Spring is here. As the temperature go into the eighties the next few days, I feel like I am returning to life. With the moisture and sunshine, buds are on the trees; nature is giving us all a second chance.
And we need it! Life takes a toll on us in ways we may not even be able to grasp. At first glance, today’s gospel the passage starts out brutal and the need to turn in our ways may not be the message we need or want this week.
But first, think spring. The vernal equinox, the scientific start of spring, occurred this past Thursday at 3:01 a.m., to be precise.
We have a gospel with an apple tree and fertilizer, and nature’s second chance.
There is a spiritual message about a God of second chances. Those who have gone through an illness, recovering from major surgery, who are now cancer-free, who have recovered from a stroke, after a divorce, a new chapter in life, with grief, for those who have found freedom from an addiction or jail can all relate with second chances.
It takes three to five years for a fruit tree to start ripening fruit. Who can wait that long? Just buy some apples at the store. Many connect the apple here with the fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the garden, who when seeing their reality made garments from the tree’s leaves. Fruit trees indeed grow in great variety and productivity from year to year. The impatient guy in the parable tells the gardener to cut the tree down. Nothing is happening! It is taking up good soil space!
The gardener, though, is in it for the long haul. Give it another year. Fertilize it. Put some manure around it. Wait and see. Give it another chance. After all, growth happens slowly. In nature. In ourselves. In the pursuit of justice.
Maybe you have observed a tree that needed to be cut down because of disease, construction, or intruding roots. It is a sad occasion to cut down a tree. My memory about two years ago that tree trimmers were on the church property and they saw one struggling tree along the sidewalk edge, and the tree trimmers suggested, we can cut it out. I recalled this parable of Jesus and said, “No, let’s leave it”. And I can report to you now that the tree is healthy and well growing strong with spring buds.
The olive tree is called the “tree of life” in many parts of the world because, like many trees, can live for centuries and seemingly never die. Give the roots some water and soil and they will grow. The tree is the image of faithfulness and resilience for life in many parts of the world over the centuries.
That the earth always gives us a second chance each spring. Yet it isn’t always that simple. We get overwhelmed.
Jesus call to turn isn’t meant to drag us down in unworthiness. It’s not meant to suggest we wallow in our sins and shortcomings. Repent is a hopeful word. A Lent word — a word of spring. Change your thinking. Look at life differently. Change your attitude. Change direction. Time is short. Put winter’s barren landscape behind you and move on.
Our reading from Isaiah helps. Come to the waters, the physical and spiritual water revives us to life. Why do we labor for things that do not satisfy us, it asks. We can call it empty promises. You will be happy. You will look beautiful. You will feel wonderful. While the world may want to blame the withering tree for its inability to produce, Jesus tells us of our roots, nourishes us with grace, and allows us to bloom, flourish, and freely share our gifts with the world.
Our ways are not God’s ways, the prophet reminds us. Seek the things in life that last, that matter. Nourished with spiritual food, Christ is a gardener: digging, fertilizing, protecting, and nurturing us. We are fragile creatures, living in a world of tragedy and terror, but God does not punish fragility with death. On the contrary, God sent Jesus for life. Another tree of life — the cross — is the second chance of resurrection life. The message of the sacraments and the gospel is a second chance of forgiveness and resilience. We share bread and wine to sustain us on the journey. We lean on a community to support us when we lose hope. In baptism, we have a call, a purpose, a mission—to bear the fruit of repentance in word and deed.
May spring call you back to life. May Christ awaken your wintry heart. For we are on the way to Easter. The greatest “second chance” of all!
