A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 8, n. 15)
3rd Sunday of Lent, Year C – March 7, 2010 *
“The Call to Repentance”
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15 // I Cor 10:1-6, 10-12 // Lk 13:1-9
(N.B. Series 8 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year C from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 2. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 5.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
Lent is a time of spiritual grace – an opportune time to strengthen our filial response to God who loves us deeply, faithfully and unconditionally. The benevolent God, who willed to save the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, manifested himself to Moses in a burning bush on Mount Horeb (cf. Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15). The great “theophany” or divine manifestation in the burning bush precipitated the drama of Israel’s liberation and rescue. Indeed, the divine benevolence continues to unfold on our behalf and permeate salvation history.
In today’s Gospel reading (Lk 13:1-9), Jesus narrates the parable of the unfruitful fig tree to underline the patient mercy of God and his call to repentance. The unresponsive, unfruitful fig tree, however, risks self-destruction. Aelred Rosser comments: “God returns again and again to offer us the chance to be productive, to bear fruit. And even when we do not, mercy prevails to give us yet another chance – even to the extent of making it easier for us to be productive. Nevertheless there is such a thing as the last chance. And if it is not accepted, the fig tree will be uprooted and thrown into fire. Luke is revealing that Jesus himself is the final opportunity, the culmination of God’s long history of opportunities. Don’t miss it! Now is the time of salvation. Now is the time for the Church to renew itself and continue the cycle inward, toward deeper and deeper conversion, and outward, toward greater and greater productiveness.”
In the Second Reading (I Cor 10:1-6, 10-12), Saint Paul exhorts the Christian community in Corinth to be steadfast and to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of our Israelite ancestors. Opportunities to respond to God’s call have been neglected and rejected in the past as could be verified in the history of the Chosen People. Paul thus makes use of Israel’s experience of chastisement as admonition and to warn Christians not to be overconfident and presumptuous, but to be vigilant and faithful. Indeed, the drama of the obdurate Israelites in the desert must not be repeated. The graces and loving interventions of God on our behalf must not remain fruitless.
Harold Beutow remarks: “But the Jews were overconfident of themselves and forgetful of God … They failed God miserably also by their constant complaining … None of the generations that left Egypt, including Moses, was privileged to enter the Promised Land. They all died before they got there. It was their children who made it. Paul’s message to all is to be vigilant … We are all ultimately responsible for ourselves: our sins, shortcomings, imperfections, and what might have been had we cooperated with God’s grace. That means the constant need to reform and openness to conversion: assessing how we see the success of our own lives in the light of eternity … Times of grace, like Lent, are times when we can satisfy the need to shore up our weakness and become more vigilant. Although we never know when our last chance will come, we know that this Lent, if we use it correctly, is a time of special grace. Am I continuing to respond to God’s love this Lent?”
The following personal witness of David Paul Hammer, an inmate on federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana, gives us a glimpse into the redemptive quality of divine grace (cf. AMERICA, October 26, 2009, p. 17-18). David was baptized a Catholic and is now a Providence Associate with the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. His inspiring response to God’s call to conversion and the gift of repentance heartens us in our Lenten journey of transformation.
While sitting at the defense table in a federal court, I listened intently with tears flowing, as the father of the man I was on trial for killing spoke. From the witness stand he read the last letter he would ever receive from his son. That is when I realized that my actions had stolen the life of a son, a brother, an uncle, and that nothing I could do could repay those I have harmed. I have never been able to explain my actions or why I killed Andrew Marti. No words can explain the taking of a human life. Each day I live with what I have done.
I sought forgiveness from Andrew’s family and from God. I received both, but forgiving myself has not come easily. However much time I have on earth will be spent trying to make amends for the pain I have caused. Forgiven, I am no longer the man I once was. And because I cannot undo my past, I do what is possible from where I am. I have taken up art.
The following facts detail my criminal past. While an outpatient at the drug treatment unit of a large medical center in Oklahoma City, I took two people hostage at gunpoint. The incident took place in the emergency room and ended after the local SWAT team overpowered me; no one was hurt. My treatment for PCP usage and addiction ended, and I was carted off to jail. After several months, I pled guilty to robbery, kidnapping and pointing a deadly weapon, for which I was sentenced to 22 years. The robbery occurred prior to the hospital incident, when I broke into a farmhouse and stole various items while the occupants were eating dinner. It was considered a robbery because people were at home when it took place.
