Gospel: Preaching on Repentance

Today marks the Third Sunday of Lent, and the Gospel will be proclaimed from the narrative of St Luke (click here for the Mass readings from USCCB).

Our Sunday Gospel prepares us to hear Lent's call to conversion and repentance. Today's reading is found in the chapters of St Luke's Gospel that describes Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. During this journey, Jesus teaches and heals. He must also respond to those who question and challenge his authority and actions. There is no parallel in St Mark's or St Matthew's Gospels for today's reading. While St Mark and St Matthew describe an incident in which Jesus curses a fig tree, today's reading makes the barren fog tree the subject of a parable.

St Luke tells us that some among the crowds report to Jesus a massacre of Galileans by Pilate. The intention of the crowd seems to be to ask Jesus explain why these people suffered. It was commonplace to render people's suffering as evidence of their sinfulness. Jesus challenges this interpretation. Those who were massacred were no more or less sinful than the ones who report the situation to Jesus. Jesus replies that even a fatal accident, a natural disaster, ought not to be interpreted as punishment for sin.

Jesus' words at first appear to have a fire-and-brimstone quality. Jesus says in essence, "Repent or perish as these people did; all are sinful before God and deserving of God's punishment." The tone changes, however, in the parable that follows. The parable of the barren fig tree contrasts the patience and hopefulness of the gardener with the practicality of the owner. When told to cut down the fig tree because it is not producing fruit, the gardener coubsels patience. If properly tended, the barren fig tree may yet bear fruit.

Throughout his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus has been teaching about the Kingdom of God. In this parable, we find an image of God's patience of hopefulness as he prepares his Kingdom. God calls us to repent, and it is within his power to punish us for our failure to turn away from sinfulness. And yet God is merciful. He delays punishment and tends us so that we may yet bear the fruit he desires from us.

This, then, is our reason for hope: Not only does God refuse to abandon us, he chooses to attend to us even when we show no evidence of his efforts. Next week's Gospel will give an even clearer picture of the kind of mercy that God shows us.

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