Scripture Reflections

“I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:5-9)

This passage from Sunday’s Gospel reading begins with a terrifying warning. Unless you repent, you will perish is not the warmest message that ever left Jesus’ lips! It is honest, but not the easiest thing to hear.

The parable that follows, though, allows us to see the heart of Jesus. Drawing on Old Testament imagery, where Israel is depicted as God’s vine and garden (see, for example, Is. 5 or Ps. 80), Jesus makes it clear that God is looking for fruit from his people. The fruit—righteousness and justice; mercy and compassion; true worship instead of hypocrisy and idolatry—is in short supply, just as it was before the exile. But there is a character in the story that wasn’t mentioned when Isaiah first told this parable: the vinedresser. The vinedresser pleads for more time, time in which he will till and fertilize the ground. Perhaps with the right preparation the tree will bear fruit!

Jesus is explaining to his followers both what they need (fruit!) and his role. He is present with them in patience, tilling the soil of their hearts, forestalling the judgment so that they might turn back to God. This turning, this repentance, is the first fruit, which is why he offers this parable as an explanation of the call to repentance. We cannot offer the fruits of righteousness, mercy, and worship, unless we first repent.

Are there places where you sense that Jesus has been tilling the soil of your heart and calling you to repentance? Are there places where you are being beckoned back to him? Remember the patience and gentleness of our vinedresser, who desires to spare the tree and is willing to till our hearts so that we may repent! Turn back while he patiently offers time!

Steven+