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WELCOME TO HISTORIC ST. JOSEPH CHURCH
Third Week of Lent
CALL TO CONVERSION
I read a story about an eight-year-old boy named Jimmy who was acting up. He refused to do what he was told to do, and did about everything he was told not to do. Parents, does this sound familiar? In desperation his father finally sent him off to bed before dessert was served. Just then a neighbor dropped in. He always liked Jimmy, and after a while he asked the parents if he could talk to the boy. With a prayer in his heart, he reminded the child that his disobedience displeased his parents and made them sad, and especially it displeased God. The boy began to cry: “What can I do?” The neighbor friend called his parents in, and they listened with tears in their eyes as Jimmy told them he was sorry. This sounds like a scene out of the TV show “The Nanny.”
What that neighbor did for the boy in our story Jesus does for every one of us. It is the meaning of the story He tells us in today’s Gospel. The man who planted the fig tree is our heavenly Father. The fig tree means the chosen people of God, you and me. The vinedresser or worker in the vineyard is Christ. In justice God decides to cut down the fruitless trees. Christ Jesus intercedes. He pleads and prays that we will have more time, another chance. For the sake of His Son the heavenly Father gives us another chance to grow. That is the story of our life with Jesus Christ.
God tells Moses in our first reading today: “I am who am—I AM, for short. God needs no point of reference, no proof. God is, period. We either accept it or we don’t. Like Moses, we may consider how best to persuade others of God’s loving existence. So we need to ask ourselves:
Do I show it in my actions? Am I bearing fruit? Do I live in right relationships and cultivate a spirit of openness and hospitality? Do I show solidarity with others in our community? Most importantly, do I find joy in serving?
Be like the fig tree in the parable: Don’t let your soil get exhausted. Stay rooted in the truths of our faith.
Retreat Master: Deacon John Ruscheinsky
Reflections following the Daily Liturgical cycle.