3rd Sunday of Lent // March 31

Reading I: Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15
Responsorial Psalm: 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11
Reading II: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

When I saw a blooming rosebush out in a garbage pile by the side of the road I stopped and clipped those blooms and brought them to the next person I saw. I wondered why the owner didn’t replant or give it away or, if they found it too bushy, why they didn’t simply prune it. I used to be afraid to prune for fear I wouldn’t do it perfectly, but nature often corrects my mistakes. Nature is sometimes as forgiving as her Creator but not always.

There is the story of the rabbi who walked to his synagogue every morning and noon and back again after lunch and back again at 5 pm. Each time he would say to the gardener as he walked by, “Thank God for the beautiful garden.” After a while the gardener spoke up, “you might not thank God if the garden was not tended. It would be an overgrown mess.” Immediately, the rabbi corrected himself, “Oh my goodness; thank you for gardening so carefully, for co-creating with God!”

We are all graced to help one another bear fruit. We care for and nurture our families and if we are teachers or medical pros or ministers we nurture and care for very many people WITH God. What and who else does this Gospel call us to help bear fruit? Since God always gives us another chance to be fruitful to whom can we give another chance?

Deni Mack, DMin
Pastoral Associate