Third Sunday of Lent – Mar 23, 2025
Burning bushes and barren fig trees, a call to lead and a call to repent. The connection between today’s first reading and its paired Gospel passage isn’t immediately obvious. Perhaps that is the point. Human life is not always so certain and predictable, and how we imagine God’s hand in it is not always clear. Fire is supposed to consume, yet it didn’t today. Human tragedy is not a consequence of sin, but we should repent nonetheless.
Two threads help us hear the good news more clearly. First is attention. Moses was compelled to change his course and that of his flock in order to see more closely the burning bush that had caught his attention. As he did so, God spoke directly to him, revealing that God had also noticed and was drawn to the plight of the Israelites. In the Gospel, the gardener promised to give added attention to the fig tree so that it could have a second chance.
What results from attention is a call to action—a change of heart, mind, or direction.
In each event, what results from attention is a call to action—a change of heart, mind, or direction. Moses would take up God’s call to lead; God would heed the Israelites’ call for freedom; the landowner would relent and be more patient. May our attention to our Lenten disciplines result in true repentance manifested by a fruitful change of heart and action.
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