Many years ago, in the days of the desert hermits, a soldier approached a humble monk named Milos. The soldier asked the monk whether God could forgive a sinner.
“Tell me,” Milos asked, “if your cloak was torn, would you throw it away?”
“Oh, no,” the soldier replied. “I would mend it and wear it again.”
“Well,” Abbot Milos responded, “if you care for the cloak, will God not show mercy on his own creature?”
The parable of the fig tree has been called the “Gospel of the second chance.” The gardener pleads on behalf of the tree, asking that it be given another year to bear fruit. We always live in the hope and mercy of God who keeps giving us “second chances” to rise from the ashes of sin to rebuild and re-create our lives. God’s love knows neither limits nor conditions; since the calls of Abraham and Moses, God continues to call his people back to him, despite their – and our – unfaithfulness and obtuseness. The only adequate response we can make to such spendthrift forgiveness from our God is be as forgiving of one another and as supportive as we can be to those souls struggling to mend their second, third or however many other “torn coats.”
Tags: 3-20-2022