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          Gospel Reflection -Purpose and Existence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The people who died in Haiti are still in the news and still in our prayers, but if the disaster had happened in biblical days it might have had a very different resonance. The two disasters in today’s gospel story prompted people to ask whether the victims had somehow deserved their demise.

Were they sinners? Why else would God let them die? Were these disasters some kind of punishment? Jesus replies very promptly that of course disasters are not sent as a punishment from God, but adds that we too will similarly perish if we don’t repent.

“Repent or perish!” It sounds like a chilling threat, but it’s more of an invitation. Jesus invites us to repent, but he isn’t asking us to wallow in guilt and shame or shuffle round wearing sackcloth. Repenting means changing the way we live and this is a very positive and exciting prospect. Jesus illustrates his point with the story of the fig tree. The fig tree had not borne fruit for three years and the exasperated owner was on the verge of giving it the chop. The merciful gardener on the other hand suggested cultivating it and giving it one more chance.

The fig tree was not planted by accident; it was put there for a purpose. So too are we on this earth for a purpose. We are not here simply to ‘take up space’. Our lives are ours to live, but we have to remember that our lives are a gift from God, and with this comes a certain expectation. The expectation is to live fruitful lives. Today we are invited to take another look at talents and skills that we might have failed to recognise or cultivate. Could we be living our lives in a more productive way, or are we content to drift through life simply existing.

The poor people who died through no fault of their own in the Haiti disaster did not know that the day of the earthquake was their last day. Some of those people would certainly have welcomed more time to put their relationship with God in order. The rest of us are lucky, not simply because we still have our lives, but because, like the fig tree, we have a second chance to live out the purpose of our existence.