Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them—
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”
****************************************************
Many of us here can relate to gardner in this parable, as I'm sure that we've all planted something that has failed to thrive. I, for one, certainly do not have a green thumb. Try as I might, I can’t get my plants to grow healthy and strong. Last year, I had the idea of planting a garden on my porch. I was tempting fate, some might say, but I had faith that it would work. Despite my uniform efforts and attention to all of my plants, my tomatoes and lettuce grew and thrived, and the tomatoes produced fruit, while my carrots and sugar-snap peas withered away. It took me a while to realize that it neither the success nor the failure was through my own doing. Rather, it was a combination of factors, the interplay of me, the weather conditions, and the plants themselves.
Much in the same way, Jesus' parable of the fig tree shows us the interrelatedness of the fig tree, the gardner, and the owner. The gardner must properly tend to the fig tree in order for it to grow and thrive. The gardener also trusts that by properly tending to the fig tree that it will blossom and grow, lest he be given no choice but to cut that tree down. And in a sense, both the fig tree and the gardner look to the mercy of the owner not to cut down the tree and to give them each more time. The mercy and grace shown by the owner, first, by allowing the unfruitful tree to remain for three years and then by giving the gardener one additional year, sheds light on just how important that little fig tree is to the owner.
We too, like the fig tree, are dependent on God's mercy through Jesus Christ. Just as the gardner appealed to the owner, so Christ laid down His life for us. We depend on God to give us what we need each day and to have mercy on us for our imperfect ways, so much so that we pray it in words that Jesus himself gave to us: "Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses". And He does -- He gives us so much (so much more than what we ever deign to ask for ourselves) and forgives us when we fail.
St. Dominic taught that we are to place ourselves like a cup under the flowing spring of Christ and let Jesus fill us up not only to the brim, but also to overflowing with His grace and mercy. He taught that we should share the overflow, but always remember to keep our own cup filled to the brim through prayer and contemplation. All theology, all love, all life begins at the foot of the cross. Just as water flowed from Jesus' precious side when it was pierced, so too Jesus flows with love, mercy, and compassion from the cross. We must receive in order to give; we need time to pray and be filled.
Much in the same way, Jesus' parable of the fig tree shows us the interrelatedness of the fig tree, the gardner, and the owner. The gardner must properly tend to the fig tree in order for it to grow and thrive. The gardener also trusts that by properly tending to the fig tree that it will blossom and grow, lest he be given no choice but to cut that tree down. And in a sense, both the fig tree and the gardner look to the mercy of the owner not to cut down the tree and to give them each more time. The mercy and grace shown by the owner, first, by allowing the unfruitful tree to remain for three years and then by giving the gardener one additional year, sheds light on just how important that little fig tree is to the owner.
We too, like the fig tree, are dependent on God's mercy through Jesus Christ. Just as the gardner appealed to the owner, so Christ laid down His life for us. We depend on God to give us what we need each day and to have mercy on us for our imperfect ways, so much so that we pray it in words that Jesus himself gave to us: "Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses". And He does -- He gives us so much (so much more than what we ever deign to ask for ourselves) and forgives us when we fail.
St. Dominic taught that we are to place ourselves like a cup under the flowing spring of Christ and let Jesus fill us up not only to the brim, but also to overflowing with His grace and mercy. He taught that we should share the overflow, but always remember to keep our own cup filled to the brim through prayer and contemplation. All theology, all love, all life begins at the foot of the cross. Just as water flowed from Jesus' precious side when it was pierced, so too Jesus flows with love, mercy, and compassion from the cross. We must receive in order to give; we need time to pray and be filled.
As small and insignificant we are in comparison to God, we are nonetheless important to Him. Why else would he shower us with His mercy and grace? And why else would He send us His only begotten Son to shed His Blood for us? All He asks in return is that we are fruitful, that we use the gifts that He has given to each and every one of us.
Merciful God,
As we walk the path of Lent
And progress through the labyrinth of our journey
We discover weakness upon weakness
Compromise upon compromise
A culture that clutters our path with digressions
A sense of self that interferes with our vision.
As we catch our reflection in the light of Christ,
We know how far from Him we are.
Do not let our sins impede our progress
In your mercy, forgive us and send us on our pilgrimage again.
Almighty God, grant us pardon and remission of our sins
And give us the time to bear fruit for You.
Amen.
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