I escaped twice from state prisons in Oklahoma. The first escape resulted in an additional 10-year sentence. During the second escape in 1983, I robbed and shot a former prison inmate who had raped me in prison. He recovered from his wounds and testified against me. I was sentenced to a consecutive term of 1,200 years. At age 25, having spent 74 days as an escapee, I found myself serving 1,232 years in a maximum-security prison.
I was transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and confined at the U.S. Penitentiary/Allenwood, in White Deer, Pa. There in 1996, I killed my cellmate Andrew Marti by strangling him. I pled guilty and was sentenced to death. I have spent nearly 32 years in incarceration (since January 1978).
Creating art does not come easily for me. I don’t particularly enjoy drawing or painting, but at times feel compelled to express myself on paper or canvas. I have had no formal art training or schooling. Whatever artistic talents I possess I consider God’s gifts to me. I have noticed over the years that my work often reflects the mood I’m in while creating it. I tend to become totally absorbed as a drawing materializes. It is as if with each line or shading, I am leaving more than ink or paint; I am leaving bits of myself. Since each piece is filled with meaning and emotion, the process can be exhausting. (…)
I have been involved in a project for the last eight years, where my artwork is made into holiday cards that are sold to raise funds for children who have been abused or at risk of abuse. Each year I receive letters and notes from people who have received the cards and from the organizations that have received the sale proceeds. Last October at mail call, the highlight of my day, I received a large envelope from the St. John Bosco Children’s Home in Mandeville, Jamaica. This is a child care facility sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy that has received funding from the card project. I found a long letter and drawings from the boys at St. John Bosco, made for me as a thank you. The feeling in my heart and the tears in my eyes at their simple acts of kindness reminded me that God connects us all in many ways. He connected me with these Jamaican boys through art – drawings made with crayons, colored markers and pencils.
Art is not always found on the walls of museums or in private collections. It can be found in the expressions of an inmate on death row or an orphan in a boys’ home. Wherever it is found, art has a way of connecting the world.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
How do we respond to the compassionate and caring God revealed to us in the burning bush? Do we allow ourselves to be strengthened by his divine presence and protection?
Do we respond fully to the tender, loving God who calls us to an intimate filial relationship with him? Do we repent and turn away from actions, words and deeds that betray this personal relationship? Do we embrace Jesus, God’s beloved Servant-Son, as our radical “last chance” and the “only chance” of redemption?
Do we remember the history of the Israelites and allow ourselves to be challenged by their experience of justice and grace? Do we allow ourselves to be confronted by their experience of God’s compassion and punishment? Do we respond fully to God’s call to repentance and the gift of conversion?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Almighty and merciful God,
you revealed yourself to Moses in the burning bush
as the Holy One and the Liberator-Savior of your chosen people Israel.
You care for us with infinite love and compassion.
Your benevolent saving plan on our behalf continues to unfold in history
and was radically fulfilled in your beloved Son Jesus Christ.
Help us to welcome the fullness of salvation
offered through Christ and in Christ,
the ultimate gift that leads to conversion.
Grant that we may respond to your call to repentance
and cease to be the unresponsive, unfruitful fig tree.
Do not allow us to be smug and complacent.
Help us to blossom and bear good fruits that will last.
May we recognize and cherish your abounding care for us.
May we learn from the various experiences of the Israelite people,
as they journeyed in the wilderness,
the need to be faithful and obedient to your saving will.
Teach us to be steadfast in your love
and give us strength not to fall.
You are patient and merciful;
you are just and true.
We love you and adore you;
we give you thanks and praise;
we glorify you and honor you, now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Take care not to fall.” (I Cor 10:12 b)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: Participate fully, consciously and actively in the sacrament of reconciliation celebrated in your parish community during the Lenten season. Assist in any way you can a person seeking to journey on the road to conversion and repentance. Continue to practice the Lenten threefold spiritual program: prayer, abstinence and alms-giving.
ACTION PLAN: That we may truly respond to the diving gift of conversion and repentance, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year C, vol. 6, # 15).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US