I know that we have a lot of very good gardeners in our parish and some parishioners who work in the field of agriculture. I have really enjoyed seeing our garden program get off the ground at the state prison. As I read the parable of the fig tree in today’s Gospel, with the owner of the orchard coming finding that the tree had not bore any fruit in three years, I learned that supposedly it takes three years for a fig tree to mature, and if they do not bear fruit by the third year, they’re likely never to bear any fruit.
It is the same with us in our life of faith. We are called to bear fruit, and if we do not have fruit for a while, then we are like the barren fig tree, wasting God’s graces and God’s blessings just as the fig tree wasted the soil and nutrients and loving care it received. In the parable, the fig tree gets a second chance, as the gardener asks for more time to cultivate and fertilize the ground and to take care of it. Christ provides fertile ground for us to bear fruit. He sacrificed himself for us and nurtures us on our journey. In return, he asks us to bear fruit in our prayer life, in our works of mercy, in our adoration of God, in our gratitude and thanksgiving, and in our quest for holiness.
However, time will be up for the fig tree if it does not bear fruit after its second chance. There is urgency for the fig tree. And urgency for us on our journey of faith as well. God does not want us to let years pass without us bearing fruit in our faith. We are to be focused on our journey of faith, to not be complacent and apathetic.
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