Reading 1
Rom 8:1-11
Brothers and sisters: Now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. For what the law, weakened by the flesh, was powerless to do,this God has done: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for the sake of sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous decree of the law might be fulfilled in us, who live not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. For those who live according to the flesh are concerned with the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit with the things of the spirit. The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace. For the concern of the flesh is hostility toward God; it does not submit to the law of God, nor can it; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Gospel
Lk 13:1-9
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.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!”
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,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.’”
Meditation: Luke 13:1-9
How many parents do you know who, at one point or another, have had to threaten their child with some kind of serious consequence for bad behavior?
Hopefully the threat is given in love and from a desire to form the child properly. Good parents will do whatever is necessary to nurture and teach their children, and sometimes a threat is exactly what is needed to motivate and teach the child. Today’s Gospel reading, the parable of the fig tree, contains this kind of “Do it or else” warning—only this time from God! If we want to understand the nature of his warning, however, we need to step back and take a look at the bigger picture of why God takes our behavior so seriously.
God has given us many talents and gifts, and he wants to see us cultivate them in a way that makes us able to bear fruit for his kingdom. He loves watching us grow and develop not only because it gives him glory but also because we are happiest when we are at our most productive. He also knows that sins of selfishness, pride, or neglect have a way of limiting the fruit we can bear because they weigh us down and separate us from him. This is why it is vital that we be found hard at work strengthening our gifts and putting them to work for the good of others.
Jesus is not just telling a good story about fruitfulness here. He is also giving us a warning. He wants us to know that he is always with us, ready to help us as we seek to cultivate our talents. But he is also warning us that unless we cultivate the habits of self-examination, humility, and repentance, we risk being cut off from him, the source of all life, and ending up barren.
Fortunately, we have the gift of repentance to help us turn back to the Lord and to make us fruitful once again. Repentance has the power to purify our hearts and our minds. It frees us up so that we can move out into the world healed and hopeful, ready to serve the Lord and his people. Do you need to wipe your slate clean? Confess your sins, and let Jesus, the good gardener, cultivate you so that you can bear fruit wherever you go.
“Lord, examine me and search me, so that I can become as fruitful as possible. Come, Holy Spirit, and cultivate your gifts in me. Let me become a living witness of the love and power of God for all those around me.”
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