Come Now! March 11, 2007

Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9

http://www.usccb.org/nab/031107a.shtml

By Arlington Peace and Justice Commission

Rev. Gerry Creedon, Chair

Anne Murphy, Consultor

"I am the God of your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. But the LORD said, "I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. So indeed the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them. Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." (Exodus 3: 6-10.)

If the theme for last week could be called transformation, this Sunday's readings are all about continuing conversion.

In the first reading, Moses first encounters God or "I Am," in the burning bush. Curious as to why this bush is not consumed by the flames, he approaches the bush. When God sees him coming to look, He calls to Moses and tells him he is to rescue God's people from their slavery. Moses reply is something in the order of: “Why Me? Wouldn't someone else be better at this?”

But God chooses Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. And even after the Exodus itself, life is not easy those 40 years in the desert. But Moses learns to trust in the Lord and the Israelites create their own nation under God.

Paul refers to the Exodus journey in his First letter to the Corinthians when he warns us to appreciate all that God has done for us rather than grumble over what we feel we lack as the Israelites do in the desert.

The Parable of the Fig Tree does not hold much meaning for us today as it does for Jesus' audience. They know that when a farmer plants a fig tree, they give it three years to bear fruit. If the tree remains barren after all this time, they uproot the tree, throw it away and plant another. However, in this story, the farmer wants to cultivate and give the tree another chance. Jesus' message is that “God is patient,” always waiting for us to come to him. While Moses' burning bush and Paul's encounter with the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus are dramatic examples of conversion, most of us today do not experience God in these ways. Rather we find God in the every day moments of our lives. As in the prayer below, God comes through the ordinary door along with the ordinary people we see every day, which is expressed in the prayer below.

Question: When have you realized God's presence in your life recently? How did it affect you?

Prayer:

I am on the lookout Lord, like a watchman at his post on the rampart to watch over the horizon. From where will you come? From where will rise the light that precedes your coming? By what magnificent door, O Lord, so yearned for, will you come to our homes? It is by the door we use every day! You arrive by the most used door, along with the events, the joys and the sorrows of every day. You come in through the ordinary door, quietly, along with all the people who enter every day. And so, O most awaited Lord, I will stand like a watchman, by the simple doors that you go through in order to show us, each and every day, and your mysterious face. Amen. (Singer, Charles. Prayers for Feasts.) 6

Fasting:

· Take time to cultivate your relationship with God, whether by reading scripture, prayer or just sitting in a quiet spot and listening for him.

· Cultivate relationships based on mutual values rather than on income, status or prestige.

· Subscribe to an advocacy listserv, such as the ones offered by Virginia Catholic Conference, (www.vacatholic.org ) Virginia Interfaith Center (www.virginiainterfaith.org) or Catholic Relief Services (www.crs.org). Try to get an advocacy listserv started at your church.

· Find out more about your national government’s legislative agendas. What bills are before the legislative bodies that could affect the lives of those less fortunate (http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/)?

· Prepare meals at home and share a simple dinner with your family rather than eating out or ordering in.

· Remember that everyone is on a path to conversion, and we should not abandon anyone. Join with Catholic Charities of Arlington Prison Ministry (cparcasio@ccda.net) or Kairos (www.kairosprisonministry.org) in volunteering at prison ministries.

· Tutor or otherwise assist at-risk youth.

Almsgiving:

· Consider something as simple as providing money or a meal to the homeless person on the street you would usually pass by. We too often pass judgment on such people instead of imagining how we would like to be treated.

· Identify the people in your life who can often go unnoticed or can be taken for granted, like the person who serves your latte or meal at a restaurant, the maid in the hotel who cleans your room, the worker who cleans your office and restroom, or the person who collects your garbage. Take the time to speak with them and find a way to make their lives easier.

· Contact women's shelters or halfway houses such as BARN, (www.barninc.org) transitional housing sponsored by the Benedictine sisters in Bristow and see how you can help.

· Make sandwiches or a meal for your community soup kitchen or drop-in or homeless shelter such as SOME, So Others Might Eat (www.some.org).

· Volunteer with your local interfaith service organization, such as SHARE in McLean; ALIVE in Alexandria; AMEN in Arlington; AFAC in Arlington; MESA in Madison, VA; ACTS in Prince William County; ACCA in Annandale; ECHO in Springfield; CHO in Vienna; United Community Ministries on the Route 1 corridor in Alexandria; Reston Interfaith in the Reston/Herndon area; LINK in Herndon, Sterling and Leesburg; SERVE in western Prince William County; and Koinonia in the Franconia area.