The gist of this weekend’s Gospel is found in the parable of the Fig Tree which is basically focused on the centrality of conversion. The context was the phenomenon of untimely deaths and the inevitable question arose on culpability and consequence for sins. God’s punishment, though certain, is not as swift as one would expect. Christ pointed to the fruitless Fig Tree that was not chopped down instantly.
There is a connexion between sin and death but the association is not direct as the Jews would have thought. The price of sin is death, but not every death is the result of sin. Jesus is our prime example. He was the sinless one who was put to death. In the example of the Fig Tree, Jesus pointed out the lack of repentance or prolonged fruitlessness will result in its annihilation. When we do not repent, then the dire consequence will be death.
The Fig Tree symbolises the invitation to repent and the call to be fruitful. The theme is supported by the 1st Reading and St Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians. Since Lent is a season of penance and conversion, then Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt foreshadows our journey from sin and death to grace and life. It is an on ongoing pilgrimage and as such, St Paul urged the community not to be complacent in their spiritual life.
The call to conversion is appropriately this Sunday’s Lenten theme for us to consider. When it comes to the process of conversion or repentance, the usual train of thoughts is to focus on changing our lifestyle and it mainly involves giving up on something. It feels like a New Year’s Resolution revived. The central goal of repentance is not so much “giving up something” as it is “giving up something for”.
We can now turn to the Gospel for Year A because it is good illustration of giving up something for something else. The Samaritan Woman at the Well in her conversation with Jesus began with a very natural need. She had come to the well searching for the elixir of life. In the desert, water is the commodity central to human survival. But the conversation did not stop with her natural need. Christ elevated her natural thirst for water to the profound need within her. As He steered the conversation, a deeper desire welled up within her to the point that she was willing to even abandon her natural thirst. Deep within her was the latent supernatural thirst for eternal life. She was ultimately freed to embrace the eternal life that Christ promised her.
The Woman at the Well is appropriately the theme for the 1st Scrutiny. Through this particular Scrutiny, the Elect are led to concentrate on their personal journey of conversion and also to embrace their new life centred on the Sacraments; water being the primary matter necessary for Baptism.
All of us want to get close to Jesus. We seek that experience which the Samaritan woman had, that is, to have a close encounter with the Lord. For many of us, we define close encounters as exceptional, in terms which are described of as experiences that are out of this world. In other words, we crave the extraordinary. Closer to our lived experiences, the Sacraments are unexceptional. They are mostly mundane rituals and predictably boring.
On the other hand, there are many alternative programmes that we want to implement that are touted as life-saving. We believe that we can create events or talks that give people a personal encounter with Jesus. Programmes are good and they may be helpful. But they cannot save us. They can make us better but ultimately they do not bring us to heaven.
Instead, we need a Saviour and there is only one, as the Samaritan woman found out. He is Jesus Christ. Indeed, Jesus Christ is the Sacrament of the Father’s salvific will. God desires to save us and He has sent us His Son. As Saviour, Christ instituted the Sacraments as channels to reach out to us through time. Every Sacrament represents Christ saving act. How much closer can we get to Christ, if not through the Sacraments?
Most of the times, the celebration of the Sacraments is too predictable and unexciting and there is always the need to supplement them with more exciting experiences. Somehow, we miss the point of boring and predictable rituals. Predictability has a role, meaning that it does a job of ensuring that what we get is no less than the very grace intended for us.
The Seven Sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). Christ intends to save and the surest signs of His saving desire are expressed through the Sacramental system that we have. I would rather have boring over exciting, if I am assured that I can be saved.
In summary, both the Gospels of Year A and C are focused on the Lenten themes of repentance, conversion and salvation. There are two similar posters outside the walls of the two confessionals and both feature a quote from Hippocrates: “Before you heal someone, ask him if he’s willing to give up the things that made him sick”. If we follow the example of the woman at the well, conversion involves giving up sin for grace. Christ invited her to choose thepath of freedom by giving up the good for the better. Indeed, the Lord desires our salvation and thus every Sacrament is an expression of His intention to save. Each Sacrament is an articulation of His divine mercy extended to us. The only response we can return for God’s mercy and salvation is to admit our sins, repent and be saved.
