Gospel: Luke 13:1-9
At that time, some people came to Jesus and told him about those Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Jesus replied: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this? I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the other inhabitants of Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.” Then he told them this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree but have found none. Cut it down; why should it use up the soil?’ The gardener replied, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put manure on it; then perhaps it will bear fruit next year. If not, you can cut it down.'”
Fruit: Being aware that I need to be in constant conversion. Working on it tirelessly and realistically.
Guidelines for reflection:
Some time ago, while visiting a Discalced Carmelite convent, an elderly nun told me: “I will pray to the Lord for your second conversion.” “Second conversion? What is that? I try to live each day as a good Christian. What do you mean, Mother?” The religious woman looked at me and said: “The life of a Christian is a constant ‘second’ conversion.”
1. Christ calls us to conversion
Christ’s first preaching was a “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” After three years of preaching through the roads of Galilee and Judea, not much has changed: “If you do not repent, you will all perish.” The Master does not speak of a tower falling on us if we do not convert, as with the eighteen Galileans in the Gospel; he speaks of the death of the soul, of unhappiness here and in the next life. The call to conversion runs throughout Christ’s preaching. He asks for it, and his apostles ask for it when they are sent in his name. During Lent, this attitude is also the most remembered by the Church. Lent is a time of conversion, of reorienting our lives toward God; but it is also the key word of Advent, the attitude after the appearances of the risen Christ. We could say that conversion is a theme that runs through the entire Christian life, from beginning to end.
2. A patient call
In today’s Gospel, besides reminding us of this constant call to conversion, Jesus Christ shows us God’s attitude toward our conversion, or lack thereof. We are that fig tree that often does not bear fruit. The Lord waters it with his blood, with his inspirations, with countless Masses and confessions, with the counsel of holy people… How much manure the Lord puts on our fragile plant! And many times, the plant still does not bear fruit, we continue not to convert. And the divine gardener pleads again with the owner of the vineyard: let it stay one more year; I will dig around it, fertilize it, and take care of it. How much patience you have with us, Lord! Much more than we deserve, and much more than we have with those around us.
3. But life ends
God’s patience is immense; he does not tire of giving us a “second chance.” But life on this earth ends. Man is a free being, and therefore responsible for his actions. God takes us seriously, and that’s why, although he is very patient with us, he also respects our free choices. He does not want to see us suffer, but if we insist on ignoring him, living against what he commands us, he respects our freedom. Therefore, without becoming dramatic, we must keep in mind that life ends. The time to convert is limited; it lasts as long as life does; once we cross the threshold of death and enter eternal life, there will be no possibility of going back, of “converting.” But during this life, we can also make our conversion more difficult. If we let ourselves fall into a mountain of ice, it will become increasingly difficult to climb back up and reach the summit. Every day lived without converting, without sincerely striving to be closer to God, is a day that distances us and makes it harder to reach the top.
Purpose: Renew each morning the intention to convert myself through some concrete detail of my daily life, especially regarding Christian charity with my family and neighbor.