I Have Heard Their Cry!

Sunday, March 23, 2025

Third Sunday of Lent

Ex 3:1-8, 13-15; 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12; Lk 13:1-9

The third Sunday of Lent invites us to reflect on the companion God, who is a fellow sufferer with those who suffer. 

Humanity often grapples with answerless questions, and those toughest ones are what we call ‘theodicy questions.’ Revealing the paradox of human life, these questions are unsettling for some while despairing for others. 

For instance, when Pope Francis visited a university in Manila on January 19, 2015, he was moved to tears when a girl, eyes welling up with tears, asked, “Many children get involved in drugs and prostitution. Why does God allow these things to happen to us? The children are not guilty of anything.” The Pontiff then took the 12-year-old Glyzelle Palomar into his arms to comfort her. He was so touched by the girl’s appeal that he abandoned his written English script and started conversing spontaneously. 

When we meet with people who unjustly suffer, we cannot evade certain questions that invade our hearts: ‘Why do people unjustly suffer? What sins did they commit that they were made to endure such pain? Just because I do not suffer, am I better than them? What to make of it? How to understand this? 

Jesus, the master storyteller, takes us through stories that not only shape our thinking but also transform our praxis.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus does two things to shape our understanding of God’s patience and love. He enlightens his listeners through a historical instance and also a parable. If the historical instance of Pilate killing Galileans shows God as a strict judge, the parable of the fig tree shows God as someone who patiently awaits our response to His generous call. 

What Jesus highlights in the Gospel about the nature of God is best explained in the first two readings. 

The first reading exemplifies the mercy and compassion of God. In a novel way, the first reading gives us the idea of a companion God who suffers with those who suffer. In the call narrative of Moses, God reveals himself to be an anguished companion of the enslaved Israelites by saying, ‘I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry.’ What we see here is that God is not merely sentimental but plunges into action to save His people from Egypt by instrumentalizing Moses. The first reading lets us understand that if we are ever wondering how God intervenes in human lives, it is through good-willed and conscientious people. The reading offers a strong message that the companion God who suffers with us will also deliver us out of our present suffering. 

In the second reading, we find Paul reminding the Corinthian community about the shortcomings of the Israelite ancestors, though God miraculously saved them from the Egyptians. Paul writes this in the context of the Corinthian community’s temptations to return to the idolatry that they were actively practicing before their conversion. Paul wants the Corinthian community to draw lessons from the mistakes of the Israelite ancestors. The words of Paul help us understand that ‘Experience is not what happens to us but what we do with what happens to us.’ Our past should shed light on our future. 

When we return to the Gospel story, we understand that Jesus establishes the image of God as the physician of our souls rather than a just judge. This is why Jesus does not stop with the historical example of Pilate spilling the blood of the Galileans. Instead, he concludes his preaching by giving us hope through the parable of the fig tree. 

The lesson we learn from the parable of the fig tree is not that we would be ‘cut down’ if we remain unyielding to the initiatives of God; instead, with only a little effort, we would flourish, thrive, and prosper. 

Jesus also suggests that though it is very hard to make God angry, we should not push God to the limits. Instead, even an insignificant effort would be enough to win over God to our side. 

Jesus’ message of hope about God’s unconditional goodness and everlasting generosity reminds me of what my professor said at the start of the course: ‘You should try really hard to earn a B grade in this class. With little effort, you can step up.’

Our God is not a disciplinarian. He is a compassionate healer whose goodness is known through his generous and patient love. 

Let us pray that we may find courage from finding God accompanying us through our life’s trials and tribulations. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar