In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents us with the parable of the unfruitful fig tree. The story is placed immediately after a lesson about the universal call to repentance, and the eternal consequences faced by those who fail to turn away from sin (see Luke 13:6-9). Jesus sternly warned his listeners that without repentance they would “perish” just as badly as other “sinners” who had met unfortunate and untimely deaths.
It’s possible the fig tree in the parable may have symbolized those in his audience who were such sinners–that is, God’s people who had failed to bear spiritual fruits in their lives; the orchard owner then may be likened to God the Father who instead always demanded that his people remain faithful and productive; the gardener in turn may represent Jesus who lovingly pleaded with the Father for patience and mercy for those people who had failed to live up to what they were called to be and to do.
The actual fate of the tree in the parable is left to our imagination. We aren’t told if the gardener was given an additional year to cultivate and fertilize the tree, and we don’t know if he managed to induce the production of fruit or not; likewise, we aren’t told if the orchard owner’s initial desire to cut down the tree was realized immediately, one year later, or at all. We do know the gardener pleaded with the orchard owner for patience and mercy for the tree, and that he was determined to stimulate the tree to bear fruit.
Inferring from the parable, we might then conclude that although God’s people are not always faithful, Jesus intercedes for them to the Father, and then when stirred up by his grace, they are patiently given the chance to reform their lives. We believe Jesus desires to give God’s people whatever they need to turn away from sin and to become spiritually productive (i.e., fruit bearing) children of the Father. The result of such repentance, and consequent fruitfulness, is that God’s faithful people ultimately will experience resurrection from the dead and the fullness of life in the eternal garden of heaven.
In the parable, it might have been easier for the orchard owner and the gardener if they had simply cut down that tree and burned it in a fire. Then they would have been done with it, and they could have invested their valuable time cultivating more productive trees–no one would have even thought about the unfruitful tree once it was gone and another fruit bearing plant was put in its place. With this in mind, we may come to realize that in our lives we have been, or may continue to be, like the unfruitful fig tree. If so, how good it is to understand how very generous and patient our God has been, and continues to be with us as we sometimes struggle to turn away from sin and to follow the Gospel!
And as we relate to others, would that we would be like the gardener in today’s parable, and be driven by the desire for patience and mercy when dealing with the shortcomings of our sisters and brothers!
As we continue on our Lenten journey, may we continually reflect on our common and universal need to be a repentant people. May we hope never to suffer the consequences of sin, and as faithful and fruitful children of our loving God, may each one of us someday enjoy the fullness of life in that eternal garden of heaven!
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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