“Repent, says the Lord; the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
(Matthew 4:17)
God is good to us. So
very good. Again and again he opens his
arms so that we may seek forgiveness and comfort in his Divine Presence. The theme of second chances and the universal
Lenten call to repentance are present throughout the readings today. God reveals himself to Moses in the first
reading to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Here we find Moses after he has fled from Egypt after killing an
Egyptian that was striking one of the Israelites. Moses in the next chapter would object to
God’s plan feeling that he lacked eloquence or that the people would not
believe him. Yet God puts his trust in
his servant Moses, and even though Moses had Egyptian blood on his hands and
sought exile because of it, God still elevates him to this position of
leadership.
St. Paul picks up this theme of the exodus in the second
reading reminding the Corinthians that the people of Israel despite having been
led by the “cloud” of God out of Egypt through the Red Sea and into the desert,
they turned away from Him. The
Israelites actually saw the mighty hand of God at work and saw the wonders that
God did, but as saw St. Paul points out, God still was not pleased with many of
them and for that they did not live to see the Promised Land. Paul’s is a cautionary tale that we must
always be in a state of sanctifying grace.
This is where Jesus picks up in the Gospel where he calls us to repent
not once but twice. Here again, we see
God offering us a second chance as we see in the parable of the fig tree. The owner wants to cut the fruitless tree
down but the gardener wants to tend to the tree for one more year so that it produces
fruit. God is always at work to give us
another chance, another shot at redemption. And today he is extending his salvific hand
towards us as we struggle under the weight of our sin. The opening prayer today says: “O God, author
of mercy…look graciously on this confession of our lowliness, that we, who are
bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy.” His hand is ready to lift us up and grasp us
in love and mercy.
This past week, I visited an elderly couple who were
celebrating their 51st wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, the bride is on in years, her
eyesight is failing and barely leaves her house anymore. So I visited this couple in order to anoint her
and give them both communion because now the groom spends most of his days
taking care and tending to his bride.
After I anointed her and they received Holy Communion, I asked them to
hold hands so that I may bless their marriage as they approached their
anniversary. When I saw those two hands,
worn down by years so tenderly grasp each other tightly, it was as if that
grasp spoke to the love and tenderness of God. It spoke of the fidelity they have for one
another and a love that has grown over 51 years. It reminded me of the little
things in this life that speak to the love of God. Today the Lord wants us to hold his hand just
like that couple held each other’s hands.
Hold it tightly. Hold it firmly
and always remember that our God is a God of second chances, of third chances,
of fourth and fifth chances, of fiftieth and one hundred chances. As one of our priests like to say in
confession, it doesn’t matter how many times we fall because of sin, what
matters is how many times we get up.
Today he is calling us to repent and calling us to get up and grasp his
hand ever so tightly yet again.
