At that time some people who were present there told Jesus about
the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their
sacrifices. He 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.´" (Luke
13:1-9)
Introductory Prayer: Lord, who am I that you spend time listening to me in my prayer?
Who am I that you speak with me? You have given humanity such dignity by
assuming our nature and giving me personally so many gifts. Time and time again
you have been patient with me and received me back into your embrace when I
have strayed from you. Thank you for your kindness to me. I hope to receive it
always in the future and especially at the hour of my death. Your kindness and
patience are a manifestation of your love for me. I want to return that love,
because the only fitting response to love is love.
Petition: Lord, help me to be as patient with others as you are with me.
1. The Fig-less Fig: The
owner of the fig tree in the parable, which many spiritual authors see as an
image of God the Father, comes for three years in search of fruit. How often
our Heavenly Father comes in search of fruit on the fig tree of our lives. And
what does he find? He has given us the “soil” and so many elements that are
conducive to being fruitful. He has made known his desire for us to bear fruit,
and his Son has explained to us how the fruit is to be produced. There are no
excuses.
Let’s take notice of the lesson of the parable: When the Father
comes to us looking for fruits, it is because it is the time for fruit. What
will we say to the Father if he has given us ten, twenty, forty, sixty years to
bear fruit but finds none? It’s not just about looking nice, as a fig does.
It’s about bearing fruit – fruit that will last – according to the Father’s
plan.
2. The Fig That Was Almost Toast: There is an American idiom referring to something that is
destroyed and no longer what it was: “It’s toast!” The fig tree in the parable
was in danger of becoming “toast.” “Cut it down” was the order given by the
owner. “Why should it exhaust the soil?” What a terrible accusation! It was
useless and only sapping nutrients from the soil for no purpose. When we apply
this parable to our own lives, it is ghastly to think that our life, or the
lives of others, might be just as useless. Cut it down. Take it away. It serves
no purpose. The judgment is just. But it was a judgment that was soon to be
lifted, both in the case of the fig tree and in the application to our own
lives. Am I sufficiently grateful for God’s continual mercy towards me and
others?
3. Leave It… Thanks
to the gardener in the parable, the fig lives and is not cut down. The axe does
not bite into the trunk of the fig, wrenching from it the beauty of its leaves
and meandering branches. In our case, Jesus Christ the Good Gardener steps in
and asks the owner, the Heavenly Father, to “leave it;” he, the Good Gardener,
will take care of things. And how he does it! The Gardener himself is cut down
in a bloody way and crucified. We who indeed should justly be cut down are
saved, while the axe is put to the trunk of His body. All for love of us!
Archbishop Luis Martinez has a beautiful image in his book, The Secrets of the
Interior Life where he speaks of suffering as a manifestation of love: “It is
said that the myrrh tree allows its perfume to escape only when it is bruised.”
The perfume “flows drop by drop through the lacerations of the bark that enfold
them.”
Conversation with Christ: Lord
Jesus Christ, how patient the Father is with me! Thank you for coming to save
me, for laying your life down for me, for suffering what I should endure
because of my self-centeredness and sinfulness. But with you, there is hope.
Resolution: I will exercise patience today with everyone I meet, thinking of the
patience that God has had with me
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