mission

 During Lent the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, gives living water, heals a blind man, raises a dead man, and arrives in Jerusalem. This week’s readings ask us about our own call to faith and our response.

The first reading from Exodus tells the story of the Israelites’ thirst in the wilderness. In a desert climate, water is an obvious saving symbol. For the Israelites, water means physical life or death. They lose faith that God will provide for them, and harden their hearts against God and Moses. After God provides saving water for the people, the Israelites commemorate their spiritual struggle in physical place-names: the Hebrew word Massah (mahs-SAW) means “the place of the test;” the Hebrew word Meribah (mehr-ee-VAW) means “the place of strife or quarreling.” The Lectionary editors chose this reading because salvation has physical and spiritual meanings: here physical water “gushes” from the rock; in the second reading the Spirit is “poured out,” and in the gospel, Jesus gives “living water.”

The second reading from Paul’s letter to the Rome ekklesia describes the consequences of justification: we have “peace with God,” “access to grace,” and we have the “hope” sharing in God’s glory. The hope that disciples hold will not end in “disappointment,” because God has already poured God’s own Spirit into disciples’ hearts, purifying them and preparing the believing community for the coming kingdom. As further proof for hope, Paul points out that Jesus died for humans while humans were still in a godless state (“ungodly” or alienated from God). The Lectionary editors chose this reading because it connects the Spirit’s “outpouring” with Jesus’ “living water” in the gospel.

John’s gospel recounts Jesus’ encounter of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. This encounter includes many ideas: coming to faith; moving beyond personal prejudices; misunderstanding; true seeing, knowing, and understanding. Here are two thoughts:

• Evangelization: invitation to faith. Jesus invites the Samaritan woman into conversation with a simple request: “Give me a drink.” This statement leads to a dialogue about the differences between Samaritans and Jews, physical and spiritual thirst, Jesus’ identity, the woman’s personal life, how and where to worship, and finally Jesus as the one who makes known the living God. Jesus invites the woman to faith by gently challenging what she thinks she knows and offering her deeper truths.

• Discipleship: call to mission. Jesus invites his disciples into a dialogue about food: “I have food you do not know.” This statement leads to a teaching about Jesus’ own mission, to do the will of the one who sent him. Jesus tells the disciples that the time is urgent. Disciples must preach the gospel and gather the Father’s harvest. Disciples reap the labor of the patriarchs and prophets, as well as labor (baptisms) of the Baptizer and Jesus, who have gone before them. Disciples prepare everyone to understand the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection. What Jesus has done for the Samaritan woman, disciples must do for the whole world.

The Lenten Lectionary readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings ask how we understand God. The Israelites doubted God would meet their basic needs in the wilderness. Paul reminds the Romans that God saved them before they had faith. The gospel shows Jesus remaining in dialogue with the Samaritan woman no matter how many times she misunderstands him or changes the subject. Jesus directs those who have come to faith to take up his mission now to do the Father’s will. How do we approach our own mission of discipleship? Do we strive against God while God offers to meet our needs? Do we focus only on our failings, forgetting the Spirit is already poured out in us? Do we put off doing the Father’s will because we have all the time in the world?

—Terence Sherlock

24 March 2019: Third Sunday of Lent

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15 RCL: Is 55:1-5	Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11	1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12 RCL: 1 Cor 10:1-13	Lk 13:1-9

Lent: time to change. Now.

 During Lent the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested, transfigured, tells parables, forgives, and arrives in Jerusalem. This week’s readings warn us that although God is merciful, we must change to accept God’s salvation.

The first reading, from Exodus, describes Moses’ encounter with God in the burning bush. God, having heard the people’s cries, reveals to Moses God’s saving plan to rescue the Israelites from Egypt’s slavery. God’s merciful plan includes Moses, but Moses, like many Hebrew scripture leaders and prophets, doesn’t want to accept the divine call. Moses must change his mind/heart about who God is (“I AM who am”). The Lectionary editors chose this reading to show God’s mighty act of mercy, a theme in today’s gospel.

The second reading, from Paul’s first letter to the Corinth ekklesia, warns about spiritual complacency and overconfidence. Paul recounts God’s mighty act in Exodus, reminding the Corinthians that even though God delivered the Israelites from Egypt (protected “under the cloud,” and “passed through the sea”), and fed them with manna (“spiritual food”) and water from the rock (“spiritual drink”), some still displeased God. That is, Israelite community membership alone did not guarantee life (“they were struck down.”) In the same way, simply being baptized (“passing through the sea”) and celebrating the Eucharist (“eating spiritual food”) do not assure entry to God’s kingdom. The Lectionary editors chose this reading to remind us that we must meet God’s mercy with metanoia (change of mind/heart) as Jesus says in today’s gospel.

Luke’s gospel includes a saying and a parable from Jesus as he is “on the road” to Jerusalem. Jesus the prophet calls for metanoia: a change of mind/heart.

