Getting A Second Chance Like A Fig Tree

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
Jesus 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.’” - Lk. 13:1-9

Today’s gospel is about God giving us warnings and chances for redemption before the ax finally falls on us.

Jesus tells the people that they should not assume when tragedy befalls a person that it is means they are better than that person. Jesus reminds them that we are all equal when it comes to sinning. The message we should take from tragic incidents is that we should be repentant because we know neither the time nor the place when judgment will be brought upon us.

Jesus uses the parable of the fig tree to explain the relationship between God, himself, and us. God represents the land owner who has taken care of the tree, which is us, for years only for it to suck up the nutrients but bear no good fruit. So he sends his servant to get rid of the tree. However, the servant asks that the owner allow him to try to cultivate the land surrounding the tree in hopes of restoring the fig tree to its former glory and its ability to bear good fruit.

This brings up a point that comes up in my Freshmen Old Testament Class, why is God so vengeful in the Old Testament but loving and anti-violence in the New Testament. I explain it by comparing God to the development of a man. When he is young, he is willing to get into fights because he can and there is nothing holding him back. This is God in the Old Testament. He smites those who go too far and cross the line. However, like the man after he becomes a father, God has new priorities and sets the example for how his children should behave and live. He is now less passionate when it comes to physical justice.

So as begin the last month of Lent, let us repent while we still have time and stop judging others for their indiscretions.