HOMILY
FOR THE 3rd SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR C
1.Exodus
3:1-8,13-15
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2.1Corinthians
10:1-6,10-12
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3.Gospel:
Luke 13:1-9
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"But
for the grace of God"
There is a story of an
old man who maintained his subscription to the daily news paper even though he
had virtually stopped reading. His friend one day asked him why he maintained a
subscription to a newspaper he hardly
ever read. This was his reply. " Every morning, before any other thing, I
look up the obituary ( the list of dead people in the news paper) to see if my
name is there. If I'm not there, I kneel down and thank God for the gift of
another day."Fancilful, perhaps, but good too.
Let us imagine in our
gospel today we have been given a rare
glimpse into the obituary section of a Jerusalem daily news paper one day in
the life time of Jesus. That particular day, the story of the dead took up not
only the obituary section but the front page headlines as well: " Bloodbath in the Temple, Pilate
Slaughters Suspected Galilean Terrorists," followed by, " Tower of Siloam Collapse, 18People Feared
Dead." Dear brothers and Sisters what can we imagine about the
reaction of people in Jerusalem due to such misfortunes and disasters? to start
with unlucky Galileans the reaction from people in Jerusalem was probably, "they get what they
deserve, serve them right. They must have been terrorist, thus they deserve a
revenge from God." About those crushed to death people in Jerusalem could
have responded to such act by saying, " It was an act of God. Only the
Lord knows why those eighteen deserved to die
at this time, in this manner."
Let us learn something
of wisdom from Jesus' wisdom in responding to such disaster and misfortunes
disputes: The people who broke the news to Jesus conveyed it with the same mind
" they got what they deserve, serve them right." attitude. Instead
Jesus is not in favor of such ignorance and self-justification whatsoever.
Jesus in response said, "Do you think that because these Galileans
suffered in this way they were worse
sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you
will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower
of Siloam fell on them- do you think that they were worse offenders that all
others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all
perish just as they did ( Lk 13:2-5).
Furthermore, Jesus does
not agree about this Jewish belief that all tragedies we do encounter in
life are punishment from God or if we
are enjoying good fortune, it's a reward
from God or if we are enjoying good fortune, it's a reward from God for a good
life. It was a common understanding for the Jews that, if your house for
example is burned down or if you have a child born with mental and physical
defect or your spouse died young or you got sick, it was a sign that God
punishes you for the sins committed. However Jesus says, " No!" We
should not link sins with tragedies and misfortunes.
This line of thinking was
not only with Jews, but also it is with us even today. Majority tend to
perceive God as God of vengeance etc.
Who we are to judge? It
is not for us to judge people and their sins. No one but really God knows what
is in the human heart. These people who have lost their lives either because of
accidents or incurable diseases were no greater sinners than anyone else here. May
be they are more holy than us. Also let's bear in mind as I have said it once
that God is not an avenging God ready to pounce on anyone who violates the law.
He is a compassionate God who seeks sinners.
Even people in the Old
Testament found it very difficult to accept that tragedies and misfortunes were
coming from God. They saw evil people prospered and they saw good people
suffered from all kinds of afflictions. There are also people whose sins are
known publicly and yet they are enjoying to the fullest everything life has to
offer. For example what happend in Tanzania in the year 1994 when M.V Bukoba
Ferry that sunk and claimed thousands
lives of people, was it because people there were sinners?
These misfortunes and
tragedies happened to each one us are invitations for conversion. Every day, a
person must look into himself to see if he does right before God. That's why
Jesus says for two times: " if you do not repent, you will perish as they
did."
In our today's readings
more especially the gospel reading,
critically we are all invited to think about what happened to Siloam and blood
birth in relation to our Christian faith. In the face of a natural disaster or
personal misfortunes befalling other people, it is totally wrong to suppose
that they must have done something to
deserve it which those who are free from the disaster did not do. The right
thought about that is to realize that it could happen to anybody, and that it
does not happen to us at this time, this is because of God's mercy and love and
not because we have deserved it. Back in sixteenth century in England a priest
named John Bradford was asked what he thought of the criminals who were being
led to public execution, and his reply was: "But for the grace of God,
there goes John Bradford." We can see the same attitude in our old man who
reads the obituary column every day. He knows that but for the grace of God his
name would be there on that page.
The attitude: "but
for the grace of God, there I go" helps us make the best of the
opportunity God gives us in prolonging our lives from day to day, from week to
week, from year to year. We realize that , like the barren fig tree the extra
time has been given to us for improvement, it has been given to us purposely,
it has been given to us a chance to bear fruit. Clearly the lesson from our
readings today is that the misfortunes of the less fortunate are not an
occasion to stand in judgment over them but
an invitation to humble repentance, knowing that " unless you repent, you
will all perish just as they" ( v5). For instance when we hear about
earthquakes and plane crashes in the news, let us realize that it could happen
to anybody, and if we have been spared to such disasters it is so that we might
repent and bear fruit worthy of repentance.
Brothers and Sisters with regard to my sunday's reflections I also welcome your comments,views and opinions so that improvements may be made towards full realization of preaching the word of God.
JibuFutaDear brothers and sisters I really appreciate all of you for visiting my Sunday's homily page and caste a glance on whatever I share on my blog. I strongly encourage all of you to leave your views, comments and opionions about this page for better improvement of my sunday's sharing. You can also contact me perslnally via my email,revop5@yahocom. Also you can contact me via whatsapp,+255784965275/+255759309019.
JibuFuta