3rd SUNDAY LENT (C)

“FIRST IMPRESSIONS” THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT -C- March 23, 2025 Exodus 3: 1-8a, 13-15; Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 10: 1-6, 10-12; Luke 13: 1-9 by Jude Siciliano, OP

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In today’s Exodus reading, one of my favorite biblical phrases appears: “Here I am.” This is Moses’ response to God’s call. “Here I am” is also the response given by other biblical figures when God calls their names. Jacob responds this way to the angel in his dream (Gen 31:11). Samuel answers repeatedly in this manner, initially thinking that Eli is calling him (1 Sam 3:4-6, 8). Other examples include Abraham (Gen 22:1-2) and Isaiah (Isa 6:8).

Today, it is Moses who responds at the burning bush when God calls his name: “Here I am.” This phrase expresses an openness to God’s call, even when the person does not yet know what will be asked of them. Each of these call stories marks a significant turning point in the lives of those who hear and respond, shaping salvation history. A key feature of these stories is their pattern: it is always God who calls first, and then the person responds.

God initiates the call to Moses simply by calling his name: “Moses, Moses.” To this, Moses replies, “Here I am.” This is a classic call-response story. The encounter between God and Moses takes place at the burning bush. In the Bible, fire often symbolizes God’s presence (e.g., the pillar of fire in Exodus 13:21). As Moses approaches the bush, he says, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight and see why the bush is not burned.” The burning bush is symbolic: Israel will endure many sufferings but will not be consumed. God is not deaf to the suffering of God’s people, but chooses a leader, Moses, and empowers him to aid the distressed and enslaved Israelites.

Moses does not seem like a likely candidate to lead a great nation. At this point, he is merely a shepherd, and the flock he tends does not even belong to him. So far in the narrative, he has shown no obvious leadership qualities. This reflects a common biblical theme: God often surprises us by choosing the least likely people to aid the lowly, needy, or powerless – those who cannot free themselves from oppression under the heavy hand of others.

However, the focus of the narrative is not so much on the Israelites’ need, but on the Lord’s initiative. This is evident in the angel’s appearance to Moses in the fire and in God speaking to him from the bush. (“The angel of the Lord” is often the Bible’s reverent way of referring to God.) Perhaps there is a Lenten theme here.

On the First Sunday of Lent, we heard how Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days (Lk 4:1-13). It was a desolate place, and Jesus was hungry. Similarly, today’s passage tells us that Moses is “leading the flock across the desert” when he arrives at Horeb, a name meaning “desolate place.” As Moses approaches the burning bush, God calls out to him, and Moses responds, “Here I am.” Then God tells him to remove his sandals.

This scene is a reminder of Lent: like Moses, we find ourselves in a desolate place, but it is made holy by God’s presence. We might imagine that an encounter with God should take place in a lush, serene setting—a place with flowing streams, shade trees, grass, singing birds, and gentle wild animals. But instead, Moses finds God in a barren, inhospitable place, just as we may encounter God in the dry, challenging places of our own lives. Surprise!

God appears to Moses to announce that He is ready to act. Moses is not in the temple when God speaks to him but among the Midianites, not the Israelites. Yet God is about to liberate God’s people from slavery in Egypt.

The God of Moses’ ancestors speaks to him in the most unlikely of places. We must not confine God just to sacred spaces like chapels, prayer rooms, or tranquil meadows. God reaches out to Moses in the desert. What does this tell us about our own Lenten journey? Lent is a season for us to recognize the desert places in our lives and seek God’s revelation there.

Though deserts may seem barren, they are where we can hear God most clearly. There God calls us to silence and prayer so that we can hear God’s still, small voice speaking to our hearts. Lent leads us to Easter, where we receive the grace that frees us from sin and promises us life.

Both today’s readings from Exodus and Luke take place in the desert. In the Bible, the desert is depicted as a place of spiritual trial, purification, and transformation. Lent invites us to go within – to the desert of our hearts – to examine our spiritual lives and confront the distractions that pull us away from God. Because of this spiritual testing and the transformation it brings, the desert can be a holy place for us. It was in the desert that Moses encountered the holiness of God, heard his name called, and received his mission to save his people.

When Lent begins, some people groan, “Here we go again!” It is indeed a challenging time—– a season of testing and purification. But it is also a time when we can encounter God and have our spirits renewed by the joy of the resurrection.

