'Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.' Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year C

Burning Bush

Sébastien Bourdon [Wikipedia; author]

When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:4-5; First Reading). 

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 13:1-9 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)  

There were some present at that very time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig round it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

The Gospel in Filipino Sign Language

About 40 years ago  a friend brought me to visit a widow in her 80s in Long Island, New York. I was spending a month working in a parish near where she lived. I remember clearly that the woman, whom I never met again, was feisty and we had lively discussions on a number of matters, expressing different views but with good humour and respect.

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