Hearing The Word

A weekly newsletter delivering context and insight into the Sunday Gospels.

Seize the Day

~ Deacon Louis Hoelzle

Saint Teresa of Calcutta + Limerick, Pa.

In the Gospel, we first hear of two tragic events.  The first is a massacre of Galilean pilgrims in Jerusalem who, while in the midst of offertory sacrifice, were slaughtered by Roman soldiers. The second is the sudden collapse of a tower that crushed eighteen people in its rubble. Both events saw people die with little warning. The victims did nothing to cause their deaths. Jesus explains that these tragedies should not be seen as divine punishment for the victims’ sins. Sin does not make atrocities come; they just come.

The separate events demonstrate the suddenness and unpredictability of death. The individuals did not have a chance to repent or seek forgiveness. Jesus does not promise freedom from calamity and uncertainty, but stresses that life’s uncertainty demands urgency. That urgency gives us an opportunity to examine our lives, and repent. If we delay that repentance, we may suddenly find we have waited too long.  Repentance does not just mean expressions of regret. It calls us to assume a changed mind, a new way of seeing things. It is the acceptance of God’s will in our lives.

In addition to Jesus’ urgency of reform, He offers us a chance to make that change in the parable of the fig tree. The fig tree produced nothing for three years. The gardener promised to do all he could to assure that the tree would not remain barren. The gardener offers patience and mercy that keeps judgment at bay. The tree has not been left to its own devices. Everything possible is being done to get it to bear fruit as it should. In the same way, Jesus does not leave us on our own. His purpose is to save rather than condemn. He walks with us as we change our lives. 

God Will Wait For Us

~ Cheryl Kehoe Rodgers

Saint Patrick Church + Norristown, Pa.

There are many stained-glass windows in my church, St. Patrick’s in Norristown, but one always draws my eye since it’s in my direct line of vision. It’s an image of Mary Magdalene kneeling before Jesus, who is holding a shovel. This window depicts the moment after the resurrection, when Jesus came out of the tomb, and Mary Magdalene mistook him for a gardener.

So, reading this week’s Gospel and the parable of the fig tree, my mind went right to that window, and the image of Jesus holding a shovel – the gardener.

That fig tree stood at the center of that parable, in my mind. And right next to that tree, the gardener. And in my mind, the gardener, Jesus, was saying he could help this tree produce fruit. That with a little time, patience and care, this tree was going to be worth something. The gardener was asking the owner not to give up on this tree.

If I had read this Gospel 20 years ago, I wouldn’t have had a clue that Jesus could be the gardener. Back then, I couldn’t recognize that the many times I’ve fallen, the many times I failed in my faith journey, that Jesus never gave up on me.

I think you have to fall a lot, fail a lot to realize that Jesus just does not give up. That he’s there, holding out his hand, helping us up each time we fall. Like that gardener, he’s willing to give us time, show us patience, and give us the help we need.

I know that’s true for me. There were so many times I fell – but each time I fell I found that God was giving me the strength and willingness to get back up. And each time I got back up, my confidence in God’s love for me grew stronger. I’m learning just how powerful that confidence can be.