Third Sunday in Lent
Exodus 3: 1-8; 13-15. 1 Corinthians 10: 1-6; 10-12
Luke 13: 1-9
Today's parable has been called the parable of the second chance because it teaches that God offers people a second chance, as both Peter and Paul could well testify! The gar dener asks the vineyard's owner to give the fig tree one last chance to fruit - with nourishment and care, something may still come from the life of the tree.
This parable follows on two stories highlighting the need for repentance and beginning again in order to move towards God. Jesus refers to two inexplicable topical tragedies - the people killed in an accident when a tower collapses, and the Galileans who were murdered by the Romans on Pontius Pilate's orders. In O.T. times, people would have seen both a natural disaster and the cruelty of the Romans as a consequence of sin - the greater the suffering, the greater must have been the sin. (A modem day equivalent might be Covid. How can God allow innocent people to die? Jesus warns people not to think that those who died or were murdered had done anything specifically wrong. Rather, He tells His listeners, sin is personal, and has to be dealt with by repentance, which means totally turning away from sin, and living a new life of faith
Carpe diem ... seize the day. Repent! Lent is the time for us to respond to Christ's urgent appeal. Such repentance can't be simply a one-off event, but rather a whole new way of life, a turning over of the whole of our lives to the Lord. St. Paul reminds the Corinthians to act in ways which are fitting for a repentant people as he reminds them of the Israelites who perished in the wil derness because of their continued disobedience, which resulted in only a fraction of their descendants eventually reaching the Promised Land.
The warning is clear: though we are baptised and participate in the Sacraments, it's not enough. We must be careful not to fall. True repentance means a whole change of mind and heart, accompanied by a change of conduct.
So do we give others a second chance?Those who have hurt us, those who have offended us.Can we forgive them, aswe expect forgiveness from them?What about ourselves?Jesus assures us that His Father never gives up on us, evenif wegive up on ourselves. So maybe we need to give ourselves a second chance too, allowing those around us, particularly those who love us, to help usbegin again. That fig tree, whichwas a symbol of the Promised Land, was to be cut down if it failed to bear fruit.God acts with us now.So too we must cooperate with Him now, seizing the opportunities of grace He offers to help us tum back to Him.Stay awake, for you know neitherthedayor thehour!Carpe diem!