The Third Sunday of Lent - Are you Curious?

The Scripture readings for the third Sunday of Lent (Year C), advances a belief that one can have a personal relationship with the Divine.

Moses sees a bush burning but is not being consumed.  He is curious.  He moves closer.

He hears a voice call his name “Moses”.   To hear one’s name is to believe that one is known. The voice warns Moses that he treads on holy ground and is to remove his shoes.

During this intimate encounter Moses learns his mission in life and learns the name of the Master pursuing him, “I AM, WHO I AM”.  This Divine voice identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 

The personal relationship established in this encounter will require trust and faithful obedience if it is to continue. God reveals Himself to Moses; the encounter begins with simple curiosity but evolves into an extraordinary exchange with the Divine.  Moses must now have a heart that remains humble and faithful to God.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells the story of another tree-the fig tree that is not bearing fruit.  In his parable, the owner of the vineyard wants to cut down the fig tree, but a compassionate gardener pleads for more time to nurture it before cutting the tree down. 

Everything is being done to bring the tree to the fulfilment of its purpose for being that is, to bear fruit.  The owner of the vineyard grants one more year of life to the fig tree.  Jesus is teaching a lesson of mercy to his disciples.  By gratefully receiving the mercy of the owner of the vineyard and accepting the compassionate care of the gardener the fig tree is given extra time to bear fruit. In a personal relationship with the Divine each is given the gift of mercy and time to bear good fruit.

Now is there a tree in your life that can pique your curiosity and draw you into an extraordinary relationship with the Divine?

-Sister Elaine Cole, CSJ

Images: Unsplash: Andy Watkins/Michal Hlaváč/

3rd Sunday of Lent

Some of the readings for this Sunday are disturbing, reminiscent of the hellfire and brimstone of my youth; children punished for the iniquity of their parents, overturned tables in the temple, misunderstood meaning of Jesus’ words. Thankfully there are other writings highlighted that help me to balance the seeming threat in Exodus 20: 1-17 and the righteous anger in John 2: 13-25.

“Zeal for your house will consume me” spoken by Jesus predicting his upcoming crucifixion also invites me to consider whether I have zeal for the house of God. Could that zeal draw me out of myself to act for peace wherever I see violence ?

I also found comfort in Psalm 84:3 “The sparrow finds a home and a swallow a nest for her young by your altars oh Lord”.

We are living in an all too violent world. Sadly, that’s nothing new, but that violence doesn’t need to consume us. If you have coffee in a cup & someone bumps into you what’s in the cup will spill out. On this difficult week of my Lenten journey I choose to cultivate a spirit of peace so that when violence bumps into me I will offer love.  Won’t you join me?

Maureen Condon, CSJ Associate

Lent 3 - Jesus is Thirsty

JESUS IS THIRSTY (John: 4:1-42)

Image: Unsplash/Jimmy Chang

Jesus and his disciples are leaving Judea where Jesus had turned water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana, and where he made a lot of enemies by cleansing the temple of its money-changers, and where John the Baptist had been baptizing with water.  Jesus’ followers were also baptizing with water. 

While these events may not have occurred simultaneously in John’s Gospel, we can be sure that Jesus was tired and thirsty when he and his disciples reached Jacob’s well in the land of Samaria on their way to Galilee.

“Will you give me a drink?” Jesus said to the Samaritan woman.  She obviously had to be asked and did not anticipate that here was a thirsty man waiting for a helping hand to relieve his thirst.  She saw only a Jewish man who would reject, with contempt, a Samaritan woman. 

Surprise!  Jesus uses his thirst to reveal his weakness and invites this woman at the well to thirst for water to drink so that she will never be thirsty again.  As we continue to read Chapter 4 in John’s Gospel we see that many Samaritans in the town believed in Jesus on the strength of the woman’s word of testimony: “He told me everything I ever did.” 

Jesus’ thirst at the well eventually transformed the entire town into “thirsty” believers;  Jesus really is, “the Savior of the world”.

-Sister Elaine Cole, CSJ