In this third Sunday of Lent , the readings illustrate about the nature of "saving faith " , that is, the faith that produces that second birth, as proposed in the gospel of the previous Sunday.
The Letter to the Romans gives us a wonderful answer about what we did to deserve salvation , and the answer is Nothing ! We could , and we can add nothing to the work of Christ . We cannot " buy " what itself is a "gift" which can only be received by faith.
Otherwise, there is a fundamental difference between the righteousness of the Law, which is an "outside " and the righteousness by faith , which comprises an inner CHANGE (which may seem small is , in itself, decisive ) . Faith that saves is therefore the response to Free Gift of God.
Our own life , as the journey of the People of Israel in the desert is full of dangers and challenges. It is easy to understand the discouragement of those people, when they were in a hostile environment without water and our own gloom to the trials and disappointments of our lives. And yet , God rebukes them because they question his Almighty Providence that rebel against Him and want to go back. Hence we can extract a second lesson : Saving faith is a faith that trusts completely in God's providential direction and always walks forward without looking back .
Author: José Luis Mira
