Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent — Year C

The Gospel passage we just heard came to us in two parts: 1) the supposed, immediate effect of sin, and 2) the certain, long-term effect of redemption. They’re joined together by the ominous statement, repeated by Christ in verses 3 and 5, “Unless you repent, you will likewise perish.” He speaks of a sudden, unexpected, fearful and violent death, with no hope for heaven.

 

Yikes! We’re not accustomed to hearing the Lord speak so bluntly, so directly, and so forebodingly. But He doesn’t just drop this in our lap and walk away. Instead, He gives us this brief parable about “The Fig Tree and the Gardener,” to assure us that He does not wish us to die in sin, and will do whatever it takes to rescue us from hell.

 

Here is what Saint Clement wrote about learning from the events in our lives, especially the egregious events: “Going over all the stages of history, we will see that in each era the Lord has given a chance to repent to anyone who wanted to convert to Him.” This means that we are meant to participate with Him in the act of Redemption, and in the rescue from sin. 

 

We heard in our Old Testament Reading how God the Father rescued the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt: He wandered with them for forty years in the desert in an act of purification. This Exodus and purification brought about a re-establishment of their identity: they were no longer to think of themselves as slaves of the Egyptians, but as, once again, the free Chosen People of God.

 

To affect this, God said to Moses, “I know what they are suffering. Therefore, I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians… and lead them to a land of milk and honey.” Here we learn that in His interaction with His people, there is a difference between what God wills and what God allows.

 

God had allowed the tragedy of slavery, but then God willed the Hebrews’ escape, rescue and reformation. It was the tragic experience of slavery which the Lord allowed, that raised the Hebrews’ consciousness of what had been lost by their infidelity to the Covenant. Then it was the difficult, but liberating experience of wandering in the desert that renewed them and reformed them in the Covenant.

 

But in the Parable of the Fig Tree, things move along much more quickly. It takes a fig tree three years to mature to the point of bearing fruit. This tree was just coming into maturity, but not yet fruit-bearing. The Owner of the orchard wants to get rid of it, but the Gardener makes a plea of intervention, assuring the owner that he can bring about the desired growth and fruitfulness, perhaps in time for the next year’s harvest.

 

Now compare this to the Hebrews’ 400 years of slavery and 40 years of wandering. Why the difference? Let’s look more deeply into the Parable in order to discover what Jesus was talking about. In the Parable:

 

+ the Orchard Owner is God the Father

+ the Gardener is God the Son

+ the non-bearing fig tree? Well, that’s you and me.

 

God the Son, sharing, but sinlessly, in our humanity, is well aware of the death, or at least the fruitlessness of sin. However, He is aware at the same time of:

 

+ the power of Redemption…

  (His reference to cultivating the ground around us)

 

+ the power of Grace…

  (His reference to fertilizing)

 

+ the power of His love…

  (His reference to His remaining with us, aware that God the Father would not

  cut down anything — which is to say — anyone whom the Son loves.

 

Unless… despite God the Son’s work in our lives, we remain in sin and continue to bear no fruit, just taking up, and wasting space in God’s orchard.

 

Let’s close with these words about fruitfulness from Saint Columban: “Man’s greatness is the measure of God’s likeness that man reflects. If a man lives out the virtues planted like seeds in his soul, he will become godlike. In the Commandments, God teaches us that we are to offer Him the fruit of the virtues that He planted in our souls when He created us. Our love of God makes His likeness shine through us. But true love is more than just good words; true love bears fruit in good works.”