If You Do Not Repent
Why are we all in equal need of God’s mercy? Br. Ignatius Jerome Alsop, O.P., reflects on the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent.
Do you really believe that Jesus will give you the mercy that you need? This can be difficult because it requires us to rely on what another person can do for us. We might even hide from that by telling ourselves that we don’t really need mercy.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that He will give us the mercy that we need. He encounters people who think that they don’t need mercy as much as those that God seems to punish with suffering. Jesus corrects this with tough words, saying, “If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.” Whether we feel like the best saints, or the worst sinners, we are all in equal need of God’s mercy.
After this, Jesus tells a parable to explain our true position before God. He compares us to a fig tree—planted by God but still failing, after so many years, to bear the fruit it was supposed to. In the parable, the person who planted the tree wonders why he should keep it alive any longer and orders it to be cut down.
We should be honest with ourselves. You and I have both failed to perfectly fulfill God’s will. We have not borne all the fruit that we could have for His Kingdom. And therefore, you and I both stand before the reality of God’s Justice, in great need of His Mercy.
But we shouldn’t despair, because the story doesn’t end there!
The gardener tasked with cutting the tree down advocates for it, saying, “Sir, leave it this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it. It may bear fruit in the future.”
This gardener is a symbol of Christ and what He does for and in us. Jesus sees our barrenness and our needs, and He advocates for us. He cultivates and fertilizes the ground around us, so that we might have life, and have it abundantly.
Today, Jesus tells us honestly, we need to repent. But God does not desire the death of the sinner. Rather He wills that all men be saved. He is eager to supply whatever you lack, and fill up whatever you need, with mercy overflowing.
During this season of Lent, we should run to Him in the sacrament of confession and surrender to Him all our failures and insufficiencies. There, He will advocate for us, He will nurture us, and He will make us fruitful.
Image: Abel Grimmer, The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree, 1611, Public Domain
