3rd Sunday of Lent
It was a general belief among the Hebrew people that any misfortune befalling someone was due either to their own sins or those of their parents. It was for this reason that, coming upon a blind man, the disciples once asked Jesus whether this deficiency was his own fault or that of his parents (cf. Jn 9:1-2). Of course, God can chastise us for our good, as we read in the Gospel passage in which Our Lord warns the paralysed man He healed: “Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you” (Jn 5:14).
Furthermore, we see that there was a tendency in the sect of the Pharisees to feel superior in the face of their neighbour’s sins and sorrows, as the parable of the Pharisee and the publican shows us (cf. Lk 18:9-14).
These considerations prepare us to understand the Gospel for this 3rd Sunday of Lent (cf. Lk 13:1-9).
We read that “some” of those present told Jesus what had happened to the Galileans who had been murdered on Pilate’s orders at the time of offering the sacrifice, mixing their blood with that of the victims they were immolating. To their surprise, Jesus replied by questioning whether the survivors – both of this unfortunate case and of the collapse of the Tower at Siloam – were any less sinful than those who had died.
The Divine Master’s reply contains a serious censure of the attitude of those reporting the news, who felt justified in seeing the punishment of those who had perished. Now, Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira warned on several occasions that those who habitually criticize their neighbour do so because, deep down, they consider themselves superior. Thus, Our Lord admonishes: “unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Lk 13:5), putting those Jews on the same spiritual level as the ones who had died.
In this sense, in the second reading (1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12) St. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to avoid murmuring, whether against God or neighbour, to never think themselves righteous and to take care not to fall.
The truth is not in those who claim to be sinless (cf. 1 Jn 1:8). We must therefore ask ourselves if we have not fallen into the presumption of thinking that we are exempt from Confession, on grounds so often heard lately: “I have no sins.”
Now, halfway through Lent, we need to ask ourselves how we will approach the liturgical celebrations of the Easter Triduum: do we need to cleanse our souls of slander and complaints against God or our neighbour?
God does not want the death of sinners, but that they be converted and live (cf. Ez 33:11). That is why Jesus, after His stern warning, offers His listeners the parable of the barren fig tree, in which He presents himself as the Divine Vinedresser ready to defend this tree – which could be each one of us – from the decision of the Lord of the vineyard, and commits Himself to fortifying us with the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.
Let us make use of the time we have left to remove from our souls everything that prevents them from bearing fruit, and to accept the graces of conversion that are being poured out on us at this favourable time. May it not befall us that, for failing to yield the desired fruit, we must finally be cut down. ◊
