Third Sunday of Lent - Parable of the Fig Tree

 

Third Sunday of Lent

March 3, 2013

 

Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

Luke 13:1-9
 

 "I shall cultivate the ground around it
and fertilize it; it may
bear fruit in the future." (Luke 13:8-9)

 

The  readings for the Third Sunday of Lent call us to allow Our Lord to enter more deeply into our lives, calling on us to repent and transform our lives in order to bear good fruit. 

 

"The first reading is the familiar scene of Moses and the burning bush.  When God invades the bush, the bush is radiant, but not destroyed.  Similarly, when the Lord enters us, we are not destroyed, but rather we are more fully alive.

 

In the second reading, St. Paul provides a perennial warning to all those who have received blessings from the Lord, saying "whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12)

 

The Gospel selection is the parable of the fig tree, which calls us to reform our lives and bear fruit before it is too late.  We must not be afraid of opening ourselves to His presence in our lives, and we must not become complacent as "Sunday Catholics" as though God doesn't expect our very best. God wants to enter into our experience and liberate us, so that we may be instuments of His mercy and love to others." (Catholic Scripture Study International, Lent: The Road to Redemption, Cycle C, page 25)

 

  

“If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.” (Psalms 95:7-8)

 

The Urgency of Repentance

 

Today's Gospel begins with Jesus addressing the question as to why bad things happen to certain people. "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?...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!"  (Luke 13:2-5)  

 

Sometimes God permits us to be tried by suffering in order to lead us to a greater good, or just to get us back on track, walking our journey in communion with Him.

 

None of us are guaranteed a tomorrow, or even another moment.  By using these two examples Jesus portrays a sense of urgency to our call to repentance.  In the second reading Saint Paul also warns us against complacency, "whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall." There is an urgency to do our best to try and always be right with God.   

 

 

 

"The desire for God is written
in the human heart,
because man is created by God and for God;
and God never ceases to draw man to himself.
God wills everyone to be saved and
to come to the knowledge of the truth."
(CCC #27, 1 Timothy 2:4)

 

God Is Patience

 

The Gospel ends with the parable of the fig tree.  Though this does not give us a reason to dismiss Jesus' earlier warning of urgency to repentance, or Saint Paul's warning not to be complacent, it does give us some good news, that God is patient. 

 

The people listening to Jesus as he spoke this parable would have understood the barren fig tree to be Israel, but as members of the Church we are all by extension that barren fig tree. 

 

In this parable, God the Father is the owner of this orchard where the fig tree was planted.  God had cared for this tree for three years patiently waiting for fruit to grow.  But no fruit had been produced and God asked the gardener to cut the tree down for it was exhausting the soil of nutrients that could cultivate and fertilize the other trees of his orchard. 

 

The gardener in this parable is Jesus who intercedes for us [the fig tree] with God [the owner].  Jesus offers to cultivate and fertilize the ground for another year giving the tree one more opportunity to bear fruit.

 

During this season of Lent, we are invited to honestly examine our lives, removing anything that keeps us away from God. As we draw near to God, He will cultivate our souls with the life of the Holy Spirit. 

 

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Art
The Vine Dresser and the Fig Tree - James Tissot
The Parable of the Fig Tree - Jan Luyken 

Third Sunday of Lent - A Need for Conversion & A Call to Repentance

Third Sunday of Lent 

A Need for Conversion
A Call to Repentance

“Bad things happen and while God allows this,
we shouldn’t blame God,
but we should do what we can to
never contribute to evil ourselves.” Father James Kubicki S.J.

 Apostleship of Prayer
Father James Kubicki, S.J.
A Need for Conversion

In today’s gospel from Luke 13:1-9, Jesus addresses the question as to why bad things happen to certain people. Was it because they had led evil lives and deserved it? In the gospel, Jesus clearly states, “By no means!” (Luke 13:3, 5)

Last month an earthquake brought devastation to Haiti, some suggested it was because the Haitian people were “cursed” because they made a “pact with the devil.” Today there are those who believe good and bad happen strictly because of karma, the Eastern philosophy where the sum of a person’s actions in this, or some future existence, a person’s “fate” is based on what good or what bad one does. But is this how God works?

In today’s gospel Jesus clearly warns that those who are victims are not to be blamed for their situations. Christ calls each of us to respond to evil, first of all by examining our own conscience and then commit to “clean up our act.” “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” (Luke 13:5) In other words, we have two choices, life and death. To have life is to live guided by God. To choose death is to turn one’s back on God wallowing deeper into the clutches of sin.

God created each of us with a free will. Each moment of each day brings me face to face with a choice. The choice of life or death, virtue or sin, will it be my way or God’s way? Either way bad things are going to happen in my life. My life has been a wonderful series of events bringing joy, challenges, peace, pandemonium, wealth, poverty, health, sickness, life and death. As I look back over these events, the real difference in these situations wasn’t whether there was joy or sadness, the real difference was during those periods of trial was I asking for God’s will and guidance or was I turning my back on God. When I freely choose God as my partner, the challenges in my life created peace instead of pandemonium.

Our gospel ends on a positive note with the parable of the barren fig tree. (Luke 13:6-9) This parable presents a story about the continuing patience of God with those who have not yet repented and turned away from sin. Here the fig tree is barren and the farmer wishes to cut it down because it is exhausting the nutrients from the soil. Jesus replies “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 13:8-9)

During this season of Lent, we are invited to honestly examine our lives, through an examination of conscience removing anything that keeps us away from God. As we draw near to God, He will cultivate our souls with the life of the Holy Spirit. Disasters happen every day, all around us. Our lives are but a fleeting moment and every moment is precious. “Merciful and gracious is the Lord.” (Psalms 103:8) So “if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Psalms 95:7-8)

“Every time we are really faced with a choice to make, it is God inviting us to a more ardent ascent in love and telling us: “My friend, move up to the higher position.” (Luke 14:10). And that is why, if we wish temptation to cease, the first thing to do is to place our trust in God. Whatever desire may rise in us, whatever the moment, whatever fear of falling takes hold of us, we have but to say: “My God, you are there, you see me, you yourself will draw from this storm what is worthy of life, what will lead me closer to you, what will give me greater freedom and at the same time make me more united to you.” Father Maurice Zundel