The strong message of repentance in the Gospel this weekend cannot be missed. It may sound harsh, but Christ is very clear with the end result of non-repentance: “I tell you, if you do not repent, you will perish.” Those are the exact words of Jesus in the Gospel this weekend. It’s not a threat, but the truth spoken in love to someone whom God does not want to lose. To perish or to lose eternal life is not a consequence of God’s severity or punishment, but a willful decision on the part of the person who wants to be in the darkness rather than in the light. God always desires the best for us, but he cannot force us to love him. If one chooses to be in the darkness, God cannot force him/her to be in the light. And, as experience tells us, we cannot be at two places at the same time. One has to make an informed and conscious decision where one wants to belong.
But, despite our own transgressions, God does not have a “one strike, you are done or out” policy. As the Psalmist in the readings this weekend sings: “the Lord is kind and merciful.” In the parable in the Gospel today, Jesus recounts the story of a fig tree that the owner wanted to cut down because it hasn’t borne fruit for three years, but the gardener convinced him to give it another chance while he cultivates the ground around it and fertilizes it so that it may bear fruit in the future. This parable speaks of second chances and new opportunities that God gives us whenever we are that fig tree that doesn’t bear fruit. The Church is that willing “gardener” that wants to cultivate the ground around us by directing us to the right path, helping us to navigate the ways of the Gospel, and “fertilizing” us with the sacraments where we grow in virtues, which hopefully will help us to bear fruits in the end.
What aspects in your life right now need to bear fruit? Who is the gardener who can help you bear fruit? Or, who is that person whom you can be a gardener to, helping that person to bear fruit? – Fr. Cary