Radical Repentance - a call from the heart of God
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Dear Friends,
Radical Repentance – a call from the heart of God
On this third Sunday of Lent, we turn our attention to the God who reveals March 20, 2022
himself. A single thread runs through today's readings. It is indicated by
the name of God as revealed to Moses: “I am who I am.” Our God is the The Jewish concept of repentance at Jesus’ time is a very good prac-
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not the God of the philosophers —that tice for reflection: Teshuvá was the key concept in the rabbinic view of
is to say, not an abstract, impersonal reality, but the transcendent One sin, repentance, and forgiveness. The Jewish rabbis taught that repent-
who intervenes powerfully in human history. God calls Moses and sends ance required five elements: recognition of one’s sin as
him to lead his people out of Egypt through the wilderness. Here is a ten- sin; remorse for having committed the sin; desisting from repeating this
der, loving God, grieving over the troubles of his people. “I have wit- sin; restitution for the damage done by the sin where possible;
nessed the affliction of my people in Egypt …” God speaks these words and confession. “Confession” for the Jews had two forms: ritual and
miraculously to Moses from the midst of a burning bush that is not con- personal. Ritual confession required recitation of the liturgies of confes-
sumed by its own flames! Great compassion from the depths of the trans- sion at their proper moments in the prayer life of the community. Per-
cendent God. sonal confession required individual confession before God as needed
or inserting one’s personal confession into the liturgy at designated
If there is a “Top 10” list of Bible passages conveying the essence of the moments. One who followed these steps to teshuvá was called a
Jewish and Christian idea of God, the one about Moses and the burning “penitent.” In fact, Jesus invited his Jewish listeners to such repent-
bush is surely included. Scholars find here the paradox of the fire that ance. “Repent” (Greek, metanoia), implies not just regret for the past
burns the bush without consuming it. What better way to portray the in- but a radical conversion and a complete change in our way of life as
tense presence of Creator to creature? God can be intensely present in us we respond and open ourselves to the love of God.
without violating our distinct essence. At every time we receive Holy Com-
munion; don’t we represent this paradox of the ‘burning bush’? We hear a lot about repentance during this season of Lent and get
away with ‘cheap repentance’ – that is feeling sorry for ourselves! A
Jesus, in the Gospel for Sunday, sounds angry and threatening and we radical conversion calls for receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation
must talk about that. “Repent or you will perish,” he says. The tower at followed by the rearrangement of our value system to reflect the ‘mind
Siloam fell on eighteen people. Cursing a fig tree, etc. Is the loving Lord of Christ’. Begin by giving a serious thought about what occupies your
whom we have known actually furious and offended? News comes to Je- mind most of the time and how you spend your time on daily basis!
sus that Pilate has murdered a number of Galilean people. Still worse, Does the ‘pattern’ fit the image of a ‘son/daughter
Pilate has mixed their blood with that of sacrificed animals. This is a terri- of God’?
ble, gruesome story, worthy of denunciation.
Be blessed.
He tells a parable in the second half of the Gospel that might help us un- Fr. Tom Kunnel C.O.
derstand. An orchard owner orders his gardener to chop down a sadly
unproductive fig tree. The gardener advises him to leave it one more year
and see if, with some tending, it will bear fruit. Give it one more chance.
Who does the heartless orchard owner represent? We always assume
that it is God. We half-remember the story in Mt 21:18-19 of Jesus actually
cursing a fruitless fig tree. But, on the contrary, Jesus is not the orchard
owner but the gardener, asking mercy for the disobedient fig tree. God is
the God of ‘second chances.’ At the same time there is a clarion call for
repentance.
Lent is a season to turn away from our false idols and call on the merciful
and gracious Lord, who is “slow to anger and abounding in kindness.” We
are called in Lent “to prayer, fasting and works of mercy” because, as
Jesus tells us in the Gospel, “you will all come to the same end unless you
begin to reform.”
