Dig Deeper into Sunday’s Gospel: Read Luke 13:1–9

If I had to choose one emoji to describe my face when I read the subheading of Luke 13:1–5 and its verses, it would be 😳. If ever there was a gospel that kicked me into high gear and got me into the confessional, it would be this one. 

Repent or perish, Jesus tells us, not once, but twice. It's so simple and blunt that it leaves us with no room for misinterpretation. To make His urgent message even more explicit, He follows this warning with the parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6–9). The point He is making? If we do not bear fruit in this life, we will face consequences in the next. It's not as if I didn't already know this truth, but hearing it so clearly, without decorum, causes it to take root in my heart in a new way. 

One thing I've learned from parenting toddlers is that consistency and following through on my words are so important to teaching them obedience. I frequently present them with clear options to protect their well-being because I love them and want them to be safe: "Hold my hand in the parking lot, or I will pick you up and carry you," "Get off the chair now, or I will remove you." A good parent, a good teacher, does not lie. If I want my children to obey and trust my words, I must consistently mean what I say.

Jesus, ever the good teacher, does not dilute His words. He lays out the choice before us with perfect clarity: repent or perish. And so we must trust that His teaching is not a metaphor but a truth we must accept.

Thinking about what happens to our souls after we die can be unsettling. After all, the Catholic Church teaches that the existence of hell, in which the soul is separated from God, and its eternity is real.[1] Thank goodness for the gift of the sacraments that Christ gives us to provide access to the channels of His divine grace.

That said, "God predestines no one to go to hell."[2] Through the gift of free will, we are given the opportunity to love God or to turn away from Him, to choose life or to choose death, to enter by the narrow gate or to use the gate that is wide and easy but leads to destruction. We are given the choice to repent or perish.

Did you catch that?

God, our Heavenly Father, full of mercy and love, longs for us to be united to Him. Indeed, "God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Romans 5:8–10).

Rather than getting stuck in the punishment and the easy tangle of despair, let us receive this gospel and Jesus' words for exactly what they are: a joyful invitation. Instead of letting our sins capture us, we choose to receive His mercy, grace, and forgiveness. 

May we run to the arms of the Father in the confessional, not unlike the prodigal son, knowing that He desires nothing more than to welcome us home. May we bear good fruit in this life by being the hands and feet of Christ, by loving others with God's love, and by using the gifts and talents He has so generously entrusted to us. 

Food for thought or journaling ... 

What sin or vice are you currently struggling with? Can you make an act of repentance: “Lord, I repent of (name the sin/vice). In Your Name, I ask for strength to resist the temptation to sin.”

Jesus, I trust in Your abundant mercy and love; help me to live humbly so that my pride does not prevent me from turning back to You each time I stray or fall. Amen.

[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition (Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012), #1033-1037.
[2] Ibid., #1037.