Our Strength is In Our Weakness (Lent 3c)

 The Readings (Isaiah 55.1-9; 1 Cor. 10.1-13; Luke 13.1-9) remind us that our strength is in our weakness. On our own we can do nothing to help ourselves. We may become discouraged, prideful, get distracted, rebel against Father God and lose our Baptismal Covenant promise of eternal spiritual life. Lent is a time to dig around and loosen our roots, repent our sins, “Come to Jesus” for forgiveness and go deeper in our spiritual life.

 

1.   Jesus Begins His Teaching with the Problem of Evil

When bad things happen to people, we might wonder if God is punishing them. Jesus uses the examples of persecution, a wall falling and a tower collapsing and killing people. He asks were they more guilty than others?

Overcoming Temptation Grows Our Spiritual Life (Lent 1)

The Readings for the First Sunday in Lent are chosen to help us prepare ourselves spiritually for the celebration of Easter through a time of deep self examination, repentance and confession. The goal is not to make us feel guilty but to help us draw nearer to God by overcoming the things – particularly the temptations to sin; that distract us and pollute our personal spirits and so we cannot survive in the presence of God who is holy.

• The Deuteronomy Reading (26.1-11) reminds us of our Old Testament Covenant and Baptism obligation to give thanks and acknowledge God as the one who gives us life.
• Psalm 91 reminds us that God also gives us protection and refuge in a dangerous world.

1. In Romans 10.8-13 we learn how God’s forgiveness of sin works

First of all we are told that the “Word” is near us, in our hearts. We do not have to go to a special place such as Israel or India. God wants an emotional relationship in our hearts – our soul and spirit. But God is so holy, pure and undivided He cannot be where there is spiritual pollution. Spiritual pollution would burn up in the fire of God’s holy love. This is why we all need to clearly understand and believe in the legal and spiritual process of “justification: