The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed
Reflections on the readings for the Third Sunday of Lent (March 20, 2022): EX 3:1-8,13-15; PS 103:1-2,3-4,6-7,8,11; 1 COR 10:1-6,10-12; LK 13:1-9
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
Most of our decisions appear so simple we hardly even notice we are making them. Yet, our thoughts, our attitudes, our beliefs; the way we speak to and about others; the way we look at those around us; the way we look at ourselves; these all show who we are.
As people of faith, as Christians, we know that we are God’s children and always in His presence. Yet, too often we seem to forget that. We spend our time as though we control all that happens to us. Or we just take Him for granted, assuming that He will be there when we need Him, rather than always paying attention to the way He wants us to live each day. In the first reading, we find Moses shepherding the flock of his wife’s father. He sees a bush that is burning but is consumed by the flames. His previous life has already indicated that God was watching over him. An Israelite, he was rescued at birth from being killed by the Egyptians who had enslaved his people and was raised in the royal court. Years later, he killed a man who had struck a slave, forcing him to save his own life. Today’s Exodus account continues with Moses approaching the miraculous sight and hearing a voice from the burning bush. “I am the God of your fathers. … I have witnessed the affliction of My people … so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them. … Say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:6-8,15).
We are not Moses or any other great figure from the Old or New Testaments and God never intended us to be. He called us to a different life, a unique life; one that no other person who God created was ever meant to live. It is that singular life that we need to embrace. And to accomplish it in the way Almighty God intends, for our own welfare and the benefit of others, we must cooperate with His grace. We have to put our relationship with the God -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- first. We have choices to make each day, each hour, that demonstrate whether we are saying “Yes!” to what He asks. Most of our decisions appear so simple we hardly even notice we are making them. Yet, our thoughts, our attitudes, our beliefs; the way we speak to and about others; the way we look at those around us; the way we look at ourselves; these all show who we are. They reveal our relationship with God and with one another. God may not speak to us in a burning bush. But if we allow Him, He will always speak to our hearts, and always with love.
