St. Bartholomew Church

One of the things I try to be grateful for everyday is that God is not like me.

Especially, as I am so extraordinarily impatient sometimes.  Most of the time.

Instead, God is like the Gardner in the story at the end of the Gospel - who didn’t want to give up on that fruitless tree.  Give it another year, I’ll cultivate it, nurture it, invest myself in it.  That’s what God does for us.  He doesn’t give up on us in our fruitlessness.  His is always patient.  Thank God. 

But Jesus is also abundantly clear, that while he gave that tree another year - the end for it will come.  If it persists in its fruitlessness, it will be cut down.  And so will we.

Jesus tells us the remedy for our fruitlessness is repentance - for the day of reckoning will come for us all - whether a tower falls on us, we live to be 110 or whenever we die - the day will come when we must give an account. 

And Jesus tells us all we need to do is to repent - and let’s remember, repentance isn’t when we cry, it’s when we change.  We have to turn our lives to Him - to turn from our sin and be faithful to the Gospel.

God is always ready for us to come back to Him, to be faithful to Him, He is always patient and lavish in His merciful Love and forgiveness.  One day it will be too late for us - Confession, Daily Prayer, Daily Scriptures, Frequent Eucharist, fidelity in all things….what then are we waiting for?  God help us all. +