The World of Grandpa Don

God's Unconditional Love

I wrote* an article which urges us not to be "shade trees in God's orchard". It is based on the parable in Luke 13:1-9 in which the tree that does not bear fruit is threatened with destruction. However, in his homily for that Sunday, Fr. Steve Lanza told us that the subject of the parable is not the tree but it is the extra year, the additional time that is given to the tree. He explained that God is not about punishment for failure to perform but of His love of each of us and the fact that He continues to bestow His graces on us even when we do not bear fruit. He will wait for us to bloom.

Some time ago, Fr. Rich Homa explained that the parable of the farmer (Luke 4:4-8) who sowed seed on fertile ground, on the path, on the rocks, and among the briers, was not about how people accept His Word. It was about the fact that a farmer would not do such a stupid thing and waste the seed. A good farmer would only sow seed in fertile, well prepared ground. But, God is not selective and exclusive. He sows His seed, His Graces, and His Word, in all places and to all people in the hope that it will take root. Everyone is given the opportunity to accept Him.

On the same Third Sunday of Lent referred to in the first paragraph, I was watching a program on public TV during which, Wayne W. Dyer quoted:

"When the pupil is ready,
The teachers will come."

When we are ready, when we have reached the fertile time in our lives, then we become open to the Word of God. It happens very early in some and later in others and if we do not respond, it happens repeatedly. It is up to each of us to recognize the invitation and respond with a "Yes".

God, in His goodness and His love for us continuously showers His gifts on us regardless of how we accept them.

*See Articles - Third Sunday of Lent, 2001

3/24/01