Gospel reading is a call to take action

March 11, 2007 -- Third Sunday of Lent

By Fr. Michael Stubbs

	Fr. Mike Stubbs

A good homilist will often draw upon events close at hand to illustrate a point or to explain an idea. To relate to the audience, he will sometimes build upon their own experiences.

L e n t
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In that respect, Jesus was a good homilist. We see that in Sunday's gospel, Luke 13:1-9. Jesus is teaching about the urgent need to repent. God has given us a second chance, but that opportunity will not last forever. We must make good use of it, before it is too late.

Jesus mentions two current events probably familiar to his audience but known to us only by the gospel's reference to them. The first involves a massacre of some Galilean pilgrims by Pontius Pilate. The second involves 18 people who are killed when a tower in Jerusalem falls on them. In both cases, those who died were not any more deserving of death than the audience whom Jesus is addressing. They are all sinners. But now that they have died, they no longer have the opportunity to repent.

On the other hand, the crowd in front of Jesus does have that opportunity. They are in just as much danger of death as the unfortunate Galileans or the eighteen people in Jerusalem. They also could unexpectedly die through an accident. They also are sinners. But at the moment, they are alive and are able to turn to God. At the same time, they must not delay. Judgment has been postponed. But it will not delay forever. Eventually, it will come.

To emphasize his point, Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree. Even though it is not bearing fruit, its owner gives it a second chance. But his patience has its limits. If the tree does not begin to produce, it will be cut down. The postponed judgment allows the fig tree an opportunity to reform.

This parable is unique to Luke's gospel. On the other hand, an incident in the gospels of Mark and Matthew closely parallels it. In that incident, Jesus encounters an unproductive fig tree and curses it. (Mark 11:12-14, Matthew 21:18-19)

In Matthew's and Mark's gospels, the fig tree does not receive a second chance. Judgment has been passed. We can learn from its mistakes, but there is no hope for it.

Of the three synoptic gospels, scholars usually consider that Mark is the oldest, and that Matthew and Luke based their gospels in part upon Mark. In that case, Mark would provide the account closest to the original event. Matthew is nearly identical to Mark, except that Matthew adds one detail: When Jesus curses the fig tree, it immediately withers up. This detail is very much in keeping with Matthew's preference for dramatic effects.

And what of Luke's gospel? It does not present any account of Jesus' encounter with the fig tree, but only this parable, possibly inspired by that encounter. After all, the parables of Jesus often referred to the events of ordinary life. It is entirely plausible that Jesus told such a parable, overlooked by Mark and Matthew, but passed down to Luke.

In Luke's gospel, the cautionary tale of Mark and Matthew becomes a parable of hope, and an urgent call to take action. It is very appropriate for us during this season of Lent. "Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)

(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)