07/03/2010 - 3 SUNDAY LENTEN SEASON - C
1st Reading Ex 3,1-8.13-15 Psalm 102 2nd Reading 1Cor 10,1-6.10-12 Gospel Lk 13,1-9
"I pray for them; I don't pray for the world, but for those whom you have
given me, because they are yours". Thus Jesus prays the second part of his
prayer. Here he prays for the disciples. What does it mean to pray for someone?
When I pray for someone, I continue to pray, that is, I lift up to God my prayer,
carrying the name and the situation of the other person, so that the Father blesses
the person with his love. To pray for another person means that I commit myself
before God for that person, I tie up myself with the said person. When Jesus prays
for his own, he is committed for them before the Father, is all united with them,
and the Father hears him and answers his prayer for them! He prays for his own,
but not for the world. We might find this strange: how come Jesus, who came to give
life to the world, does not pray for the world? Jesus offered his life so that the
world be saved, but one cannot be one in all with this world. The world is out of
the way, disobedient to the Father, and therefore Jesus want to do whatever he can
to bring it back to obedience, the only and sure way to salvation. He cannot pray
so that the world stops to be a world, but offers his life to God so that the world
change and turn to God. We too, we are to be united in front of God with all those
who believe so that for those who do not believe, we offer our lives so that they
come to believe: without faith, all their life, even if they enjoy good health and
have all the possible satisfactions in life, shall be lost. In this same prayer,
Jesus will tell us why there is the need that we are united. Even us, we wont pray
for the world, but for it we commit ourselves to renounce ourselves, so that we
are united together in love. We feel very much consoled that Jesus prayed for us.
We were in fact "given" to him by the Father since we got baptized. We
belong to the Father, and given to Jesus by him. And Jesus is committed before God
for us: he presents us to him, so that our life be conformed to his, a life of a
son/daughter. What would have Jesus asked to the Father for us? We shall see it
when we read the follows sentences of the prayer. He does not ask good health and
richness, neither that our worldly desires be realized. I'm happy that Jesus have
asked for me to be promoted to life eternal!
Today's Reading speak of conversion: thus we prepare ourselves for Easter. We are
to arrive to this feast different, with a heart ready to receive the Spirit from
Jesus, with a mind to think like God, with the desire for heavenly things. Conversion!
Moses saw God in the burning bush and spoke with him: God asked him to convert.
He needed to convert from his way of thinking for himself and to preoccupy himself
with the needs of all the people; he needed to convert from his way of doing things
and start to do what God was asking him to do. God put words in his mouth to say
to the people and gave him a rod in his hands: he needed to obey. Obedience will
be his strength and his wisdom. Even st. Paul speaks of Moses: all who obey him
and let themselves be guided by him, will be saved, while the rebels will be wiped
out. The exhortation of the apostle wants to take us out of grumbling, complaining
about God and what he asks us to do. Our conversion is to bring us to love and desire
what God wants to give us or what he allows to happen to us. At the end, even Jesus
tell us: "If you don't convert, you will perish…". The incidents that
unfortunately happens are not the worst. The major danger is our stubbornness, the
rejection of God's gifts, even so, the gift of God himself. The gift of God is Jesus,
his Son. Those who do not welcome him as savior, risk to be lost. To reject conversion
is the gravest sin. The most important conversion is this: not to think that I can
save myself with my good works, with my capacity, with my prayers, but I'm going
to be saved by the love of Jesus. Therefore I offer myself to him with all that
I am.
Conversion is not easy, because it's difficult to uproot the pride at our heart.
How many years to convert, one, two? How many years to become humble, to recognize
the need of Jesus? To help us Jesus tells us a parable: a fruitless fig tree. What
to do? The master wanted to cut down, but the gardener's advice was to wait on another
year. Who is the gardener who offer himself to work another year on a tree with
no fruit, who offer to dig around and manure it? He loves that tree so much that
from his love for it a hope is born. If I find that the tree is me, a tree which
has already the axe at it's roots, I have to recognize that my gardener cannot be
another one if not Jesus. It's him who offers himself for me, for everybody, to
be patient, to work, and wait. He is my salvation. The fruit of my life depends
on him, from his, not my labor. The year of work began, and continues. For him that
year ends only at the end when he gives me back to the Father for ever! Thank you,
Lord Jesus!