Reflection by Liam DohertyFirst Reading Exodus 3:1-8. 13-15;
Second Reading 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12,
Gospel Luke 13:1-9
Who doesn’t love a second chance? Second chances are wonderful opportunities. They allow us to learn from our mistakes, reflect, make amends, and achieve success where we may have previously fallen short. In fact, the season of Lent is rooted in second chances. It’s a time for us to reflect on our lives as Christians, to meditate and evaluate our success as people of the Gospel. Where have we let ourselves down? How could we have done better? How could we have been the hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouth of Christ more effectively in our world? Thank goodness God gives us the opportunity for a second chance—to make amends and be a better person, a better Christian.
Lent is a season of second chances. A season for taking ownership of our mistakes and acknowledging our sins—those moments of ‘missing the mark.’ The Greek word for this is metanoia, often translated as ‘turning around’ or conversion. A more accurate translation is ‘turning back’ or ‘realigning ourselves with the mark.’ Lent is an opportunity to turn away from our sins and realign ourselves with God.
I have vivid, painful memories of opening my VCE (HSC) results and realising I had failed in my attempt to complete my educational journey. After a wasted year, using school as a social platform, it wasn’t a surprise but a rude awakening. School had been a place to gather, mess around, and enjoy time with friends. Suddenly, I became aware of the consequences of my decisions and the bleak impact they would have on my career options. I realised the immense sacrifices my parents had made to ensure that my nine siblings and I received an education in nurturing Catholic primary and secondary schools. I recognised how I had let myself down and, more importantly, how I had let those closest to me down.
The readings for this Sunday highlight how God provides us with second chances. In the First Reading, we encounter Moses, a tormented soul with an identity crisis, forced to flee Egypt as a murderer. In his wanderings through the wilderness, he hears God’s call to ‘turn his life around’ and become the agent of His salvific work by rescuing the Hebrew people from slavery. This is Moses’s second chance—a chance to turn away from his mistakes and realign himself with God.
The Psalm reminds us that our God is “...compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy”, while in the Second Reading, Paul reminds the Corinthians that they must not rest on their Baptism but must continually strive to be Christ-centred, always aware that spiritual failings and turning away from God are constant risks.
In the Gospel, Jesus reminds those listening that second chances are limited, and the opportunity to turn back to God will not always be there. When confronted with the news of a massacre of Galilean Jews fulfilling their duties at the Temple, Jesus challenges those listening by asking, “Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than other Galileans?” The common belief was that their suffering was a punishment for sin, but Jesus makes it clear that they were not more sinful than others. He then warns everyone that they must repent and turn away from sin or face similar destruction.
Jesus continues, mentioning the eighteen people killed when a tower collapsed in Siloam. Again, He emphasizes that they were not more sinful, but everyone must repent before time runs out, as it had for those unfortunate victims.
Jesus uses a parable about a fig tree to reinforce the need for repentance. The people of that time would have understood the symbolism of the fig tree that bore no fruit. The waste of time and resources on a fruitless tree would have been a burden to any gardener. But instead of removing it, the gardener pleads for more time, another season to nurture the tree with careful digging and fertilizing in the hope that it will bear fruit. If not, it can then be removed. This parable symbolises God’s love and mercy, which sees the potential in us all. He nurtures us with love, hoping we will respond to his call as Moses did. However, Jesus reminds us that we have the responsibility to listen and respond to God’s call, he invites and waits, but we must be the ones who chose to respond. The time to repent and realign with God will not always be there. We must act now.
I will always be grateful for the second chance I received. After coming to terms with the disappointment of my failure and the lost opportunities, I knew I had to make amends. I needed to turn around and realign myself with the potential and talents God had given me. I sought re-entry into school to try again. It wasn’t easy, and it should never be. I arrived at the principal's office every day in the first week of the new school year, pleading my case. Each day, I was politely told no, but my persistence paid off when they finally accepted that I had taken responsibility for my failure and had ‘turned myself around.’
Through this experience, I now appreciate the spiritual value of every Lenten season. I cherish the opportunity to reflect and evaluate my spirituality and my relationship with the Church and God through the example of Jesus Christ. I hope that we all use this Lent to turn away from our mistakes and undergo an authentic experience of metanoia, realigning ourselves in relationship with God in preparation for the joy and hope of the approaching Easter season.
