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3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - 24/3/2019 - Gospel:  LK 13:1-9
Patience
For some their tongues are faster than their minds; while others are blessed because their minds take control of their tongue. This special gift is a guarantee of success in human relationships. When patience and wisdom go hand in hand, they are reciprocal. From anyone who possesses those gifts, their sharing is worth listening to. True wisdom takes time, because true wisdom in life is gained through personal experience, and it is often associated with personal sacrifice. Through reflection on past experience, we attain wisdom. This kind of personal wisdom, we can't get from readings, or endow it to the next generation. We all know that wisdom received from prayers is precious, because it comes not from human knowledge, but from above.  Being patient in prayer is itself a gift of wisdom.

Our contemporary society demands to have a quick answer for most things. We like fast cars, fast computers, and even fast food. We don't live in a patient society. We want to have instant services in everything. Our impatience makes life stressful, both for us and for others. Impatience puts pressure on a family's relationships, and the end result is often a sad one.

God is infinitely patient with the human race. The history of the Israelites revealed that God wasn't just patiently waiting for them to come back to God, but God sent the prophets to care for and encourage them to come back to God's love. The story of the burning bush in today's first reading revealed God's redemptive plan for the Israelites. He strengthened Moses to carry out his mission, liberating the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The task given is harder than to swim across an ocean, because Moses is a lone wolf. He has no skills in either military matters or leadership, and yet, God called him to carry out God's plan. Moses covered his face and prayed to God because he had many concerns. One of the concerns was the swaying of his own fellow Israelites to believe that God sent him. God gave Moses God's name: 'I Am who I Am'. Ex. 3;15 is a source of guarantee. In giving God's name, through Moses, God re-established the relationships with God's people. When we voluntarily give our name to someone, it means we initiate our friendship with that person. If the friendship establishes well, we then reveal more about ourselves to that person, namely we may exchange phone numbers or email addresses and hope to meet again. When more personal information is given, it cements the friendship. Otherwise, the initial friendship will bear no fruit. God revealed God's Name to Moses at the burning bush. God established God's relationship with Moses. Under God's guidance and protection, Moses became the leader of the Israelites, leading them out of Egypt to enter the Promised Land.

In the Old Testament when a name is given, it entails a mission to follow. It also reflects a character of that person. For example Moses means 'drawn out'. He was drawing out of the Nile by the Pharaoh's daughter and adopted into the royal family, at a time when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. The meaning 'drawn out' also indicated that Moses would deliver his people from the waters of the sea.

We ask for the gift of wisdom through prayers.

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