This Sunday (March 23) is the Third Sunday of Lent. This week’s gospel reading is from the book of Luke 13:1-9. This reading is a story about sin, repentance, and patience. Let’s take a look.
Lent: The Urgency of Repentance
The reading begins with the disciples telling Jesus that Pilate has “mixed” the blood of the Jews with the blood of their offerings to God. Jesus asks the disciples not to see tragic outcomes, like the blood mixing or the tower’s fall in Shiloam, as some “punishment” for sin in their past. Instead, He urges them to repentance:
“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!'”
During Lent, we are asked to “Repent and believe in the Gospel!” How has your prayer been so far in this Lenten season?
The Parable of the Fig Tree
Jesus goes on to tell them a 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.’”
Jesus is speaking to God’s patience and mercy. The tree (all of us) is given another chance to bear fruit. The gardener represents God’s grace and patience as we are allowed to grow and bear spiritual fruit. This opportunity, though, carries a “time limit” before the fig tree would be cut down if it doesn’t bear fruit. We also have limited time to repent and bear the good fruit of God’s love.
Bring this parable to prayer. Are you bearing good spiritual fruit for God? If not, what is preventing you from doing so? Lent is the perfect opportunity to discard what stops you from getting closer to God so you, too, can bear good fruit. The tools are already there – prayer, fasting, and almsgiving! We need to use these tools to get closer to God. As we do, the love will overflow in acts of faith.
Peace
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