THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT C
HOW GOD THINKS
Jesus nailed it right on when he
described how people tend to think (Lk 13: 1-9): the others are “more guilty,”
the others are “more sinful.”
Indirectly of course, we think we are better by even a little bit than
the people we deplore.
This is how the human mind works.
We love to judge others. When people fail
or when people fall, we immediately say that they deserve what happened
to them because they are plain losers.
Compared to us, they just didn’t make the grade!
The Lord also demonstrated how
God thinks. With the parable of the fruitless fig tree, the Lord shows us how
far beyond our understanding is the way God sees.
We give deadlines: cut it down now!
God gives another extensions:
leave it for another year more. We see waste:
why should exhaust the soil? The
Lord sees possibilities: there may be
fruit next year.
When all we can think of is
destruction, God comes with the offer of his compassion.
How many times we act out our
natural tendency to judge and put down.
And many times, we are like this because we have experienced the same
from others.
This Lent, let us open ourselves
to a new experience. Let us allow
God to give us the chance to change, to grow, and to blossom. This is the
experience that awaits us in the sacrament of Confession, so what are we
waiting for?
And after feeling the healing
effect of God’s compassion, let us allow ourselves to think and feel like he
does for the people around us, with great compassion and understanding.