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Responsorial Psalm -- 103
This thanksgiving psalm recounts God's goodness to Moses and the Israelites (v7). The
psalmist has been delivered from grave misfortune, perhaps an illness (v4). Sickness is
closely linked with personal wrongdoing in Hebrew thought (v3). God's "benefits" (v2) are not
only personal; they extend to the nation as well, especially evident in the events of the exo-
dus. His covenant-centered attributes have been experienced: mercy, forbearance, and for-
giveness (v8), but above all his covenant love (Heb: hesed) (v11). A psalm sung by Israel
about the Exodus becomes a hymn of the Christian community celebrating the death and res-
urrection of Christ.
2 2
The first reading: Ex. 3:1-8, 13-15 claim their noble heritage. This reading is ap-
propriate for Lent, because it begins the story
This reading explains how God, speaking from a burning bush,
that will reach its climax so dramatically on
called Moses to leave the tending of his father-in-law’s flock
Holy Saturday with the reading which explains
for a challenging role as liberator of God’s Chosen People.
how Moses finally led the Israelites out of
Moses was to free the Israelites from enslavement by their
Egypt. Though God’s salvation is always availa-
Egyptian rulers who were systematically persecuting them,
ble, only those willing to change their core
seeking to exterminate them. The reading contains the call of
lives ever notice it. Repentance is the first step
Moses, the greatest Jewish liberator and law-giver, and the explanation of
in our redemption. That is why Jesus gives the
God’s proper name: Yahweh. God not only trusts Moses enough to share His
strong warning in today’s Gospel, “If you do
Name with him, but He also explains what it means. “I AM Who AM,” Yahweh
not repent, you will all perish.” We are called
proclaims. “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to
to abandon our false gods of money, power,
you.” YHWH (without vowels, as it is written in Hebrew), means “I am Who
and pleasure and return to the one God, Who
am” (St. Jerome, Vulgate) or “I am He Who is” (Septuagint) or “I am Who cause
“secures justice and the rights of all the op-
to be” (modern Bible scholars). God also insists that He is the God of Abraham,
pressed.”
Isaac, and Jacob, Israel’s ancestors, in order to prepare the freed slaves to re-
The second reading: I Cor 10:1-6, 10-12 - The second reading is Paul’s commentary on today’s first reading. Paul warns the Chris-
tians of Corinth that they must avoid over-confidence and learn from the experience of the Israelites in order not to repeat their mistakes. Referring to
the golden calf episode and the judgment that befell the Israelites in the wilderness (10:7-11), Paul offers words of admonition (10:12), assurance
(10:13) and warning that God’s mercy has its limits. The Israelites, led by Moses, passed miraculously through the sea as they escaped from Egypt.
God led them across the desert by means of a cloud and gave them water from the rock when they were thirsty and delicious manna as their staple
food. Despite all these wonders, however, many were still faithless. Therefore, God let them die in the desert (as they had said they wished they had
done), without reaching the Promised Land. Paul sternly warns the Corinthians that they are in the same danger, “Therefore, whoever thinks he is
standing secure should take care lest he fall.” Paul exhorts his converts to be faithful and not to presume that membership in the Christian community
automatically saves them. Later in his epistle, Paul speaks of repentance, using the Greek word metanoia, which means “a decision which changes
the direction of a person’s life or behavior.” Conversion to Christ and Baptism into the community of the Church requires continual effort to keep one
from backsliding into old habits or taking a detour into the alluring ways of the pagan or the occult. Moreover, the process of daily conversion should
include a sense of gratitude for the gifts with which God guides our way.
GOSPEL INSIGHTS Lk 13:1 - 9 subsequent disaster, although much (12:16 - 21; 1)
Luke deals with a not uncommon prob- questioned, was still in possession in Beginnings are wonderful moments, filled
lem in the early Christian community: a many quarters in Jesus' time. Jesus by- with enthusiasm, the excitement of novel-
sense of complacency in view of the de- passes any consideration of this just ty, new horizons. But there is nothing in life
lay in the Lord's return. It is not unlike retribution theory and reminds his that does not lose its initial glow. The new
the situation in Corinth which Paul ad- hearers that there is a lesson in tragedy soon becomes a customary part of life; it
dresses in the second reading. In the for everyone (vv3, 5). Before God there can even become dismally normal. We then
preceding chapter (Lk 12), Jesus has em- is no exception of persons. The only look forward to the next moment of exhila-
phasized the need for alertness and re- lesson to be learned is one of alertness ration. With faith, however, it should be
pentance. and repentance. different. In fact, prayer and meditation are
One way to escape self examination is to The story of the fig tree (vv6 - 9) could geared to make of faith an ongoing chal-
stand apart from the plight of others have been used to point out God's pa- lenge.
