March 7, 2010

3rd Sunday of Lent

Earthquake in Chile!  Bomb Attack in Iraq!  Drought in Africa!  Today’s headlines read much the same as they did in the time of Jesus. The Gospel relates:  Galileans put to death by Pilate!  Tower at Siloam falls killing 18!  Fig tree produces no fruit due to Global Warming!  

This week’s Scripture answers the question:  Why is there suffering and death in the world?  Bad things happen to good people and the wicked alike just as rain falls on the weeds and the wheat.   No one can escape the possibility of suffering in this life. 

While God does not cause suffering in our lives, He does let nature run its course.  Storms happen because of changes in the atmosphere, earthquakes, due to shifts in the earth’s surface.  Violence is the result of any number of the capital sins:  anger, greed, envy, lust…; illness are a part of human nature.     

God allows suffering for three reasons: (1) to remind of us His presence; (2) to repent from evil; and (3) to relieve the pain of those in need.  God only allows suffering to bring out some greater good.

In the first reading the oppression of the Jews in Egypt brought Moses to the “rescue” to relieve the Israelites of their suffering.  It also revealed God’s presence: “Yahweh, the I am who am for all generations.

The second reading reminds us of why some of the Jews were not rescued from Egypt but died in the desert.  They “desired evil things.”  Hence, salvation requires repentance.  And, God is with us on the journey through whatever situation we may face, as in the “cloud” or “water-giving rock” that accompanied the Jews on their journey.