One More Year

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

There is something a little uncomfortable about today’s Gospel, because Jesus does not give the answer people expect. They bring up tragedies and ask, in effect, “Why did this happen to them?” And Jesus refuses to turn suffering into gossip or speculation. He brings the question back to the heart: “Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.” It sounds severe, but maybe Jesus is not trying to frighten us. Maybe He is trying to wake us up. The real question is not, “Why did this happen to them?” The real question is, “What am I doing with the life God has given me?”

Then Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree. For three years, the owner comes looking for fruit and finds none. He is ready to cut it down, but the gardener says, “Sir, leave it for this year also.” That line is beautiful: one more year. One more season. One more chance. The tree is still standing not because it has produced fruit, but because someone is pleading for it, tending it, digging around it, giving it another opportunity. That is what grace looks like. God is patient with us. He gives us time. But His patience is not permission to stay the same forever.

Sometimes we confuse God’s mercy with God not caring about how we live. We say, “There is always tomorrow. I will forgive later. I will go back to confession eventually. I will change when life settles down. I will pray when I have more time.” But the fig tree reminds us that grace has a purpose. God does not simply want us to exist; He wants us to bear fruit. Patience is not passivity. Mercy is not indifference. God loves us too much to leave us exactly where we are.

And maybe that is the uncomfortable question today: If God came looking for fruit in my life, what would He find? Not achievements. Not reputation. Fruit. More patience? More forgiveness? More honesty? More prayer? More kindness? A heart that is slowly becoming more like Christ? We often measure our life by how busy we are, how much we have done, or how much people notice us. Jesus measures differently. He looks for fruit that remains.

So perhaps today is our “one more year.” Not literally one year, but one more opportunity. One more Mass. One more confession. One more chance to forgive someone. One more chance to stop carrying resentment. One more chance to take our faith seriously instead of keeping it on the edge of our life. The good news is that the gardener has not given up on the tree. Christ has not given up on us. But the invitation is clear: do not waste the grace you have been given. Let Him dig around the hard places. Let Him disturb the soil. Let Him prune what needs to go. And let your life finally begin to bear fruit.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your patience with me. Thank You for giving me another chance, another day, another opportunity to return to You. Show me where my heart has become fruitless or comfortable. Give me the courage to repent, to change, and to let Your grace bear fruit in my life. May I never take Your mercy for granted. Amen.

– Homily by Rev. Fr. Patrick Agbeko