Here we are on our journey, third Sunday of Lent, and I hope everyone is having a good, strong Lenten season and, God willing, will finish across the finish line stronger than before.
What Does It Mean to Be “Stronger Than Before”?
What does it mean to be stronger than before? Does it mean, “I did it”? I gave up my Coca-Cola. I gave up my cookies.
No. These are just the means to a goal.
The goal is to be another Christ.
The Burning Bush: God’s Passionate Love
In the first reading today from the book of Exodus, we have the burning bush, this passionate, strong, intense fire that the Lord has for us, the love that God has for us.
Fire is the symbol of passion, of intensity.
The fact that God appears to Moses through a burning bush that does not consume means: I did not come into the world to destroy the world. I came into the world to love you.
And I have this passion to love you.
And I want to be a part of your life.
St. Paul’s Warning: Don’t Rely on Yourself
And then in the second reading today from Saint Paul, he reminds us — he’s very determined to tell us:
“Whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.”
Don’t be too confident in yourself, in your own abilities. Trust in God.
We need God in this world.
We need God in my life.
If I’m looking for transformation in my life, I need to have the Lord by my side. I need to have that burning bush right next to me - inside of me.
The Gospel: Repent… and Bear Fruit
And in today’s Gospel, the Lord reminds us: do you think these people are worse than you are? Do you think the horrible things that happened to them is because they were bad people?
No.
He says, unless you repent the same thing can happen to us.
Then He gives the parable: the gardener plants a tree, it doesn’t produce any fruit. They water it, they take care of it, they nurture it. Finally, the planter says: okay, I’ll let it stand for another year. I’ll give it a little bit more time to produce fruit, to do something.
These are the readings for today.
What Does It Mean to Repent?
What does it mean to repent?
I’ll tell you: yesterday, our children that are preparing for confirmation had their retreat.
I had my whole homily ready, and then all of a sudden, I had to throw everything out the door, because there was something that the children were doing that just inspired me. They all had these little candles (this is one I stole), and they turned them on and they were walking in procession to put these candles next to a cross that we had on the altar.
They were doing it so solemnly turning on their candle. I thought: If it was that easy. If being able to be a light of the world was just a switch at the bottom. If it were just that easy.
Sometimes we can be very cynical. It’s so hard to change. It doesn’t happen easily. I know all of you know that.
A True Story: “Look How Ugly You Are”
Not too long ago, I saw a young lady and she said to me, “Father, do you remember me?”
I’m like, “No.”
She said, “Well, a few years back, I came to you,” and she told me this story.
I remembered that story. There are some things you never forget.
Almost ten years ago, when she was in high school, she had just changed schools, went to a new high school. She was kind of shy, nervous, awkward - you know, regular teenage girl. She was struggling to make friends.
One day, one of the most popular girls in the school said, “Why don’t you come over to my house? We’re gonna have a sleepover. I’d love to have you there.”
The girl was enthused.
But while she was there, as they were getting ready, they were in the bathroom. She was surprised other girls were there. She thought it was just her and the other one.
While they were getting ready in the bathroom, all of a sudden the popular girl says to her:
“Look at yourself in the mirror. Look. Look how ugly you are. Look how ugly.”
True story.
The girl said, “What?”
“Yeah, yeah — look how ugly. Say it, say it: I’m ugly. Say it.”
And the girl said, “I’m ugly.”
“You see? Even you believe it.”
Aall the other girls were laughing.
When she told me that story… I had to work hard to ask, “What did you do?”
She said: “I prayed.” This little fifteen-year-old girl: I prayed.
Forgiveness That Doesn’t Turn Off the Light
Recently she told me, “Guess what?”
I said, “What?”
She said, “The girl that did that to me wrote me a letter asking for forgiveness for what she had done to me.”
She wrote:
“Please forgive me. I am so sorry. There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by that I don’t remember what I did to you. I ask for your forgiveness. Please accept my apologies.”
Amazing - that this girl knew who she was. She understood: I am a child of God. I am not going to allow anyone to turn off my light.
That burning bush reminds us that God’s light never dies. God’s presence is always there.
If you think you are so secure in yourself, like St. Paul says, be careful not to fall.
The World’s Rule vs. Jesus’ Strength
How many teenage kids know the rule in high school?
You hate me, I hate you.
You hurt me, I hurt you.
You talk bad about me, I talk bad about you.
You don’t like me, I don’t like you.
You gossip about me, I gossip about you.
You touch me, I’m going to slap you in the face so hard your head will spin.
But the Lord challenges us:
You don’t like me. I will always like you.
You talk bad about me. I will never talk bad about you.
You hurt me. I’m never going to hurt you.
What a difference. What a difference when you are that strong.
You know why that’s strong?
Because Jesus was that strong.
Can you imagine from the cross: “Forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”
The strength you must have, the faith you must have, to be able to handle that and never change regardless of the circumstance that you’re living.
Talk about when you know who you are. No one can take that away from you.
Let the Lord Water You and Prune You
In today’s readings, the Lord is saying: let me water you. Let me prune you.
During Lent, the Lord wants to challenge each and every one of us.
Why?
To discover who you are.
To reveal the mystery of who you are.
So that the world can see the light in you.
Don’t lose this opportunity.
It doesn’t have to be negative. It doesn’t have to be only when someone is persecuting you.
Even when you feel inspired by God to do something above and beyond what you ever imagined, don’t turn off the light. Don’t say, “Oh no, that’s crazy.”
Do you think Moses was some Marvel character? Do you think Abraham was some amazing seven-foot-tall hero? Do you think King David was something? All of them, when they were called by God, there was nothing spectacular about any of them. Nothing. Saint Paul — nothing. Peter — nothing.
What did they do that is remarkable?
They allowed God to challenge them.
They allowed God to say: you want to know what you’re capable of doing? You want to know who you are? Let me work with you. Let me help you reveal yourself to the world — and to discover who you are.
During Lent, the goal is to keep this light shining bright and allow the Lord to challenge us.
Amen.
