THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT, YR C
Exodus 3:1-8a,13-15; Ps 103
1 Cor. 10:1-2,3-4; Lk 13:1-9
GOD SAVES MOSES
The first reading, Exodus 3:8a, 13-15, presents us with Moses’ encounter with God where we had the revelation of the Divine name, “I AM”.
Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law when the Lord appeared to him. God appeared to him as fire burning a bush but is not consumed. As he saw the burning bush and decided to get close in order to examine what was going on, he heard the voice of God call out his name from the bush and asked him to take off his sandals because where he was, was a holy ground. This call was not only a call to remove sandals but it was a call to vocation. The vocation of leading God’s people from bondage of slavery.
God revealed himself to Moses when he was at work, tending the flock of his father-in-law. This shows the importance of work. God is always with us when we find a descent work to do and when we bring sincerity, honesty and seriousness to it, he blesses it. We must all take our jobs very seriously. When God looks to bless you, he does not look at how much you are paid, or how unfairly you are treated but he looks at the diligence and commitment you bring to bear on your work. Seek to be the best at your work and God will bless you. There can be no excuses for hard work, sincerity and productivity.
Out of the burning bush, God calls Moses by name. We are all very delighted when people call us by our names. It is an indication of some kind of personal relationship. By calling out Moses’ name, God is seeking to establish a personal relationship with him. The name Moses means “to pull from water or saved from water” (Exodus 2:10). He was saved from water by the daughter of Pharoah and was nurtured by the princes. But he always knew he was a Jew, so he killed an Egyptian oppressor who was maltreating the Jewish slaves. But this seemed to be something that the Jewish people knew and some used it against him. He had to flee in disappointment and fear. He became a wanted man.
At this moment (after about forty years of this event) when God calls out his name, he did not do so to tell him about his evil past, but to build a better relationship with him. God now saves him not from water but from disappointment, isolation, fear and depression. Until now he could only identify himself with the Jewish people. Now God wants him to identify with the God of the people.
Today, God calls us also by name. He desires a personal relationship with us. He wants to save you from whatever you are going through. Moses carried his “shame”, crime, disappointment, fear and isolation for forty years but God came for him. God is coming for you too. He will save you from all that makes you feel alone and lost. All that is quenching or choking our very life, God is able and he will save you.
We must get personal with God. we must open up our heart towards him. We must entrust our personal self to him. Try it. Getting personal with God is such a sweet, pleasant and beautiful experience.
Many people merely identify with Christians or the Church, but move a step further and identify with the Lord of the Church.
God told Moses that He has heard the cry of the children of Israel, and it is time to save them. It is time for you reading this, to also see and experience God’s salvation. God never forsakes us in our predicament. It is difficult sometimes to understand our troubles. But be assured that he feels our pain too. Do not give up now. He will save you. Continue to pray, continue to be good and do right, He will be your vindication.
May the celebration of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus save and free us from all that afflicts us. May it open a new life and relation for us with God.
God bless you.
BY Rev. Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
