Heaven on Earth

Third Sunday in Lent; Like 13;1-9

There is a person I know who spends every day worrying about whether he is going to get into heaven when he dies. Hiis solution to this is to go to mass without fail every Sunday, and at least three times during the week. He goes to confession every week, and attends Eucharistic Adoration every week, Plus he abstains from meat every Friday, all year long, not just in Lent. He has little prayer books strewn abut has house and reads from them in the morning and the evening.

He has lived a long life, so I am not inclined to challenge him too much about all his personal pieties. If all this makes him feel better, then, that’s a good thing. He and God can sort it all out later, at some point.

When reading this Gospel passage, apparently there has been a lot going on. The Roman Governor Pilate has been cruel and sadistic. There was a wall that fell down near the Pool of Siloam, wherein a number of people were killed. It’s a good thing there wasn’t the internet back then or social media would have been blowing up over all this bad news. Everyone wanted to know what kind of sin did these poor people commit that got them killed?

Jesus is very clear in his response. Don’t worry about them. They were no greater sinners than anyone else in the area. His response actually makes me chuckle a bit. Jesus did not say that those who dies were terrible people, but he did allude that everybody was just as bad. I wonder if the crowds even picked up on that?

The point Jesus is trying to make to his followers then, and to me today, is that we need to repent today or we might experience the same fate the Galileans did at the hands of Pilate or at Siloam. Were these good people who went to synagogue every week and followed all the teachings of the rabbis? Or did they have God on their hearts and in their minds.?

That is my challenge today. Jesus calls me to repent, that is, change my heart. It is not enough for me to just follow the rules. No one is keeping a list about how often I go to mass, or confession, or how many times I eat meat on Fridays. Certainly, God isn’t. God is looking into my heart to see what I do to care for the poor and marginalized in this world. God is looking to see how I lift people up when they are knocked down. God is looking to see how I speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves in the face of injustice and fear.

What good would it do me if I only vote for anti-abortion candidates just because some guy told me to. If I go to church, but my heart does not change and I remain a racist, xenophobe, homophobe, or fearmonger, then I have missed the entire point of the Gospel message. If my religion causes me to hate someone, is it really a religion about God or about me?

I am called to repent and change my heart. I need to turn away from those things in my heart that prevent me from truly living the Gospel message of Jesus. I don’t have to worry about whether or not I am going to heaven. I know that if I live in a manner befitting a follower of Jesus, then my heaven is right here on earth. If a wall or tower falls on me, or if some despot kills me, I know that God will take care of me on the other side.

Every Day.

© 2025 by Timothy J. Doppel

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