THE DIVINE GARDENER

 

THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT (March 20, 2022)

Luke 13: 1-9

 

          Today’s gospel message is clear and obvious:  If we truly desire to repent and receive God’s mercy, then God will always be there to forgive us, to heal us and to transform us.  By placing ourselves in God’s loving hands we can become fruitful!

 

          But there’s a difference between the fig tree in Jesus’ parable and us.  The fig tree had no choice in the matter.  We do.  When we need cultivation and care it doesn’t just happen.  We have to say “Yes.”  We need to be open to it.  We need to desire it in the deepest recesses of our heart and soul.

 

          So, the first challenge in today’s gospel is:  Do I truly desire to be transformed by my God?  So often it is easy to say we do, but not to truly have that desire until we have hit rock bottom.  It is then that we see and experience the true impact of our sins on ourselves and on those around us.  So often it is when we are at the point of spiritual death – like the fig tree – that we realize we need care and cultivation.

 

          Then comes the second challenge:  Do I remain in sin out of shame and hopelessness and despair?  Do I say I am not worthy of God’s love?  Or do I then say “Yes” and open myself to God? 

 

          The third challenge is then recognizing God in our lives.  So often God’s loving care comes through those around us.  The “gardeners” that God sends into our lives.  We recognize them by their love.  They will never condemn; they will never criticize.  They cultivate, they do not chop down.

 

          The final challenge:  Am I, perhaps, the “gardener” that God is sending to others?

 

“Call Me Ishmael”