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All three of today's readings speak of God’s mercy and compassion in disciplining his children and giving them a second chance in spite of their repeated sins. Although God’s love for us is constant and consistent, He will not save us without our co-operation. That is why He invites us during Lent to repent of our sins and to renew our lives by producing fruits of love, compassion, forgiveness, and faithful service. The first reading presents the call of Moses, who was to become the greatest Jewish liberator and lawgiver. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (v. 6) reveals Himself to Moses from the burning bush and assures Moses of His divine presence with His people and of His awareness of their sufferings in Egypt. He declares His intention of using Moses as the leader who will rescue His enslaved people. Then He renews the promise to give them a “land flowing with milk and honey” which He had made to the patriarchs (v. 8). In the second reading (Paul's commentary on today's first reading), Paul warns the Christians of Corinth that they must learn from the sad experience of the Israelites who were punished for their sins by a merciful but just God. Today’s gospel explains how God disciplines His people, invites them to repent of their sins, to renew their lives and to produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Citing two tragic events, Jesus exhorts the Jews to repent and reform their lives. With the parable of the barren fig tree, he also warns them that the merciful God will not put up with them indefinitely. Although God patiently waits for sinners to repent, giving them grace to do so, He will not wait forever. Time may run out; therefore, timely repentance is necessary.
There was a powerful movie out in 1986 called THE MISSION which tells the story of a Spanish Jesuit priest who went into the South American jungle to convert the enslaved natives who had been subjected to the cruelty of Portuguese colonials. One of the most telling scenes in this film occurs when Captain Mendoza (played by Robert De Niro), who had killed his brother in a fit of rage, is seen climbing a mountain with a backpack on his shoulders as an act of penance for his past sins. The backpack, which contained all the weapons of his former life as a slave merchant, was so heavy that he could not climb higher unless he gave up the back pack. He was relieved of it when one of the natives, whom he had formerly taken into slavery, forgave him and cut the rope of the backpack with a sharp knife. Thus he saved Mendoza's life instead of taking vengeance. The backpack represents sin. We cannot carry our "packs" of sin with us. Until we repent, are forgiven and let them go, "we cannot climb to where God needs us.” This scene in the movie illustrates today’s readings, which tell us of a merciful God who invites all people to be reconciled with him.
God’s Blessings Always, Fr. Chris Nowak
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