May the Lord give you peace, grace, and blessing in the Holy Spirit.
It is 20th March 2022.
We celebrate the 3rd Sunday of Lent. We reflect on Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15; 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12 and Luke 13:1-9.
“Mommy,” the little girl asked, “do all fairy tales begin with ‘Once upon a time’?” “No, dear,” she replied. “Sometimes they start with ‘Honey, I’ll be working a little late at the office tonight.’ Yes, God is working extra for us to be fruitful. Postponing our conversion is indeed choosing to be impotent spiritually. Testing God’s patience does not help us in any way to be fruitful but patiently working with our hard surfaces, unproductive mindsets and hardened hearts will allow us to be nourished by God.
We all need to make a decision that affects the rest of our lives. The call of Moses mentioned in the first reading suggests that God calls us, call us by name to empower us.
God is not tired of looking for fruits in our life as the gardener came year after year looking for fruits. Bearing fruit is the prerequisite of our faithfulness in loving God.
Jesus does not condemn anyone for being a sinner. But He expects us to change.
The orchard is the world, the owner is God, each tree is a Christian, a gardener is Jesus, the barren tree is the unproductive believer. Three years represent the three years of public ministry Jesus; some others say Law, prophet, and the Christ; number three represents fullness.
God wants all of us to be fruitful. God wishes us to leave sins. God does not condone sin but tolerates it so that we may truly be sorry and
Untimely death is to remind no matter what everyone must face the reality of death whether we are good or bad. Even Jesus was not exempted from suffering and pain. it is not how we die but how we live. “Unless you repent you will all perish as they did.” Tragedies, loss, and death are not the punishment to our life. Jesus corrects the mindset of people and teaches that our repentance is the fruitfulness God expects from us.
The barren fig tree reminds us that God is patient with us to be fruitful. God’s warnings cannot be undermined. We are given enough opportunity to change and repent.
As we are half the way in the Lenten efforts to be a better person, we must not remain to examine our consciences and lives but take a call to change drastically for the better. We cannot stop untoward things around us. By blaming God for the evil perpetrated by us, we are not going to get anything either.
Our crucial work for the third week of Lent is to nurture our faith that involves actions that are fruitful. ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next ear, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” May God help us to tend our life to make it fruitful for everyone. May God bless you.