THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT C Lectionary #30
Or, if there are catechumens, see the suggestions for Year A.
In the vision of the burning bush, God promises to liberate Moses' people from slavery. In reflecting on recent experiences in light of the Torah, Jesus promises divine mercy to those who repent. God is patient, the story of the fig tree tells us, but even God won't wait forever. We have to accept divine mercy and produce fruit.
Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15. In one of the key moments of salvation history, God appears to Moses from a bush which, “though on fire, was not consumed.” Fire is usually a sign of the divine presence in such theophanies. This powerful appearance is not for judgment but for liberation: “I know well what my people are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them . . . and lead them out . . . .” A sign of divine intimacy with Moses and the people comes when Moses receives God's personal name, the untranslatable YHWH, usually interpreted as involving or expressing the divine existence: “I AM.”
Psalm of the Day: Ps (102) 103. An individual thanksgiving for liberation from some affliction, perhaps from a serious illness. The song expands into a proclamation of God's mercy for the children of Israel and to recognition of mercy as an aspect of God's being.
El Señor Es Compasivo (Castillo) FYC 248
El Señor Es Compasivo (Cortés) FYC 247
El Señor Es Compasivo (Martínez) FYC 246
El Señor Es Compasivo (Sandale) GP 249
El Señor Es Compasivo/The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Cortez) JS 82, vss. 1, 2, 3
El Señor Es Compasivo/The Lord Is Rich in Kindness (Kolar) Cantos 70/ WC 428/WS/PMB 163
Merciful and Tender PSL C36/SS
The Lord Is Compassion (Warner) WC 427
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful/El Señor Es Compasivo (Krisman) SS
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Alstott) BB
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Bolduc) WS
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Cotter) GC 99/GC2 58/RS 140
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (DeBruyn) BB
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Dufford) GP 250/SP4 52/MI-BB/JS 84
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Galipeau) PMB 588/PRM C20/WS
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Goemanne) IL 90
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Goemanne/Somerville) CBW 52
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Guimont) GC2 903/LPMG 30
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Haas/Gelineau) WOR 795/RS 141/LPGG 799
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Haugen) GC 100/GC2 59/PCY1 76/LMGM 535/RS 143/SS
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Reagan) PRM C146
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Roberts) LMGM 534
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Schiavone) JS 911/LP 42
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Stewart) PCY5 28
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Willcock) PFS 56/JS 83/MI-BB
The Lord Is Kind and Merciful (Ziegenhals) SO 76
The Lord Is Tender and Caring (Hughes) CBW 638
1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12. Paul reinterprets the story of the Exodus from Egypt and applies it to Christians, whose rock is Christ. Like the freed Hebrew slaves, we are required to be faithful.
Luke 13:1-9. Apart from this text, there is no evidence for Pilate's actions against Galileans or about a collapsed tower in Siloam. The point made here is the sudden ways that life might end and the need to repent of evil before that end, whether it comes slowly or suddenly. Jesus is not making a judgment about the state of the souls of those who died; he is making the point that they had no chance to repent, if they had need of such a change of heart. Still, despite such examples of sudden and final judgment, Jesus offers the parable of the orchard owner who lets even unproductive fig trees stand for one more year.
