Luke 13:1-9

Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15

Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

Luke 13:1-9

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans

whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.

Jesus said to them in reply,

“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way

they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?

By no means!

But I tell you, if you do not repent,

you will all perish as they did!

Or those eighteen people who were killed

when the tower at Siloam fell on them—

do you think they were more guilty

than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?

By no means!

But I tell you, if you do not repent,

you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable:

“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,

and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,

he said to the gardener,

‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree

but have found none.

So cut it down.

Why should it exhaust the soil?’

He said to him in reply,

‘Sir, leave it for this year also,

and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;

it may bear fruit in the future.

If not you can cut it down.’”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, thank you for your patient and kind love. You are so merciful, and I am brought to tears knowing how much you have forgiven in my life. I am not worthy to be called your child, and yet you welcome me back with open arms, put a ring on my finger, and slaughter the fattened calf every time I return home.

Encountering the Word of God

1. God’s Patience: When the people asked Jesus about current events, Jesus used the opportunity to teach the people about sin and called the people to repent. Unfortunately, the people were equating suffering severe misfortune, like being put to death or dying due to an accident, with having sinned. In both cases, Jesus challenged the people’s false understanding. It wasn’t because of their sins that the Galileans were killed by Pilate. And it wasn’t because of their sins that the eighteen died when the tower at Siloam – in Jerusalem – fell on them. We do not know the day and the hour of our death. It may come suddenly through an accident or may come at the end of a long illness. Because of this, we always need to be ready to encounter our Lord and judge. We need to repent, not tomorrow, but today! In giving this lesson, Jesus doesn’t want the people to fall into a servile fear, thinking that God is only waiting for them to sin in order to pounce on them. Rather, God is patient, just like the man who listens to his gardener and leaves the fig tree one more year to bear fruit. 

2. The Exodus: In the First Reading, we continue to review some of the most important moments in the history of salvation. Last week, we heard the story of how God elevated one of his promises to Abram to a covenant: Abram would become the father of a great nation. This week, we learn about God’s plan to save the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the land promised to Abram. When Moses asks God what his name is, God responds: “I am who am” (Exodus 3:14). This name reveals something about God’s nature as well as his fidelity. He is without beginning or end. He is eternal and the creator of all that exists. He will be there for his children and accompany Moses on the mission to save his people. God is faithful to his covenant promises and wills that through Abraham’s descendant, all people can enjoy the merciful blessing of the forgiveness of their sins and become his sons and daughters.

3. From Examples to Reality: The Second Reading recalls the exodus of Israel from Egypt and their miraculous passage through the sea. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2). The historical events and experiences of Israel were only Old Testament foreshadowings of greater realities to come in the New Testament.  Paul “reads Israel’s exodus through the Red Sea as a type of baptism and the manna and water from the rock as types of the Eucharist. The dangers of giving in to temptation, particularly to idolatry, affected Israel in the Old Testament and the Christians at Corinth (10:16-15)” (A Catholic Guide to the New Testament, 212). When we are baptized, we don’t pass through the waters to be saved from an earthly despot and Egyptian army. We pass through the waters from sin to grace, from death to life, and from estrangement to communion. When we receive the Eucharist, we are not just sustained for a day or two but nourished for eternal life!

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, my forgiving brother, you know how difficult my life is and what my temptations are. You have experienced everything I have. Be merciful to me and intercede for me at the Father’s right hand. You are my eternal and merciful high priest, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world!

Living the Word of God: When Paul speaks about the characteristics of our love and charity, the first thing he mentions is patience. Is my love patient? What does a patient love look like in my life?