• The saying. When Jesus hears about Pilate killing Galileans and the Siloam tower collapse, he asks, “Were the people killed because they were great sinners?” Popular pious thought said that God punished people who experienced misfortune for their sins. “No,” Jesus says, “Disasters like this are a warning for all to change their hearts/minds.” The Greek verb μετανοέω (meh-tah-noh-EH-oh), translated here as “repent,” actually means “to change one’s mind and heart,” “to convert,” “to turn around.” Metanoia is more than simply “repenting;” it is an active turning away from evil and turning toward good.

• The parable. Jesus follows his warning with a parable. Parables are purposely open-ended. We should resist trying to “tame” parables by turning them into allegories or by adding meanings that are not part of the text. In this parable, a tree that should produce fruit does not. The tree’s owner wants it cut down immediately; the vineyard worker urges patience (mercy), but only for a limited time. Jesus’ hearers would be surprised that, at the end of the parable, the tree is still standing. The owner allows the tree a little more time (in addition to the time it already had) to bear fruit. Jesus’ hearers still have time for metanoia, but if they do not change soon, they will be cut off.

The Lenten Lectionary readings call us to walk with Jesus as he prepares for his transformative death. Today’s readings invite us to consider our response to God’s mercy. We may think, like the first reading Israelites and the second reading Corinthians, that community membership or occasional ritual participation guarantees salvation. “Not so,” says Jesus. Continuous metanoia is the price of eternal life. Do the cries of suffering people reach us? Do we think we are standing securely because we “go to church?” Do we think we’ve really turned away from all evil? Do we think we have all the time in the world to change our hearts/minds and bear fruit?

—Terence Sherlock

4 March 2018: Third Sunday of Lent

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 20:1-17	Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11	1 Cor 1:22-25	Jn 2:13-25

 

Lectionary note
On the third Sunday of Lent, the Lectionary offers two sets of readings. Masses that include catechumens celebrating the Scrutinies use Year A readings; all other masses use Year B readings. This reflection uses Year B readings.

Discipleship: faith and signs

 During Lent the believing community follows Jesus as he is tested and transfigured, and as he foretells his coming glory. For RCIA participants, Lent’s rites and prayers prepare them for the Easter Vigil sacraments. Today’s readings ask us to reconsider God’s signs and our response.

The first reading from Exodus describes God giving the commandments to the Israelites at Sinai. The Decalogue (Greek: “ten words”) is a sign of God’s covenant with God’s people. This sign reminds Jewish hearers of their relationship with and requirements to God and to others. For Christians, the Decalogue is the summary of moral obligations, expanded by Jesus’ teachings.

The second reading from Paul’s first letter to the ekklesia at Corinth critiques those whose faith relies on signs or wisdom. Paul preaches faith in Christ crucified: an incomprehensible sign to Jews who want a powerful messiah, and complete foolishness to Greek gentiles who want a brilliant philosopher-teacher. Yet, in the cross, believers will find that God’s foolishness is far wiser than human wisdom, and that God’s power is stronger than human strength.

John’s gospel recounts Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple. This reading has many themes, but this reflection focuses on Jesus’ signs and their meaning:

• Jesus’ sign. Jesus’ opponents ask Jesus to give a sign to prove his authority for prophetic action of cleansing of the Temple. He answers this opponents with the sign of his resurrection: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” Jesus connects his prophecy-in-action in the Temple with a different temple: his body. In Johannine fashion, Jesus’ opponents misunderstand him, and they reject Jesus’ sign: “And you in three days, will you raise it up?” In John’s hands, Jesus’ opponents’ mockery becomes ironic. They don’t believe Jesus, so no sign he gives them will lead to faith or enable them to see beyond their limited understanding.

• Relationship between faith and signs. Jesus expects reciprocity with believers. Jesus trusts and abides with someone only if that person believes in Jesus (Jn 1:12-13).
  • Jesus’ opponents demand a sign first, but reject the sign because it isn’t what they expect. They do not believe in the sign or in Jesus.
  • Jesus’ disciples believe first, because Jesus’ prophetic action fulfills Hebrew scripture. Their believing allows them to see the truth in Jesus’ sign of the resurrection.
  • The many who “begin to believe because of Jesus’ signs” may or may not become disciples. If their faith doesn’t move from believing in signs to believing in Jesus, Jesus will be unable to trust and abide in them.

This week RCIA candidates and the believing community reflect on signs and faith. In the readings God and Jesus offer signs that invite us into deeper relationship, and Paul warns about missing signs because they don’t match what we expect. Signs of covenant and community are always present, but we must see with faith to know their deeper meanings. Do we demand signs to guarantee our faith? Is our faith contingent on only signs we want or know? Does our faith let us see in and beyond the unexpected sign?

—Terence Sherlock

19 March 2017: Third Sunday of Lent

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 17:3-7	Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9	Rom 5:1-2, 5-8	Jn 4:5-42

Water and food: lessons in discipleship

 This week, John’s gospel reading asks RCIA candidates and the believing community to think about the personal encounters that create disciples.

