By Juliana Uzoka

Lent offers the faithful another opportunity to repent and embrace the grace that God extends in this season—a season of second chances to escape eternal damnation.

During his homily on the Third Sunday of Lent, the Catholic Archbishop of Jos Archdiocese, Most Rev. Matthew Ishaya Audu, emphasized that heeding Jesus’ call to transformation and repentance provides a renewed opportunity to strengthen one’s relationship with God.

Using the parable of the barren fig tree in Luke 13:1-9, Archbishop Audu illustrated how God grants time for spiritual growth before judgment. He noted that while suffering is often inexplicable, it can be even more damning for the unrepentant.

Stressing the need for repentance, he urged the faithful to avoid making erroneous judgments about others’ misfortunes. “Ignorance and self-justification,” he warned, “must be avoided.”

Referring to the Galileans whom Pilate sacrificed and the victims of the collapse of the tower of Siloam that killed 18 people, Archbishop Audu explained that misfortunes can befall anyone, regardless of their lifestyle. However, he cautioned that unrepentant sinners may face even graver consequences. “Unless you repent, you will suffer in the same manner,” he said.

Warning against self-righteousness, he pointed out that Jesus’ question to His disciples—“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than others because they suffered this way?”—should prompt deep reflection on the grace of God.

Archbishop Audu further explained that the Gospel reading reminds believers that misfortune is not always a result of personal sin. “It is wrong to assume that those who suffer disasters have done something to deserve it while those spared are without fault,” he said.

He added, “Misfortune can happen to anyone. It is God who chooses whom to show mercy.”

To illustrate this point, the Archbishop shared an anecdote about Reverend John Bradford (1510–1553). When asked about criminals condemned to public execution, Bradford reportedly remarked, “There, but for the grace of God, go I,” acknowledging that divine grace—not personal merit—had shaped his destiny differently.

“The attitude of ‘but for the grace of God, there go I’ helps us recognize the opportunity God gives us daily, extending our lives from day to day, week to week, and year to year,” Archbishop Audu noted. “Like the barren fig tree, the extra time granted to us is a chance to bear fruit.”

He emphasized that the misfortunes of others should not be occasions for judgment but calls to humble repentance. “Unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did,” he reiterated.

The Archbishop also highlighted that Jesus’ teachings contradict cultural beliefs that associate suffering with sin. “The old Jewish culture held that bad things happen only to bad people and good things to good people,” he explained. “However, Jesus made it clear that this is not always the case—those who suffer misfortune are not necessarily the worst sinners.”

Citing examples of large-scale tragedies, Archbishop Audu pointed out that not all victims of disasters were sinners destined to die for their wrongdoings. “Rather than judge, we must acknowledge that such events remind us of life’s uncertainty and the need to be vigilant—not overly attached to what we might lose at any moment,” he said. “It is a mystery. Only God knows why bad things happen to good people, including innocent children, while some wrongdoers seem to escape justice.”

“The truth is that no one will escape justice unless they repent,” he added. “The day of reckoning may be delayed, but it will surely come. If not in this life, then on Judgment Day, when unrepentant sinners will perish—eternally.”

Archbishop Audu reassured the faithful that unlike humans, God forgives completely and grants repentant sinners the opportunity to inherit His Kingdom. “He takes no pleasure in the death of a sinner but offers life instead,” he said.

He emphasized that Lent is a privileged season for repentance and forgiveness, urging the faithful to “take full advantage of this season while it lasts and repent, so that we do not perish.”

“Let us thank God for giving us another opportunity,” he said, “and for the ‘gardeners’ in our lives—those who nurture and guide us to bear fruit.”

He continued, “Today, let us thank God for the ‘gardeners’ who intercede for us before Him. Jesus is the Great Gardener, mediating on our behalf. However, He fulfills this role through men and women who serve as members of His body—our parents, teachers, pastors, friends, and even our critics, whose harsh words often lead to our personal growth.”

“This is our second chance,” he concluded. “Let us make a firm determination to use it well, so that we may fulfill God’s plan for our lives—a plan for good, not for harm.”