If I were in the crowd listening to Jesus’ words today, I would be afraid. “Those eighteen people who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than everyone who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” (Luke 13:4–5). And then He closes with the parable of the fig tree, in which the gardener says that he will give the tree one more year, but if it does not bear fruit after that, it should be cut down.
We often think of the New Testament as a time of mercy in which God does not govern by fire, storm, and earthquake, but instead governs by forgiveness and peace. This is not entirely false. Surely there are not as many direct, drastic punishments from God for individual or corporate sins today as there were in the time of the Old Testament. But Jesus’ words today remind us that this does not mean that God has changed. He’s still there, but He is choosing to mete out justice in His own time.
If the parable of the fig tree is any indication, that timing is not what we would expect. We would either expect God to act immediately, as He did frequently in the Old Testament, or for Him to act at the end of time, to delay justice until after death and sort out the sheep from the goats at that time. The problem is, we don’t know the day nor the hour. We don’t know exactly when our time will come, but we do know that God says, “if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.”
So, what can we do? In the meantime, we can make voluntary sacrifices and perform the penance the priest gives us in Confession, atoning for our sins. We can make an act of contrition in our hearts immediately after sinning, planning to go to Confession soon but not waiting until Confession to tell God that we are sorry. We can strive for sainthood and prepare ourselves for eternity by relying on God’s power and living under His authority, hoping that one day, He will bring us to Himself in heaven.
Si yo estuviera entre la multitud escuchando las palabras de Jesús hoy, tendría miedo. “Y aquellos dieciocho que murieron aplastados por la torre de Siloé, ¿piensan acaso que eran más culpables que todos los demás habitantes de Jerusalén? Ciertamente que no; y si ustedes no se arrepienten, perecerán de manera semejante” (Lucas 13,4-5). Y luego concluye con la parábola de la higuera, en la que el jardinero dice que le dará al árbol un año más, pero que si después no da fruto, debe ser cortado.
A menudo pensamos en el Nuevo Testamento como un tiempo de misericordia en el que Dios no gobierna con fuego, tormenta y terremoto, sino con perdón y paz. Esto no es del todo falso. Seguramente no hay tantos castigos directos y drásticos de Dios por los pecados individuales o colectivos hoy como los hubo en la época del Antiguo Testamento. Pero las palabras de Jesús hoy nos recuerdan que esto no significa que Dios haya cambiado. Él todavía está allí, pero ha elegido impartir su justicia en el momento que Él escoja.
Si la parábola de la higuera es una indicación, ese momento vendrá inesperadamente. O pensamos que Dios actuara inmediatamente, como lo hizo con frecuencia en el Antiguo Testamento, o que actuara al final de los tiempos, para retrasar la justicia hasta después de la muerte y separar las ovejas de las cabras en ese momento. El problema es que no sabemos el día ni la hora. No sabemos exactamente cuándo llegará nuestro momento, pero sí sabemos que Dios dice: “si ustedes no se arrepienten, perecerán de manera semejante”.
Entonces, ¿qué podemos hacer? Mientras tanto, podemos hacer sacrificios voluntarios y realizar la penitencia que el sacerdote nos da en la Confesión, expiando nuestros pecados. Podemos hacer un acto de contrición en nuestro corazón inmediatamente después de pecar, planeando ir a confesarnos pronto, pero no esperando hasta la Confesión para decirle a Dios que estamos arrepentidos. Podemos esforzarnos por alcanzar la santidad y prepararnos para la eternidad confiando en el poder de Dios y viviendo bajo Su autoridad, esperando que un día nos lleve a Sí mismo en el cielo.
David Dashiell is a freelance author and editor in the Nashville, Tennessee area. He has three children, a degree in theology, and enjoys writing about philosophy, theology, culture, music, and comedy. You can find his personal blog, Serious Daydreams, on Substack. He is also the editor of the anthology Ever Ancient, Ever New: Why Younger Generations Are Embracing Traditional Catholicism, available through TAN Books.
Feature Image Credit: RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, Public Domain, art.diocesan.com/stock-photo/fig-tree-with-olive-trees-in-the-background-17080/