Our God is a God of second chances… and third, fourth, fifth… innumerable chances.One of my favorite parables of Jesus (also a favorite of many, I imagine) is the parable of the fig tree, which is this Sunday’s (Feb. 28) Gospel lesson. We all know the story well: the vineyard owner wants the barren fig tree chopped down, but the gardener asks to give it one more year, predicting that a little TLC will cause it to bear fruit again. This wonderful story calls to mind a beautiful Dutch caro...
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