Lectio: The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:1-9)

The Gospel reading for this Third Sunday of Lent is Luke 13:1-9, in which Jesus calls the people to repent, and offers the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.

Reading:

A Call to Repentance
1. At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.

2. 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?

3. By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!

4. 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?

5. By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6. 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,

7. 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?’

8. He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;

9. it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

Reflection:

The reading today is perfect for the Lenten season – with themes of repentance, patience and cultivation. It is one of the examples Luke gives us of Jesus’ direct ministry to the people, speaking before a crowd of thousands (Luke 12:1).

The reading begins with members of the crowd informing Jesus that Pilate has killed a group of Galileans as a sacrifice. Jesus responds giving two different examples of when people died suddenly and unexpectedly. Did they die because the Galileans were more sinful than the Israelites? No, he says. But death can happen at any time, and so we must repent our sins now before it is too late.

Building on this, Jesus offers the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. In the story, a farmer plants a fig tree in the middle of his vineyard, and for three years waits for it to bear fruit. When it does not, he concludes it will never bear fruit, and gives orders for the tree to be cut down. One of the farmer’s vinedressers appeals to the farmer to leave the tree alone for another year – that he would care for it, fertilize it, and encourage it to bear fruit. If it did not, then it could be cut down.

The parable is a reminder of God’s patience with us. Year after year we may fail to fruitfully live our lives with the kind of care and respect we owe one another and ourselves. We need Christ’s teachings, we need the Church, and indeed we need each other’s help to cultivate lives that will allow us to bear fruit.

We shouldn’t dawdle at this task – like the Galileans, we must begin this work now as death can take us at any moment. Even Jesus knows that he is not exempt from this. As Pilate had killed the Galileans as a sacrifice, so would Pilate sacrifice Christ on the cross.

We are reminded on Ash Wednesday at the beginning of Lent to “repent and believe in the Gospel.” The period of Lent is our time for spiritual cultivation – for prayer and reflection. It is a time to reflect on our personal failings, to seek forgiveness, and to start over with a clean slate with an earnest desire to do better.

Action:

As we continue our Lenten journey, today’s reading is an invitation to check-in on our personal progress. How are we cultivating our lives so that, at the end of our year, it will bear fruit? How are we opening our hearts to God? Being mindful of our past failings, what concrete steps are we taking to remove the temptation of sin from our lives in the year ahead?

Your Thoughts:

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