Readings Ex
3:1-8,13-15; 1 Cor 10:1-6,10-12; Lk 13:1-9
Theme A
merciful God has given us all a second chance. Let us respond with gratitude and renewed dedication.
The Dallas
Morning News carried a photo of some prisoners on a work-release program.
They were restoring a condemned house on the city’s west side. Several days
later one of the prisoners wrote the editor, saying: “Thank you for the
coverage....
The last
time my name and photograph were printed in a newspaper took place the day I
was sentenced....
So, it was
a real joy to see my picture in your paper doing something good.... “When I
entered prison 18 months ago, I was a lot like the house we just remodeled....But
God took charge of my life and has made me a new creation in Christ.”
We could
hardly find a better illustration of the point Jesus is making in today’s
gospel.
The first
half of the gospel tells about two groups of people who are killed by recent
tragedies in Jerusalem. Jesus ends his reference to these tragedies by saying
to his hearers, “If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”
The second
half of the gospel tells about a fig tree that was planted inside a vineyard. A
vineyard was an ideal place for fig trees to grow.
If a fig
tree couldn’t grow there, it couldn’t grow anywhere. A fig tree takes three
years to mature. If it doesn’t bear fruit in that time, it probably won’t bear
it at all. This explains why the owner of the vineyard instructed his gardener
to cut the tree down.
And so it
is remarkable that instead of cutting the tree down, the gardener begs the
owner to give it a second chance. “Leave it for this year also, and I shall
cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it,” he says.
Jesus
intended his parables for two groups of people.
First,
Jesus meant them for the instruction of the people of his time.
Second, he
meant them for the instruction of people for all times. The group of people for
whom Jesus told today’s parable is, of course, the people of Israel. Jesus
tells them that God gave them a choice place in his plan and took special care
of them. But they didn’t bear fruit. Jesus tells them further that in spite of
this failure, God will be patient with them a little longer. He will give them
a second chance, like the fig tree.
The wider
group of people for whom Jesus told this parable includes all of us here today.
Jesus’
parable also applies to us. We are like Israel. God has given us a choice place
in his plan, and he has taken special care of us. God expects us to bear fruit.
If we don’t, then, like Israel, God will give us a genuine opportunity to
repent.
If we don’t
repent, then, like Israel, we will perish.
This brings
us back to our opening story. Both the prisoner and the house illustrate the
point of Jesus’ parable. Both were given a second chance.
The house
was condemned by the city. It was scheduled to be torn down. But someone
persuaded the officials to give it a second chance. “Let the prisoners work on
it,” they said.
“If they
can make it a useful property again, then we won’t tear it down.”
The prisoner
himself was also condemned. He was considered unfit for society. He was put
behind bars. Although society gave up on him, Jesus didn’t. Jesus gave him a
second chance.
Like the
gardener in today’s gospel, Jesus watered and cared for his spirit. The man
responded and became a new creation.
All of us
can relate to that story. At one point in our lives,
many of us
here were like the fig tree, the house, and the prisoner.
We too were
in danger of being rejected as useless. But in his mercy, God took pity on us. Like
the house, the prisoner, and the fig tree, we were given another chance.
Today’s
gospel, therefore, calls forth from us deep gratitude to God
for the
second chance he has given us. It also calls forth a deep determination to make
the most of our second chance.
And so we
say to Jesus, “Thank you, Lord Jesus, for our second chance. Help us make the
most of it. Help us carry out your plan for us.
Help us do
this especially during these remaining weeks of Lent.”
Let’s close
with a poem.
It’s about
an old violin which, like us, was given a second chance.
It’s yet
another image of your story and my story and God’s love for us.
I hope the
poem will touch your hearts and move you to celebrate today’s Eucharist with
more than ordinary gratitude and love.
“It was
battered and scarred and the auctioneer
Thought it
scarcely worth his while
To waste
much time on the old violin.
But he held
it up with a smile.
‘What am I
bid, good folks?’ he cried.
‘Who’ll
start the bidding for me?
A dollar, a
dollar, then two, only two?
Two dollars
and who’ll make it three?
“‘Three
dollars once and three dollars twice, And going for three, but no!’
From the
room far back a gray-haired man Came forward and picked up the bow.
And wiping
the dust from the old violin
And
tightening the loosened strings He played a melody pure and sweet,
Sweet as an
angel sings.
“The music
ceased and the auctioneer
In a voice
that was quiet and low Said,
‘What am I
bid for the old violin?’
And he held
it up with the bow.
‘A thousand
dollars and who’ll make it two?
Two
thousand and who’ll make it three?
Three
thousand once, three thousand twice And going and gone!’ said he.
“The people
cheered but some of them cried,
‘We don’t
quite understand.
What
changed its worth?’
Quick came
the reply: ‘The touch of the master’s hand.’
And many a
man with life out of tune
And
battered and scarred with sin Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, Much
like the old violin.
“A mess of
pottage, a glass of wine,
A game and
he travels on.
He’s going
once, he’s going twice,
He’s going
and almost gone.
But the
Master comes and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of the
soul and the change that’s wrought
By the
touch of the Master’s hand.”
(MLink, sj)
