Readings for March 11, 3 Lent, Year C

Here are the scripture readings for this upcoming Sunday.

Suggestion: Print this and read a different passage each day and think about it
(some questions are offered to help stimulate your reflection).

You'll find your experience of worship on Sunday will be intensified.

If you would like to comment on these scriptures or have some on-line conversation about them, please click the "comments" button at the bottom.

(St. Paul's uses the Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary readings which are a little different from the Prayer Book Lections. The recent General Convention authorized the RCL as our official lectionary.)

March11, 2007
Third Sunday in Lent, Year C
Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary

The Collect
Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves
to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and
inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all
adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil
thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Scriptures
Exodus 3:1-15
Psalms 63:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9

Exodus 3:1-15
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the
priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and
came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and
the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said,
"I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the
bush is not burned up." When the Lord saw that he had turned
aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!"
And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove
the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are
standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, "I have observed the misery of my
people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their
taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come
down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out
of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk
and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the
Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The
cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how
the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh
to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said
to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the
Israelites out of Egypt?" He said, "I will be with you; and this
shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you
have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on
this mountain."

But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say
to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they
ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to
Moses, "I am who I am." He said further, "Thus you shall say to
the Israelites, 'I am has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses,
"Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my
title for all generations.
______________________

When has something strange or beautiful caught your attention?
Did you stop long enough for it to communicate with you?
Meditate on the name of God: YHWH -- I am who I am -- (also translated, "I am what I am" or "I will be what I will be")
___________________________________________________

Psalm 63:1-8
1 O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; *
my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you,
as in a barren and dry land where there is no water.

2 Therefore I have gazed upon you in your holy place, *
that I might behold your power and your glory.

3 For your loving-kindness is better than life itself; *
my lips shall give you praise.

4 So will I bless you as long as I live *
and lift up my hands in your Name.

5 My soul is content, as with marrow and fatness, *
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips,

6 When I remember you upon my bed, *
and meditate on you in the night watches.

7 For you have been my helper, *
and under the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.

8 My soul clings to you; *
your right hand holds me fast.
______________________

What is your desire for God like?
What if you desired God as much as your would desire air if your head were being held underwater?
___________________________________________________

1 Corinthians 10:1-13
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our
ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the
sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the
sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same
spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that
followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was
not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in
the wilderness.
Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that
we might not desire evil as they did. Do not become idolaters as
some of them did; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat
and drink, and they rose up to play." We must not indulge in
sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand
fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some
of them did, and were destroyed by serpents. And do not complain
as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. These
things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were
written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have
come. So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not
fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to
everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested
beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide
the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
______________________

How might you use this passage as a focus for your Lent?
___________________________________________________

Luke 13:1-9
At that very time there were some present who told him about the
Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans
suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other
Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all
perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the
tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse
offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell
you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they
did."

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted
in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found
none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I
have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none.
Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied,
'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and
put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but
if not, you can cut it down.'"
______________________

When have you found yourself shrinking away from someone because of their experience of tragedy or extreme suffering?
When have you postponed judgment to all a second chance or more time for maturing? When has that patience been rewarded? When has it not been rewarded?
___________________________________________________________

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Lowell

The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Our Rule of Life:
We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.