When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they wandered for forty years before entering the Promised Land. During their journey, they were tested and purified. They learned to trust God, who fed them with manna and provided water from the rock. God also nourished them spiritually with the commandments, guiding them in right relationship with Him and with one another.

Lent is our opportunity to imitate those Israelites – to let go of our attachments, vices, and sins, and to turn more fully to God, who alone offers us true life. Our Lenten desert is not only about struggle and testing; it is also a time of renewal, a season in which we can hear God’s word more clearly and serve God more joyfully with renewed hearts and minds.

Click here for a link to this Sunday’s readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032325-YearC.cfm

QUOTABLE

JUSTICE BULLETIN BOARD

The Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed.
--Psalm 103: 6

What have you given up for Lent? How’s that working for you? I pose these questions because I sometimes wonder if we should think about a new way of fasting by denying one’s own self-centeredness in order to help others.

Pope Francis writes in Evangelii Gaudium , “Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. . .[Jesus] hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness. Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be part of a people.” Doing so, creates a new world view.

In his Lenten message for 2016, Pope Francis speaks of mercy as a means for transformation of our attitudes and lives, “God’s mercy transforms human hearts. . .inspiring each of us to love our neighbor and to devote ourselves to what the Church’s tradition calls the spiritual and corporal works mercy. . .in concrete everyday actions. . .this will be a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty, and to enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God’s mercy.”

The Works of Mercy Stewardship weekends continue in the narthex this 3rd Sunday of Lent by featuring ministries that shelter the homeless:

• Door Fund/Ministry - Parishioners interview people in need of assistance with past due rents and eviction notices and in other ways. Coordinator--Barbara Quinby .

• Habitat for Humanity – We are part of the Habitat Catholic Coalition and build one affordable house in the fall each year. Coordinator--Walt Milowic .

• Refugee Resettlement -- Working with Our Lady of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, cathedral parishioners help USCRI-approved refugees that are here. Liaison—Kimberly Stanko

• Support Circles - 8-10 parishioners form a circle of assistance for one year around a family seeking to emerge from homelessness. Coordinator--Christopher Gorski .

• Walking with Moms in Need – We help pregnant mothers or mothers in crisis through accompaniment. Coordinator-Christine Dennis

This Lent, open your arms and walk with the poor--make this a turning point in your spiritual life and help secure justice and rights of the oppressed.

Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director

Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries

Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, Raleigh, NC

FAITH BOOK

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel reading:

Jesus said, ...those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower of Siloam fell on them –
do you think they were more guilty
than anyone else who lived in Jerusalem?

Reflection:

Are the misfortunes people experience a punishment for their sins? Jesus responds, “By no means!” Still, as we have experienced, sin may have dire or fragmentary consequences on our lives, now, or in the not-too distant future.

So, we ask ourselves:

In light of Jesus’ call to consider our lives and repent of our sins, we reflect on sin’s consequences in our lives:

• Are the ill effects of our sins staring us in the face?

• What’s falling apart in our lives? What hurts? Where do we seem stymied in our spiritual journey?

POSTCARDS TO DEATH ROW INMATES

“One has to strongly affirm that condemnation to the death penalty is an inhuman measure that humiliates personal dignity, in whatever form it is carried out."

---Pope Francis

Inmates on death row are the most forgotten people in the prison system. Each week I am posting in this space several inmates’ names and locations. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of them to let them know that: we have not forgotten them; are praying for them and their families; or, whatever personal encouragement you might like to give them. If the inmate responds, you might consider becoming pen pals.

Please write to:

• Christopher Goss #0150949 (On death row since 2/8/2005)

• Lamar E. Tylor #0762634 (8/24/2005)

• William Raines #0526698 (9/9/2005)

----Central Prison P.O. 247 Phoenix, MD 21131

Please note: Central Prison is in Raleigh, NC., but for security purposes, mail to inmates is processed through a clearing house at the above address in Maryland.

For more information on the Catholic position on the death penalty go to the Catholic Mobilizing Network: http://catholicsmobilizing.org/resources/cacp/

On this page you can sign “The National Catholic Pledge to End the Death Penalty.” Also, check the interfaith page for People of Faith Against the Death Penalty: http://www.pfadp.org/

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