Reflections
Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent
The emphasis in today’s readings seems to be that of warnings. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul recounts the story of the Israelites after they left Egypt and the fact that they failed, “for God was not pleased with them.” He warns, “Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” Jesus message in Luke’s gospel is even clearer. After replying about the story of what happened to some Galileans, Jesus tells them twice:
“I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did.”
Then Luke ends with Christ’s telling the people the parable about the fig tree that did not bear fruit. There is no mention of repentance. The gardener is told to just cut it down. But then the fig tree is given another chance to bear fruit in the future, and the parable ends with hope.
Why did Christ use the fig tree? we might wonder. Any fruit-bearing tree that they were familiar with in their climate could have been used as an example. However, having lived in a place where fig trees with their delicious fruit were a summer gift, it seems to have been the perfect choice. First of all, fig trees do not grow terribly tall, so most of the fruit is easily reached. It is also usually plentiful in its season and can be picked to eat right then and there. So, for a fig tree not to bear fruit for years was certainly a reason to cut it down. For anyone to see possibility for its growth and ask for another year’s trial would be quite unusual.
What does this have to do with the two warnings we heard earlier? The parable doesn’t talk about repentance, but about a second chance. There seems at first to be no advice for us. It’s only about a gardener who wants to give a dead fig tree another chance.
So why this parable here? The parable takes on great meaning if we consider that we do not go to God on our own strength. If we are going to grow in holiness, we need to respond to how He is helping us. We are, so to speak, the dead tree and the gardener is Christ. He is the one who will “cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it.” But we must respond to it in order to grow.
Our response to that fertilizer comes in listening to what God is asking of us as we go through each day. The key to our growth, fertilizer, is prayer. Yes, the Gardener has given us a second chance, but we must respond. As Benedict says in the Prologue:
“…every time you begin a good work, you must pray to him most earnestly to bring it to perfection.”
And what does God ask of us? Benedict put it clearly for us: “Obedience is a blessing to be shown to all.” Our days are filled with opportunities, though we often don’t recognize them or just don’t want to do them. In community they are always present. There are the sisters who want us to listen to their woes; the ones who need help with little things we think they should just do for themselves. Then there are the ones who get on our nerves, who try our patience, or the times that we could help with this or that but we just don’t feel like it.
There are more than just the tasks in community. Right now, for example, there is the call to help set our country right by writing letters to officials. Another small thing, perhaps, is donating from our small budget money for mission causes. We must respond to the large community of our world.
These are just a few examples of the second chance to grow and bear fruit that the Gardener gives us. But we must respond, and that response is prayer. As Benedict says in the Prologue:
“…every time you begin a good work, you must pray to him most earnestly to bring it to perfection.”
The warnings in the readings, then, are not without meaning. They pertain to us as the trees that are trying to grow. But we are blessed with the best Gardener and the best fertilizer. All we have to do is respond.
