Dear Parishioners,
Tragedies are frequent in this world. The most obvious one today is the war in the Ukraine, where so many casualties and so much destruction is taking place. Much closer to home is Baltimore, where even innocent infants are shot and killed on the city streets. What sense do we make of it all?
In the gospel (Lk 13:1-9), Jesus was presented with several instances where people had died in recent accidents. Our Lord asked if their deaths were related to being more guilty than the rest. Of course not! Our Lord uses the suddenness of their deaths as a wake up call for the need to reform. And that’s what Lent is for us, a reminder of our need to wake from our indifference to sin.
At the end of the gospel, the fig tree owner is shown to be a man of patience. A fig tree normally takes 3 years to reach maturity. If it is not producing fruit by then, it isn’t likely at all. But this fig tree is given a second chance. God does the same with Peter, and Mark, and Paul as well as ourselves. God is infinitely kind to those who fall and rise.
But the parable makes it clear there is a final chance. If we refuse that, we will be lost. Let us not throw that last chance away.
Fr. Carl
