Innocent people are as subject to misfortune as the guilty

Innocent people are as subject to misfortune as the guilty

By REV. FR. SAMUEL FREDERICK

Eph. 4:7-16, Lk. 13:1-9. The ideals of Christian unity is highlighted in today's first reading. Together, all believers form one “body of Christ,” growing towards the state of perfection God wants of us. Through our union with Christ the whole body grows and the members are kept united in love. If we are united in mutual love, no one will glory in the fall of others nor think that we are better off than others. The tragic death of the Galileans as recorded in today's Gospel, shows how innocent people are as subject to misfortune as the guilty. In spite of the general view that sinful behaviour must be punished, it does not follow that people who suffer are worst sinners.

In the second part of the Gospel, Jesus imagines a withering fig tree that has failed to bear fruit for the past three years. The reaction of the owner seems quite normal. That fig tree must be cut down because it is only wasting space in the vineyard. However, the gardener had a different perspective, looking closely at the ailing fig tree he saw that with care it could still bear fruit. Experience had taught him a more hopeful vision, that with the help of manure, hope is restored and the fig tree could revive and bear fruit. This is how God regards us. In spite of what we have failed to do, He knows all we are capable of doing in the future. God sees the potential in each of us; and indeed, that is how we must regard each other and everything in life, with hopeful eyes. Like the vineyard gardener, we need to be patient, able to wait, ready to see beneath the unpromising surface to the faint green shoots of new potentials.

May the Lord give us courage when things go wrong, strengthen us with faith and hope in love of God! Amen!! Be safe and happy weekend!!!

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