Second chances

Luke 13:1-9

          Second chances

  

         At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’

6 Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. ⁷So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” ⁸He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.” ’

          They say you never get to make a second first impression. How many times have I failed miserably at that. How many times have I been judged or pigeon holed for something I have said, some mistake I have made or countless other actions that people pick up on and run with. I am sure to some I am considered a fallen member of the clergy, a man who left his wife, perhaps even a bold sinner.  To many of those people I will never be able to make it right, my fate is etched in stone. I might as well wear a big red A on my chest like Hester Prynne. Perhaps it should be a big red G for gay.      

         I've made comments in this blog about our heroes. I've noted several myself  and included in my list is Jim McGreevey,  former Governor of New Jersey. Whenever I mention my admiration for this man, especially when talking within the gay community, my praise often falls on deaf ears. In fact, many times, gay men demean him saying he only came out because he was forced to.

        First of all, I would not be so quick to make judgements about the turmoil in someone's life or of the internal conflict that a closeted gay man goes through in trying to reconcile who they are to themselves.  This is a lesson I learned oddly enough from my mother. A devout Roman Catholic, she divorced my dad at a time when such things were unspeakable. She was ostracized by faithful and parish priest alike. It may be only my brothers and I that realize how justified she was. I would never second guess the mental anguish she went through as a devout Catholic trying to come to terms with what she had to do to maintain her sanity and survive. She was courageous.  However, she was forever judged for her decision.

          I wonder what torment others have gone through to come to wholeness when it was not the politically correct thing to do or the socially acceptable thing to do. Some pay a high price and are always marked.

           But this reading to me speaks of second chances. Allowing people the opportunity to grow, mature and bear fruit even when others would be quick to cut us down and judge.

           Am I the one so quick with the the verbal chain saw, ready to cut people down and pigeon whole them? Can I recognize how difficult it has been for me (to come out) and acknowledge that others may have a similar unspoken, unknown story of their own. Can we give others a second chance at least?  Can we be patient with others as God has been patient with us?