Third Sunday of Lent

Fr Dominic’s Homily

As you may know one of my brothers is also a priest based in Poole in the diocese of Plymouth where he runs two parishes. A couple of weeks ago he was speaking to the head of his finance committee who was off to visit his family based in Nairobi for a few days.

Chris my brother was telling him to have a safe journey to which the man jokingly replied “Don’t worry Father – It’s a dangerous place but I hope to see you soon”

That man was called Edgar Riches and he was famously knocked over and killed by the Kenyan president’s entourage the very next day. We never quite know the day or the hour that we are going to meet the Lord.

Today we hear about some sayings of Jesus that speak about our need for repentance whilst we are in this world. Jesus uses three examples to help make things clear for us.

Firstly the massacre of the Gallileans by Pontious Pilate. We don’t quite know what it was that they did. But they didn’t quite expect to get that terrible response from Pilate who murdered them and then mingled their blood with that of the animals that were sacrificed at the temple. It was a shocking act.

At that time any tragedy or death was always thought to be sin related. But Jesus makes it clear that this was not as a result of their sinfulness. But he also reminds us to repent just in case it’s our last hour.

The second story recounts the time when the tower close to the pool at Siloam was being fixed. It collapsed as it was being worked on and ended up killing eighteen people. It was an utter tragedy that everyone would have known about.

Again Jesus says they were not more sinful than others in Jerusalem. Again he says repent in case you too perish in this way!

What Jesus is saying is actually a little paradoxical. On the one hand that tragedy, suffering and physical death has nothing to do with one’s sinfulness. But then you must repent or else you might end up like this. What does he mean?

That tragedy and accidents will happen in this life and often at times that we don’t expect. So better to make sure that we are in a good disposition of heart spiritually in case anything untoward happens to us so that we are ready to meet God. Because we never really know when that might be!

So what does repent actually mean? Not just to say that you are sorry for your sins but to then change your way of being.

It’s not a negative thing but a positive thing. A reorientation of our lives. A conversion to God with all our hearts. To put evil behind us for good and allow our lives to become fruitful.

All those good things that we worry about doing before we die – do them now while you can. We cannot be complacent.

It is said that one of our greatest sufferings in purgatory will be the realization that haven’t used the gifts that God has given us for those around us.

We won’t be judged so much on the bad things we have done as long as they are confessed! But we will be judged more severely on the good things that we could have done but chose not to. The so called sins of omission. The fruits that we chose not to produce.

Finally he speaks about the story of the Barren fig tree that doesn’t seem to be producing any fruit. The owner wants to cut it down but the gardener says give it more time and some TLC…

The tree represents us and the fruit is the effects to those around us of using our gifts. If we are not using what God has given us to help others around us then it is better for that tree to be cut down.

Hopefully, however, the divine gardener is giving us a little more time to prove ourselves while we still can!

We really don’t know the day or the hour when we might see God.

So let’s prepare our hearts, minds and actions now so that if we unexpectedly meet God we are ready for him.