3rd Sunday of Lent Year C

Does anyone know what God looks like? Some of you may begin to think: this padre is asking a silly question: Of course no one has seen God and know what He looks like, since we would see God only when we are dead. But this does not stop people from having all kinds of perception of what God may look like and what He may be like. Some may see God as a really old person, since He has been around for a really long time. Some may see God as a fierce-looking and vengeful person, ever ready to judge us and punish us for the slightest mistake or error. But all these images seem to give us the impression that God is impersonal and distant from us, as if He has got nothing to do with us. But is this what God is really like?

In today's readings, we see quite a different picture of God. God is present here among us. He does not reveal himself only in spectacular and miraculous events, but in the daily events of our lives, sometimes, very ordinary events. In the first reading, God appeared to Moses and appointed him as His messenger to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses never expected to encounter God in the middle of the burning bush, since bush fires were natural and frequent in such a place where Moses was living and working at, but God chose to appear in the ordinary. In the same way, we never expect to encounter God in the ordinary events of our lives, but God is present everywhere and in whatever circumstance we are in. Moreover, God is compassionate, merciful and ever patient. In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us of the man who planted a fig tree. Even though the tree was not bearing fruit after all the hard work that had been put into it, the man patiently decided to wait and give the tree another chance. Our God is like that: He patiently waits for our repentance and looks on us sinners with compassion. God even sent Hs only Son to die for us so that we may be saved from our sins and so that we may have life.

Let us therefore be grateful and thankful that we have God who wants to maintain a relationship with us and guide and help us in our lives. We do not need to seek Him at high places or spectacular events, since He is with us everywhere. This means that we need to be willing to grow spiritually in His love, so that we would one day be with Him for all eternity.