Heeding God’s Call to Repentance: 3rd Sunday of Lent Year C

Whoa! We’re halfway to Holy Week. How’s the journey going? Perhaps one may have noticed that the gospels thus far have mentioned mountains and deserts. There is a reason behind it.

First off, Jesus preaches from a mountain. The greatest will come when he preaches about forgiving those who don’t know what they are doing, as he was crucified on Mount Calvary. On the mountains, he would preach about the beatitudes, how to pray, and even the Golden Rule.

Second, deserts are supposed to teach us the value of self-mortification. Mortification comes from the Greek nekrosis, which means “to put to death” or “to render dead.” St. Paul wrote to the Colossians, "Mortify, therefore, your members which are on the earth; fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5)

Mortification is an act that helps us overcome the influence of sin in our lives.  Romans 8:13: "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." What St. Paul is urging Romans is to avoid sins of the flesh and live in purity.

In the Gospel of Luke for Year C of the Third Sunday of Lent, Jesus gives us a stark warning about what happens when we don’t heed God’s message of repentance. When we received our ashes on Ash Wednesday, a priest or deacon would tell us to “repent and believe.”

When Christ began his preaching, his first words were, “The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe.” He would be frank when he told his disciples in the parable of the Fig Tree, “If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.” Jesus wants us to remember that our choices in life will impact whether we obtain the rewards of heaven or suffer for eternity in hell. Fulton Sheen reminds us that “Saints never deny hell, they fear it. Unrepentant sinners never fear it; they deny it:” If we want to live in holiness, our first job is to fear hell. We do this by seeking to repent of evil passions daily.

Lent is the time for us to put our sinful habits to death. We must also find the obstacles in our lives that are keeping us from being on the path of God. It all begins with us. We begin to put to death our sinful habits when we fear hell. Father Paul Scalia once wrote, “If shame reminds us of our dignity, repentance restores it.” We can have our dignity restored when we seek God’s mercy in the confessional.

Make an effort to get to confession and be truly sorry for the times we offended God.