THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT: Luke 13:1-9
The parable of the fig tree gives us the message that God patiently waits for sinners to repent, and God gives us the grace to do so. But we don’t want to wait forever to repent because our time may run out. Repentance means the change of our hearts, the change of our attitudes, and the change of our way of life. Repentance means to turn to God, acknowledge our faults and failures, and receive mercy, forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life.
Let me share a story with you: Once, there was a flourishing monastery in a remote village, and the joy and life of the monastery were well-known throughout the village. But, over the years, the joy and happiness of the monastery were lost, and not many people wanted to join or visit the monastery. The abbot of the monastery was sad and confused, and one day, he went for a walk in the nearby forest, where he met an old, wise hermit. The hermit noticed the Abbot’s sadness and said to him, “The messiah is in your midst. Go and find him.”
The Abbot returned to the monastery, called all the monks, and told them what the holy hermit had said: “The messiah is in our midst; the messiah is one of us.” With excitement, the monks looked at each other and wondered who the messiah was. The monks began to treat each other with love, respect, and care, and their prayers found new life. As the days and months passed, new joy and happiness slowly returned to the monastery. More and more visitors and vocations started coming and found a place full of peace and God’s presence. They had been seeking the messiah and found the messiah in their midst, in one another.
In today’s gospel, the gardener sensed there was fruit hidden in that fig tree; it just needed some pruning and nourishing. This is like the monks, who found the messiah in one another – after the monks treated each other with love and respect. We need to believe that “the messiah is in our midst; the hidden fruits are within us.” We all have different kinds of gifts, talents, and blessings in our lives, and we have to share these gifts and blessings with our family and friends. We should also know that we have been that fig tree, and many times during our lives, we are broken and separated from God and goodness. God always welcomes us back like the prodigal son, showing compassion, understanding, and love.
We all need changes in our lives, and we have to admit that we are sinners. God understands our humanness, weakness, and sinfulness. God always forgives our sins and gives us the chance to return to God. God gives us one more chance to forgive others, God gives us one more chance to help the poor and needy, and God gives us one more chance to feel loved. We have to use God’s opportunities and chances at every moment of our lives. God expects fruits from each of us during this holy season of Lent, which are repentance and the renewal of our lives, and as a result, we experience the virtues of love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and humble service. Sometimes, our sinfulness separates us from God and often leads us to bear no fruit. Sometimes, we need to “cultivate our ground” with thoughtful prayer, reflection, and time in silence with God!
Let us start producing good and meaningful fruits in our own families by becoming more sensitive to the needs of one another and by accepting each member of the family with love and respect. In this way, we can become fruit-bearing in our communities by caring for the poor, the sick, the old, and the lonely.
God gives us a second chance to come back from our sinful lives, so we, too, are called to give others a second chance when they ask for our forgiveness. Our challenging question is- How are we offering a second chance to others? Sometimes, it is not very easy to forgive from our hearts after someone has really hurt us. But we can do it by the grace of God. We are called to “bear fruits” in our lives and bring others and ourselves closer to God. We are called to be “fertilizer” to others, help them grow in relationships with God, and bring others closer to God. Let us thank God for using others to help us bear fruit. Grace is everywhere. Let us always cooperate with God’s grace! Let us follow the words of Saint Mother Teresa, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance!”