Week 3 --- Beware! No Spectators Allowed

3rd Sunday of Lent

I'd like to begin this writing with a little exercise. I'm going to type out a couple of verbs and I'd like you to pause for a moment and listen to what these verbs trigger in your heart. What comes to your mind and what's your heart's response is. Ready? cut-down, cut-off, cut-up, cut-in, cut-into, cut-short.

OK. I'm not sure what your heart's response is, but I'm certain that such verbs evoke a response....and tap into some of your life's experience. Times when we were cut-up, or cut-off. We can relate to such verbs and so too can our Lord.

Our first response to such experiences might be anger, but we need to take it further. We need to ask WHY??? We hear such questioning today in the Gospel.
Why did the tower fall on those people? Why did the Galieans get killed? We might ask Why did the boss cut-up my idea, Why Lord Why???

"WHY?" is a great question. It gets us thinking and when we address it to the Lord, it evokes from him a response. God invites such questions and thru questions, he leads us to so much more.

We see this today with the call of Moses. The question "why?" is what led Moses to encounter the Lord. He sees the burning bush and he wonders, why is it burning but not consumed? So he moves closer. And at that moment, he hears a voice, STOP...Remove your sandals from your feet, you stand on Holy Ground.

He removes them and then he hears even more from the Lord. Moses realizes that God knows him, God is familiar with the sufferings of Israel and furthermore, God has a plan. God sees how his people are cut-off from their homeland and cut-up by the Egyptians. And not only does God have a plan, he has a name. A name to be made known to the people, remembered, respected thru the ages....

Friends, we see and hear in this reading 3 tremendous truths which we need to make our own:

#1) When faced with questions in life, we need to face them with REVERENCE and RESPECT...Moses needed to take off his sandals, well we need to take off our attitude and pride and take all our questions to the Lord. Engage him with our whys.

#2) We need to remember that God has a plan, he sees all things, he knows all things.

#3) Finally We are integral parts of His Plan, God needs us and we will be answerable to Him. We must bear fruit.

We hear St. Paul telling the Corinthians today, Do NOT BE UNAWARE, but Be aware...It's not enough to be part of the crowd. He says that most of the Israelites who followed Moses were struck down, God was not pleased with them, for they were only part of the crowd.

And so we need to take care. Take Care of ourselves and not be along for the ride in life, but take care in the Lord.

Sometimes I think that we should post signs outside of Church...BEWARE: You are entering into a holy place. God's house, God's dwelling on earth. All are welcomed, no height, no weight restrictions, but you must be changed, you must be made new, converted and bear fruit. All who enter here must leave differently.

For our Church is not a stadium or arena, we are not to just warm the seats and pulpit. Our worship is not a spectator sport....Rather, here we will be challenged, fortified, healed, changed, engaged and sent forth.

My friends, God has great expectations for each and every one of us. Thru reverence, respect, humility, and obedient love...we will realize these expectations, we will be changed so that in due time...we will become who God calls us to be.