A call of repentance for our sins

Today's Gospel reading is a call to repentance and is quite timely during this season of Lent. You will find this passage in Luke 13:1-9.

"1 At that time some people who were present told [Jesus] about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. 2 He said to them in reply, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? 3 By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!"

4 Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them-do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? 5 By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!" 6 And he told them this parable:

"There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, 7 he said to the gardener, 'For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. [So] cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil? 8 He said to him in reply, "Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it, 9 it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down."

Like what I said, we are all called to repent our sins. This is why the Catholic Church always commemorates the season of Lent to remind us of our sinfulness and the wretchedness of our souls. As Msgr. Cristobal Garcia told us last Tuesday; Original Sin has stained humankind, but only through the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ through the Sacrament of Confession are we able to remove this stain of a scarlet red sin and turn it as white as snow... purity after all is always depicted in a white color. All that is required of the sinner is a contrite and humble heart.

One of my favorite Psalms is A Prayer for Forgiveness offered by King David when the prophet Nathan told him about his adultery to Bathsheba. I recommend everyone to learn this passage by heart. You will find it in the Bible in Psalm 51. As it is quite long, I will only quote the first half of this beautiful passage, prayed by King David himself.

"Be merciful to me, O God, because of your constant love.

Because of your great mercy wipe away my sins!

Wash away all my evil and make me clean from my sin!

I recognize my faults; I am always conscious of my sins.

I have sinned against you-only against you-and done

What you consider evil.

So you are right in judging me; you are justified in condemning me.

I have been evil from the day I was born:

from the time I was conceived I had been sinful.

Sincerity and truth are what you require;

Fill my mind with your wisdom Remove my sin, and I will be clean;

Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear the sounds of Joy and gladness;

And though you have crushed me and broken me,

I will be happy once again.

Close your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil

Create a pure heart in me, O God and put a new and loyal spirit in me Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your holy spirit away from me.

Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach sinners your commands and they will turn back to you."

This was the prayer of a remorseful King David... the David who as a young man vanquished Goliath because God was with him. It was from the line of David that our Lord Jesus Christ was to come into this world. Yet as you can see... David despite his being the chosen one of God still sinned. I'm sure in our own way, God has also chosen us for something, but we cannot go on for as long as we do not stop sinning or show remorse for our sins.

The message of our Lord Jesus Christ in this passage about the Galileans is it doesn't matter who sins the most... or who are bigger sinners. What matters to God is their call to repentance and they will be forgiven. There is also another message given perhaps to the clergy or those involved in the charismatic renewal... about the fig tree.

Three years after planting the fig tree, it still didn't bear any fruit. Hence the gardener was ordered to cut it so it would not exhaust the soil. But the gardener pleaded... giving the fig tree a chance to bear fruit. But after a year, if it still cannot bear any fruit, then the fig tree will be cut down. What about us...have we bore the fruit expected of us... and give the lost souls in offering to our Lord Jesus Christ? We should, lest we be cut down!

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