Tuesday, March 19, 2019

Third Sunday of Lent: A Gift To Behold


Some people inform, or maybe even test Jesus, about two tragedies which had struck unexpectedly. They expect a meaningful response. One tragedy was caused by the Romans who had killed certain Galileans as they were making sacrifices to God in the temple.  Tragedy struck when they were worshiping God. It was horrific and unexpected. The other tragedy was a freak accident in which 18 people were killed when a building collapsed on them in Jerusalem.  Totally unexpected deaths. The response which the listeners receive from Jesus is equally unexpected.  Instead of condemning Pilate’s forces for the atrocity and instead of expressing sympathy with the ones killed in Jerusalem, Jesus calls his listeners to face their own lives and reform them.  The people who have perished in the tragedies no longer have a chance to reform their lives, however, those who are listening still can.  

Jesus does not say that the tragedies reported to him were some kind of a punishment for those people’s sins. That would be not only too simplistic but also inaccurate and false.  While it is true that some suffering is caused by our own choices, it is not true for all suffering.  There are many loving wives and self-sacrificing mothers, wholesome husbands and just fathers, saintly single men and women, holy nuns, servant priests, and innocent children who suffer terribly for no fault of their own!  Moreover, Jesus does not explain why God allows tragedy and pain to strike us.  The answer to that question will remain shrouded in mystery until we see God face to face.  Nevertheless, Jesus does offer us a way to be ready for whatever suffering may come our way.  He invites us to repent. In other words, he encourages us to move away from that which separates us or moves us away from God and instead draw near to God and bear the fruit of that closeness.

Jesus offers the story of the fig tree or rather the story of the patient gardener to encourage us to undergo whatever process of change we should go through in order to bear good fruit.  In the story, the fig tree has not produced any fruit for three years. The owner wants to cut it down, but the gardener intercedes for the tree and promises extra care to help the tree bear fruit. It is the care that will save the tree as the tree left on its own would not produce fruit yet another year either.

This story illustrates the fact that God is constantly calling us to a changed life, a better life. Furthermore, God does not leave us on our own in this process but rather offers the help of the teaching of Jesus and the example of others.  Like in the story about the caterpillar who complains to a butterfly, “You’ve changed,” and the butterfly responds: “We’re supposed to;” we are supposed to change by the transforming power of God.  There is always something that needs to be changed in our lives.  Either we remove the bad and replace it with good. Or we replace good with better. We can always be more loving, kinder and more forgiving.

The change or repentance will bring us closer to God. That closeness will produce abundant fruit in our lives. It will not save us not from suffering, but it will save us from the sense of meaninglessness of it.  Suffering will come. No one is spared it. Jesus himself was not spared it, and he was holy and blameless. His suffering and death freely accepted redeemed the world. Our suffering when accepted in trust unites us to Christ.  
A person who has accepted the care of the Divine Gardener can bear his or her suffering with peace and grace.  God can make that human suffering holy. Indeed, very often when we see the suffering of someone who is close to God and loves God, in spite of our powerless and confusion, we know God is present in the midst of it. Even when the illness changes our loved ones beyond recognition, like in Alzheimers or other debilitating illness, we know God is there.  In a way, not only do we admire the work of God in the abundant fruit of his grace in their lives, but we also are beholding the very presence of the great I AM in the soul set on fire with his grace and love.  We are privileged to stand on holy ground and hear the invitation to be inspired by the holy life of others to seek the God who enables such grace and holiness. This holiness is indeed a gift to behold!


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