Fr Antonio Pineda
n this Sunday’s Gospel, the people who were speaking to Jesus thought that disaster or tragedy was God’s way of punishing wicked deeds. They assumed that the disaster victims must have been great sinners to have met such a fate. But in truth, God is not spiteful. He does not wish evil on us when we offend him. Rather, it’s our own sin that cuts us off from him and leads to other sins, many of which bring their own disasters. That’s why Jesus warns his hearers about their need for repentance.
Let’s take comfort from that parable that he tells. A landowner wants to cut down his fig tree because it bears no fruit. The gardener asks for mercy—one more year of careful tending might be exactly what the tree needs. God is like that gardener. He sees the ways we’re not fruitful. He sees our sin more clearly than we do. And he shows us mercy. He cares for us, feeds us, protects us, and cultivates our soil. Like the gardener, he offers us another chance to bear good fruit.
Our heavenly Father is a God of second chances. A multitude of second chances, in fact. When our sin separates us from him, he wants nothing more than to draw us back, to free us from its effects, and to give us new life. Every day is a chance to be like a healthy, fruitful fig tree and receive the nourishment he offers. We can receive his grace to restore us when we return to him in repentance. And we can come to the altar at Mass to be fed by Jesus himself.
So let us be thankful and be glad that God will never choose to abandon us. We choose to move away from him when we sin but he loves us and wants to welcome us back to himself. What’s more, he will give us the strength we need to return.