Sunday Reflections for Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)
3rd Sunday of Lent (C), March 3, 2013: Paraphrasing the Form of the Gospel
Author's note: Paraphrasing the gospel is really just reconstructing the format of the gospel into "digestible" phrases, and presenting them in a poetic or prose form to make them more intelligible to the reader.
It is a technique used by a New Testament professor in Maryhill School of Theology in the early 1990s A.D. Although he has a more professional and specific technique and form in presenting, I have adapted it in a manner that would be easier for encoding on a computer - using bold and italics for some words or phrases. Writing it with chalk on a blackboard would be more effective, as it was with our professor in his time.
The original form of his presentation is to place the verb right under the noun, and to list down parallel meanings of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, as words or phrases in a column, and applying the proper indentations.
In the "paraphrase" below I have used bold font styles for the name of Jesus and the pronouns related to Him. I have used italic font styles to signify dialogues and conversations in the gospel itself and in the parable which Jesus is using to make His point clear. The parable is in a different font color: green.
Liturgical readings
Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15
Psalm 103
1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Luke 13:1-9
"Leave it another year while I hoe around it."
Some were present
who told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
He said in reply:
"Do you think that these Galileans
were the greatest sinners in Galilee
just because they suffered this?
By no means!
But I tell you,
you will come to the same end unless you reform.
Or take those eighteen who were killed by a falling tower in Siloam.
Do you think they were more guilty than anyone else
who lived in Jerusalem?
Certainly not!
But I tell you,
you will all come to the same end
unless you begin to reform."
Jesus spoke this parable:
"A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard,
and he came out looking for fruit on it but did not find any.
He said to the vinedresser,
'Look here!
For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
and found none.
Cut it down. Why should it clutter up the ground?
In answer, the man said,
'Sir
leave it another year while I hoe around it and manure it;
then perhaps it will bear fruit.
If not, it shall be cut down.'"
