THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
(Exodus 3:1-8.13-15; I Corinthians 10:1-6.10-12; Luke 13:1-9)
Philosophers
say that there are two types of evil. Men do moral evil. We have seen moral
evil in the invasion of Ukraine. It is obvious that the president of Russia
wants to bring an autonomous nation under his rule. The other type of evil is
called “natural”. For all the damage it has created, the Covid virus well
represents natural evil.
One wonders
which kind of evil is worse. Moral evil certainly causes great personal turmoil.
Parents who have suffered the murder of a child feel tremendously distressed.
But how can that sadness compare with all the suffering experienced in the 2004
tsunami? The catastrophe took more than 227,000 lives! However we weigh the
seriousness of the two types of evil, Jesus treats evil differently. We find
him in the gospel today listening to a horrific story of moral evil.
Some men
report to Jesus the slaughter of Galileans by Pilate. Jesus adds to the report
a well-known case of natural evil. Recently a tower fell on a crowd crushing
eighteen people. What a tragedy! Curiously, Jesus does not express horror at all
the evil. Nor does he comment, as was the custom of the time, on the guilt of
the victims as the source of evil. He only looks at the significance of the evil
for the people around him.
He draws
his attention to the fact that the victims in both cases could have been
themselves. He then urges them to repent so that they avoid condemnation at the
judgment when they die. In other words, they shouldn't just worry about bad
things happening to themselves. They should worry even more about the evil that
they themselves have done. It's like our mothers used to tell us: "No
matter what others do, take care that you always do the right thing."
Then Jesus
tells a story to clarify his intention. A fig tree cannot take up custodial
care forever without bearing fruit. If it doesn't produce figs, it will be
destroyed. Also, the fig tree has to bear fruit very soon. It is the same with
us. Now is the time to change our ways of living so that we produce good deeds.
We have to leave laziness behind to live according to the ways of justice and
love.
A family
once was like all the others. They identified as Catholic but did not attend
mass often. For the most part they liked to watch football on TV and party with
their friends. Then by some act of grace, they began to heed the word of God.
It became a family dedicated to the Lord. One day the doctors gave the mother
of the family a terminal diagnosis. It was difficult for everyone. However, rooted
in grace, they could calmly face cancer.
You can see
the source of grace for this family in the first reading. God gives Moses his
name. Now the Israelites can call on him when they get into trouble. He will
always be there to help them. In the second reading Saint Paul testifies to the
benefit of having God attentive to supplications. The Israelites eat and drink
in the desert by the grace of the Lord.
We are
about to enter spring. It is the time of change. Nature awakens from the
laziness of winter to produce the fruits of summer. Soon we will see the
flowers on trees and the sprouts in the field. Jesus wants us to make a similar
change. We are to stop watching TV a little to listen more to the word of the
Lord. We are to ignore what others do to lend a hand to the afflicted.