with an attitude of "This couldn't happen tience and forbearance in dealing
to me." There is no extra-biblical testi- with human failure. In its present
mony to Pilate's barbaric act (v1) or to context, however, it is a warning. At
the tower's collapse at Siloam (v4). The a given moment, if conversion does
traditional Hebrew understanding of the not take place, time will run out.
direct relationship between one's sin and This is a recurring Lucan theme
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DIVINE MERCY
QUIZ TIME
On the one hand, Jesus
informs us that those who do not repent will perish. On the 1. To whom did God appear in the burning bush?
A. Moses
other hand, Jesus tells us a parable about the patience of God.
B. Abraham
The fig tree in His parable is a familiar Old Testament symbol
C. Joshua
for Israel (see Jer 8:3; 24:1-10, Hos 9:10; Mi 7:1). As the fig tree D. King David
is given one last season to produce fruit before it is cut down,
so Jesus is giving Israel one final opportunity to bear good fruits 2.What did Paul warn the Corinthians not to desire?
as evidence of its repentance (see Lk 3:8). This metaphorical A) Gold B) Money C) Evil things D) Miracles
story of the fig tree planted in the vineyard reminds us of the
3. What did the man in the parable want to do with the fig
parable of the vineyard in Is 5:1-7. The fig tree is considered as
tree that did not bear fruit?
a symbol of the People of Israel (see also Hos 9:10; Mi 7:1; Jer A) Cut it down
8:13, 24:1-10), and this parable is perhaps meant to indicate B) Prune it
that Jesus will work on the Jews for a little while longer, before C) Give it fertilizer
cutting them off as a lost case and opening the Kingdom whole- D) Give it to a neighbor
heartedly to the Gentiles. Through this parable, believers are
4. Who convinced the man to give the tree one more year to
reminded of the patience of a God Who is willing to give sin- bear fruit?
ners chance after chance to reform their lives and to seek rec- A) His son B) His daughter C) His gardener D) His wife
onciliation. Even when sinners waste or refuse those chances,
God, in His mercy, allows still more opportunities for them to 5. Since God is so merciful, our sins
repent. And, just as the farmer tended the barren fig tree with do not really matter.
A) True
special care, so God affords sinners whatever graces they need
B) False
to leave their sinful ways behind and return to God’s love and
embrace. Divine grace is expressed as justice with compassion,
and judgment with mercy. But we cannot continue to draw
strength and sustenance from God without producing fruit.
God does not tolerate this type of “spiritual barrenness.” The
“fruit” God wants consists of acts of self-giving love done for
others. These are the spiritual and the corporal works of mercy
that we’re called to do out of love for God and others. Jesus
warns that the Galileans died “by the malice of some human
being” and the eighteen died by chance, but the fig tree “will
die expressly because of inactivity and unproductiveness.” 1. What is your favorite passage from the Old
However, the gardener is asking mercy for the disobedient fig Testament? Why?
tree. Is that what Jesus is doing when he warns us we will per-
ish if we don’t repent? Our life-giving fertilizer consists of re- 2. In what way are you like the people during Exo-
pentance, confession, and a firm commitment to change our dus? Is Paul too hard with Corinthians?
life. This is, in effect, removing our sandals in the presence of 3. What is your opinion on tragedy/suffering and
our God as we admit our guilt and God’s compassion?
plead for his mercy. We then trust
in God’s mercy and ask Him for 1A, 2.C, 3A, 4C, 5.B
the grace we need to redirect our
QUIZ ANSWERS
energies into more productive
endeavors.
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