Songs for the Liturgy
Again We Keep This Solemn Fast (G) WOR 420/WC 519/RS 559/GC 382/GC2 407/CBW 352/WS/PMB 233/JS 394/BB/SS
All That Is Hidden (G) JS 586/MI‑BB/GP 585/GC2 654
As We Remember (Ps,G) GP 504/GC 818
Attende Domine (2,G,Lat‑Eng) WOR 414/WC 521/RS 552/GC 387/BB/WS/PMB 239/JS 378/SS
*Bless His Holy Name (Ps,G) LMGM 200
*Bless the Lord (Ps) MI‑BB/CBW 627/JS 631/GC2 576/SS
Change Our Hearts (2,G) GP 349/GC 394/GC2 414/MI‑BB
Come, Ye Disconsolate (G) LMGM 255
Covenant Hymn (1) GC 797/GC2 798/RS 904
Deep Within (E,Ps,G) GC 399/GC2 419/RS 546
Eternal Lord of Love (1) GC 385/JS 390/RS 554/CBW 360
Forth in the Peace of Christ (1) WOR 627/CBW 514
*Go Down, Moses (1) GC 715/JS 845
*Grant to Us (E,2,G) WC 661/JS 530/RS 558/CBW 621/WS/PMB 329
Have Mercy, Lord, on Us (2,G) WOR 753/CBW 358/PMB 328/WC 665/WS
Hold Us in Your Mercy (G) GC 398/GC2 398/GP 350
Hosea (G) MI‑BB/WC 659/GC 386/GC2 405/JS 559/GP 471/WS/PMB 327
I Will Be Your God (2,G) JS 383
I Will Sweep Away Your Transgressions (Ps,G) CBW 622
Jerusalem, My Destiny (2,G) GC 390/GC2 399/SS
Jesus, Heal Us (Ps) GC 875/GC2 846
Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley (1) WOR 427/WC 529/RS 557/GC 393/GC2 406/WS/PMB 242/JS 387
Lord Jesus, as We Turn from Sin (G) SS
Lord Jesus Christ (G) GC2 409
*Loving and Forgiving (Ps) GP 251/MI‑BB/SP3 68/JS 560
Mercy, O God (Ps,G) GC2 417/SS
*My Eyes Are Fixed on God (E) IH 17
Now in This Banquet ‑‑ Lenten ref (1,G) GC 833/GC2 825/RS 933/CBW 608
Now Is the Time (2,G) JS 767/MI-BB
*O Bless the Lord, My Soul (Ps) JS 599/MI‑BB
O Christ, Bright Sun of Justice (G) JS 389/BB
O My People, Turn to Me (G) CBW 623
Out of Darkness -- Walker (2) MI‑BB/GC 689/JS 765/GP 574
Parce Domine (G) WOR 416/WC 518/BB/JS 376/GC 383/GC2 412/RS 549/GP 350/WS/PMB 228/SS
Praise to You, O Christ, Our Savior (2) MI‑BB/GC 515/GC2 517/JS 674/RS 652/GP 662/CBW 442
Ps 51: Create in Me (Ps,G)
Ps 130: With the Lord There Is Mercy (Ps,G)
Remember Your Love (G) GC 881/GC2 851/GP 474/MI‑BB/RS 550/JS 561
Return to God (G) GC 389/GC2 410/RS 555/WC 528/WS/SS
Return to Me (Ps,G) GP 347
Return to the Lord Your God (Ps,G) GP 472
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us (Ps) LMGM 47
Seek the Lord (G) GP 351/RS 540/GC2 395/MI‑BB/JS 558
Show Us Your Mercy (Ps) GP 473/JS 563
Somebody's Knockin' at Your Door (G) LMGM 34/WOR 415/RS 547/GC 395/GC2 394/GP 354/WC 721/WS/JS 388/BB
Sovereign Maker of All Things (G) HG 136
Tell Jesus All (G) LMGM 176
Thanks Be to God (1) WOR 526
Thanks Be to You (1) RS 708/GC 569
The God of Abraham Praise (1) WOR 537/JS 602/RS 685/GC 544
The Kingdom Calls Us to Repent (G) BB
The Lord Is My Hope (Ps) GP 631/MI‑BB/JS 730
There Is a Balm in Gilead (Ps,G) PMB 331/MI-BB/LMGM 157/WOR 608/WC 669/RS 764/GC 648/GC2 617/WS/JS 723/GP 634/SS
There's a Wideness in God's Mercy (Ps,G) WOR 595, 596/MI‑BB/JS 748/WC 660/RS 742/GC 626/GC2 603/GP 639/CBW 443/WS/PMB 322/SS
This Is Our Accepted Time (G) WC 531/PMB 231
Those Who Seek Your Face, Scrutiny verses (Ps) GP 447/JS 128/BB
*Turn Our Hearts (E) PSL C35/SS
Turn to Me (G) JS 377/MI-BB/GP 342
Turn to the Living God (Ps,G) GC2 408
We Who Once Were Dead (G) CBW 402
What Wondrous Love Is This (1) WOR 600/WC 713/MI‑BB/GP 642/JS 755/RS 749/GC 627/GC2 614/WS/PMB 253/SS
Without Seeing You (G) GC 844/GC2 842
You Have Rescued Me (Ps) GP 475