Glimpses of God's Goodness are published for all Sundays and Feast Days at www.sndden.org, the international website of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
March 23, 2025
Luke 13: 1-9
“…with God there are no outsiders…”
Luke is the most vigorous champion of the outsider … and he speaks from personal experience, easing his way into the apostles’ gathered around Jesus. He has compassion for women, common laborers, the racially different and the poor.
Untimely deaths at the hands of Pilate, unsuspecting Galileans at worship, and the Tower of Siloam crushing 18 people of Jerusalem, had unnerved the people of the area. Jesus used these profoundly sad moments to remind people it was timely to turn to God.
Being given another chance is so vital! Jesus used an unproducing apple tree and the gardener’s boss directing him to tear it down. But the workman pleaded for another year. “Let’s give it another year, maybe it will produce; if not, then, okay, we can tear it down…”
Luke’s care and compassion emerge so clearly and even beyond the profound sadness of the precious loss of lives, the chance to do it right the next time offers hope.
Have we ever been called to a ministry, and found the signs were clear it might not be for us, but we kept at it. Colleagues nurtured and encouraged, and our own spirits soared, and we thrived beyond our initial doubts and fears.
Sometimes when others attempt to crush, are they not functioning out of their own fears?
The lovely spirits of people who struggle to hold onto life, to make the best of a situation, fan the flame of hope in all around them.
We need hope in this time of world fragility. We need to be better than those who would crush early growth of new arrivals in our countries, who looked to us for hope and peace, bringing an outsize willingness of heart to do the best they can to enter the stream of life and contribute to its vitality and strength!
Their bravery of heart enkindles our own on this Third Sunday of Lent.
Luke 13: 1-9
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Sister Marna Rogers has taught in SNDdeN educational settings in Boston, Worcester, Peabody and Hawaii. After studies for specialized schools, she worked on the staffs of Landmark School in Beverly and KaKawis, British Columbia. She also served in leadership for the Boston Province and at the Congregational Level in Rome. Following her time overseas, Sister Marna transitioned to health care ministry in Worcester area and Wakefield, Massachusetts. Currently, Sister Marna is a member of the Assisted Living Community of Notre Dame du Lac in Worcester.