Repentance, Conversion, & God's Mercy

Deacon Ron Pirau - Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle C

 

Today’s opening prayer sets the stage for the focus of the Lenten season: Repentance.   Just in case you missed it, let me repeat the first part:

O, God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer, and almsgiving have shown us a remedy for sin, and graciously on this confession of our lowliness that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy.

The prayers’ focus is on Lenten disciplines, confession, and conscience that can help lead us to repentance.  I’ll return to these topics after reflecting on the readings. 

In the Gospel we hear about two unfortunate incidents of people getting killed and then a parable about a fig tree.  Some people come up to Jesus telling him of some current events of the day.   The news is that Pilate had killed some Galileans who were worshipping in the synagogue & the temple tower by the pool of Siloim in Jerusalem fell and killed 18 people. What is the significance of these two tragedies? There was probably some gossip among the people going around that those who were killed must have deserved it.   I can just hear it: “If those sinful Jews just followed the law this would never have happened.   They brought it on themselves!”  It was common belief that people suffered misfortune due to their sinful nature, and God was punishing them.   The flipside of this belief was if everything was going along fine in your life, you must be in an ok relationship with God

         Jesus knows this was not the case.  The incidents that occurred were a case of people being at the wrong place and at the wrong time.   But Jesus warns the people that they should be concerned about their own souls and not about the people who were killed. Jesus knows that many of them had their own issues were not ready for the final judgment if the same fate happened to them. So he warns them with a sense of urgency to repent or they will perish. 

         Don’t we all know people in our own lives that we think the same thing?  We may have co-workers, friends, or family members who habitually engage in practices that are contrary to the Gospel, and may suffer misfortune: illness, depression; loss of job, spouse, or even loss of life.   We may think they are receiving punishment from God, due for their misgivings.  By no means!  We need to look into our own hearts, at where we need to repent.   Or sometimes when we hear about world events where people who live in so called “godless” nations lose their lives in disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, or flooding are being punished as an “act of God”?  By no means! We need to repent of our ways or we may suffer the same fate unprepared to meet our final judgment.

         Jesus then tells a parable about a fig tree to help teach the people that God doesn’t want to punish people in this life for their sins.  In the parable we hear about a man who plants a fig tree and is frustrated that it hasn’t yet produced fruit in three years.  He just wants to cut it down. A fig tree usually takes three years to grow before it produces its first batch of fruit, sometimes even more.   So if he’s been coming back for three years it’s been at least 6 years and possibly more, and his patience is worn thin.  No wonder the man wants to cut it down.  It’s just taking up space and nutrients that could be better served by another tree.  Isn’t this how we feel with some people in our lives who aren’t living as God intends and are always struggling with misfortune? But the gardener asks for more time so he can cultivate and fertilize it.  He thinks the tree has potential, and with some tender loving care it may bear fruit.  But there is a limit even to the gardener’s patience, as he says to cut it down in a year if it is fruitless, and image of the final judgment.

In this parable the gardener is God, who knows that we are going to sin, but is patient and merciful, helping us to change our ways, to come to repentance.   The cultivation and fertilization that helps bear fruit and prevent us from being cut down are the Church and her sacraments.   Through the sacraments, especially reconciliation, we receive Gods mercy and grace to help prevent us from sinning again.  Due to our sinful nature, we know that we need the sacraments because we will sin again.  If keep up with the practice our faith and continue to receive the sacraments we will hopefully sin less often and be ready when our time comes to face the final judgment. 

The Church helps us every year through the season of Lent, calling us to repentance. Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are disciplines to help strengthen our relationship with God and discern what sins are separating us from God.   The word repentance can sometimes come across negatively.  When I think of repentance the image comes to mind of the Bible thumping preacher on the street corner shouting, Repent, and be saved or you’ll lose your life!  I’ve never found this very appealing, and I would suspect you don’t either.  

So what exactly does repentance mean? In looking up repentance in the Catechism it refers to contrition. Contrition is sorrow of the soul and hatred for the sin committed, together with a resolution not to sin again. Contrition is the most important act of the penitent, and is necessary for the reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The Act of Contrition is the essential prayer of the penitent prior to receiving absolution by the priest.

During the season of Lent we are strongly encouraged to receive the sacrament of reconciliation.  This fulfills a precept of the church, to go to confession once a year. Before going to confession a thorough examination of conscience is needed, which is a prayerful self-reflection on our words and deeds in light of the Gospel to determine how we may have sinned against God.  Doing this a few days before you go to confession provides ample time to take inventory and reflect.  The examination of conscience is best done at a time in quiet prayer, reflecting on the Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, and Psalm 51.  I’ve been reading Matthew Kelly’s Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic, and he recommends in the chapter on prayer to make an examination of conscience part of your daily prayer. I’ve been added to my own daily prayer routine.    This will help to prepare for more frequent confession, possibly quarterly or even monthly. 

By repenting of sins it’s the first step to a more complete change, which is conversion.  Conversion is a radical reorientation of the whole life away from sin and evil, and toward God.  The 40 days of Lent provides a good length of time to start towards conversion, as the practices adopted over the period turn into habits that strengthen the relationship with God.  Conversion is not something that’s immediate; it’s a lifelong journey that we are all on.  That’s why we have the sacrament of reconciliation, to help us with God’s grace and mercy when we stumble along the way.   May you continue having a good Lenten season following the call to repentance and growing in your relationship with God.   May God bless you.