“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all the other Galileans? By no means!” The Lenten Gospel this week falls into two parts: a dialogue between Jesus and his listeners, followed by the parable of the barren fig tree. Each part addresses a theme that Luke returns to again and again: who needs forgiveness and God’s mercy. Of course, Jesus’ point in all of this is simple: everyone needs reconciliation, and abundant mercy is available to all who seek God’s mercy. Jesus speaks plainly to the question of what to make of bad things that happen to good people. His underlying message is that our Heavenly Father is not singling them out for punishment, and therefore, are “By No Means!” the evil people. Jesus is particularly concerned that his listeners have a change of heart and let go of that illusion. He asks, “Do you think they were greater sinners than all others?”
In his parable the gardener reflects God’s abundant mercy toward us all. “Give the fig tree more time and let me do what I can” says the patient, nurturing gardener. Jesus strikes an essential Lenten tone in this story. All of us are called to live as the patient, nurturing, reconciling Gardener. We all experience what the orchard owner experiences. We go through frustration, anger, blame, desires for control, instant fixes, and for things to be as we want them! Part of the discovery of ourselves as fully human and fully graced before our Heavenly Father, is to embrace our humanity and divine spark. We are called to manage that dimension of us so that our deeper identity as followers of Jesus has the “Cultivation and fertilizer, “to bear fruit in the future.” A blessed part of today’s Gospel is that there is still time for us to be reconciled and to welcome that abundant mercy into our hearts.