Sisters of St. Mary of Namur

March 7, 2010    The Third Sunday of Lent    (Year C)

 Readings:          Exodus 3:1-8a,13-15

                             Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11

                             1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

                             Luke 13:1-9

Patience...God's patience with us and our patience with God. This seems to be an underlying message of the scripture readings today. The Hebrew people in the Exodus story had been crying out for 400 years under the oppression in Egypt. Finally, it seems to us, God decides to respond through Moses to set the people free. The Psalm reminds us that God is slow to anger and abounding in kindness. We are called not to forget the benefits God has granted us. In the first letter to the Corinthians, we are called, again, to remember and to never forget God's action in our lives. Finally, in Luke's Gospel, people who are trying to make sense of disasters they have witnessed or experienced, seem to ask Jesus how God could let these things happen. The parable response of Jesus is an often quoted plea for patience and "one more chance". One realm of theology offers the insight that our Creator God has blessed us to serve as co-creators in the unfolding reality of God's reign. Within this concept is the understanding that the story of salvation is not completely written yet; we help write it with our lives! In this light, the virtue of patience - God's and ours; is a gift to be rejoiced in rather than a frustration to be wrestled against. Time passes: trials are faced, errors are made, remedies are discovered. But, in the end, Jesus shows us that God triumphs and all things are drawn into oneness with God.

                      -Sister Lori High