John’s gospel tells the story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well. This story is rich with meanings, but this reflection focuses on the story’s confusion and irony about two of life’s basic needs: water and food:

• Water. Jesus opens his dialogue with the Samaritan woman with a simple request: give me a drink of water. For RCIA participants, especially catechumens and the Elect, this story presents water as an image of baptism–the sacrament of initiation and entry into the believing community. Jesus teaches the Samaritan woman to look beyond water’s functional use. Jesus helps her to see and to know what she really thirsts for.In the sacrament of Baptism, ordinary water becomes living water, imbued with ritual and liturgical significance. The baptismal waters drown our former sinful selves, and resurrect us as new creations flooded with God’s own life. Just as Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman re-integrate her into her social community, Baptism incorporates us into the ekklesia, the believing community. Jesus’ living water restored the Samaritan woman to her social community; Jesus’ baptismal water restores us to God’s family.

• Food. For the believing community, this story provides lessons in evangelization. To fulfill his mission of bringing everyone to the Father, Jesus “had to” evangelize Samaria. He engages the Samaritan woman in conversation, revealing to her who he is and the water he can provide. After she encounters Jesus’ living water, she goes to tell others about him–“could he be the messiah?” The Samaritan woman becomes an evangelist for Jesus.Returning with food, the Twelve tell Jesus: you need to eat. Jesus responds that he is fed by doing and finishing the Father’s will. He teaches the Twelve something else about evangelization. Jesus tells them that the harvest–those ready to accept Jesus’ teaching and to become his disciples–is ready now. The Twelve must act immediately to bring in the next crop of disciples. Jesus invites the Samaritan woman, the disciples, and us to offer living water to others. Jesus’ spiritual food–“to do the will of the One who sent me”–fuels his mission; our spiritual food–the Eucharist–fuels our mission to live as Jesus taught and to make disciples of all nations.

Today’s reading asks us to think about our own discipleship as well as the evangelization of others: How does someone come to faith? What are the obstacles that a disciple must overcome? We come to faith only through encountering Jesus, like the woman at the well. Our baptismal mission is to make disciples. Do others encounter Jesus then they encounter us? Do we remove obstacles to faith or create them? What fuels our evangelization?

—Terence Sherlock

28 February 2016: Third Sunday of Lent

Reading 1	Response	Reading 2	Gospel
Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15	Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11	1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12	Lk 13:1-9

 

Lent: God’s call to change

On the third Sunday in Lent, the Lectionary readings invite RCIA participants and all the believing community to consider who God is and how God calls us to change.

The first reading, from Exodus, tells how God called Moses. In this story, God also reveals God’s mysterious name and self. All previous biblical stories are schematic–that is, “a thing happened, and this was the result.” Moses’ encounter with God moves slowly, inviting us to deeper engagement and reflection on what the story means. Speaking from the burning bush, God asks Moses to free God’s people enslaved in Egypt. Moses asks God what name he should tell the Hebrews who ask, “Who sent you?” God responds using the Hebrew word “to be” (Heb: hwh or hyh), meaning either “he who is” or “he who causes [something] to exist.” In a subtle way, God’s answer also asks Moses, “Who are you?”

The second reading, from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, warns us not to get too comfortable. Some in the Corinthian ekklesia thought that because they were baptized and attended eucharists, they were saved. Paul recounts the Israelites’ Exodus: even though they “passed through the sea” (like baptism) and they “were fed with spiritual food”–manna–(like the eucharist), some still displeased God and were “struck down.” Paul warns about Corinthian overconfidence in simply being an ekklesia member: salvation requires more than just a membership card, it requires true discipleship.

The gospel begins with two Jerusalem current events: Pilate’s slaughter of Galilean pilgrims and a Siloam tower collapse. Jesus uses these events as warnings to change, and provides a parable to challenge his hearers:

• The call to metanoia: “Do you think those killed were bigger sinners than others? Not at all! But if you do not repent, you will perish.” The Greek word metanoia, translated in the gospel as “repent,” actually means to change one’s mind; be converted, turn around. Metanoia means more than simply “repent”–it implies an active turning away from evil and turning toward good. Jesus tells us, “Metanoia or perish!”

• The fruitless fig tree parable: A parable is an open-ended story that challenges the hearer to look into the hidden aspects of the hearer’s own values and own life. This parable has four characters: a fruitless fig tree, its impatient owner, a (more patient) vine-dresser, and the hearer. The hearer is the most important character because he or she evaluates the actions of the other characters. The hearer asks: Is the owner right, honorable, good? Is the gardener right? Is the tree “behaving” correctly? What does the parable mean? At the highest level,the parable is about patience. Patience has its limits; and lack of action has consequences. Based on Jesus’ call to metanoia, we might understand this parable about God’s continuing patience with those who have not yet given evidence of their metanoia (see Lk 3:8). Jesus’ parable tells us, “The time is short!”

As RCIA participants journey toward Easter sacraments, the RCIA process asks them to scrutinize their acts and to measure their lives against Jesus’ life. This is a good practice for all of us. Scripture reveals who God is, but in this revelation, God asks us who we are. Paul warns us that sacraments are not guarantees, but only the beginnings of discipleship. Jesus tells us to pay attention to his call to change our hearts and minds and follow the path he has marked for us. Who are we? Are we disciples in name only? What will it take for us to turn around? Time is short.

—Terence Sherlock