by Father John P. Cush, STD
“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.”
The Gospel this Sunday strikes a chord that resonates deeply with the season of Lent: Repent and believe in the Gospel. Our Lord uses the parable of the barren fig tree to shock us into reflection, much like Flannery O’Connor’s “large and startling figures” sought to awaken her readers to divine truths.
The fig tree stands as a stark metaphor for our spiritual lives, urging us to consider whether we are bearing fruit for the kingdom of God or wasting the soil in which we are planted. As Flannery O’Connor observed, we live in a world dulled to the distortions of sin. Our modern culture often normalizes what is spiritually harmful, making repentance seem unnecessary or outdated.
In such a context, Jesus’ parable comes as a jarring wake-up call. His warning about the barren fig tree is not meant to instill fear alone but to compel action. Like O’Connor’s shocking narratives, the Gospel’s urgency calls us to reevaluate our priorities and seek a radical transformation of heart. St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that God’s mercy and justice are not opposed but work in harmony.
He writes in the “Summa Theologica”: “Justice and mercy are so united that justice without mercy is cruelty, and mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution” (ST I, Q. 21, Art. 3). For Aquinas, mercy is more than a passive feeling; it is a divine attribute that demands action. He defines mercy as “a heartfelt sorrow for another’s misfortune, compelling us to act to alleviate it” (ST II-II, Q. 30, A. 1).
When we repent, we open ourselves to God’s mercy, but we are also called to imitate that mercy in our lives. Just as God cultivates the soil of our hearts, we are called to tend to others, offering forgiveness, compassion, and love. In the parable, the gardener’s plea for more time reveals God’s infinite mercy — a willingness to wait patiently for us to respond to His grace. Yet the warning about cutting down the tree underscores His justice. God desires our salvation, but He respects our free will. The time we have to repent is not infinite; it is a precious gift, meant to lead us to conversion.
Aquinas also emphasizes that true repentance is more than avoiding sin. It involves turning toward God, cultivating virtue, and bearing fruit through love and good works. He teaches that our ultimate goal is not merely to escape punishment but to grow in holiness and union with God, who is our final end. The Gospel’s call to repentance is not a one-time event but an ongoing journey.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that this process is part of the work of sanctification: “The movement of return to God, called conversion and repentance, entails sorrow for and abhorrence of sins committed, and the firm purpose of sinning no more in the future” (CCC 1490).
Our lives, like the fig tree, must be cultivated by God’s word and the sacraments so that we can grow in grace and bear fruit for the kingdom. Pope Francis, reflecting on this par- able, speaks often about God as the merciful gardener who tends to us with patience: “The Lord gives each of us the possibility to bear fruit. He patiently waits for us, offering us time, help, and opportunities to change and make progress on our journey to salvation.”
Yet Pope Francis also warns against presumption. The gardener’s mercy is not a free pass to avoid repentance. It is an invitation to take seriously the fleeting nature of our lives and the urgency of conversion. We cannot remain barren trees forever; our faith must become fruitful through acts of love, forgiveness, and service.
Lent invites us to meditate on the Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. These realities remind us that our time on earth is limited, and our choices have eternal consequences. The parable of the fig tree brings this into sharp focus. If we fail to bear fruit, we risk being “cut down.”
This is not meant to terrify us into submission but to awaken us to the profound seriousness of our calling as Christians. Our ultimate concern must be the salvation of our souls and the souls of those entrusted to us. Lent is the perfect time to evaluate our spiritual lives and make the necessary changes to align ourselves with God’s will.
So how do we ensure that we bear fruit? Perhaps we can think about this in four ways:
- Cultivate the Soil: Spend time in prayer, particularly meditating on Scripture, which nourishes the soul.
- Fertilize with Grace: Frequent the sacraments, especially confession and the Eucharist, which give us the grace to grow in holiness.
- Prune What is Dead: Identify habits of sin and work to eliminate them.
- Bear Fruit in Charity: Let your repentance manifest in acts of love —serving others, forgiving those who have hurt you, and living out the Beatitudes.
In his 2013 homily on this Gospel, Francis said: “God is a Father who always waits for us. He waits for us, never tires of forgiving us if we turn to Him with a contrite heart.” This divine patience is at the heart of Lent. God’s mercy gives us the opportunity to change, but it is not an excuse for complacency.
The barren tree cannot rely on the gardener’s mercy forever. The time to respond is now. St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that God’s justice and mercy meet perfectly in Christ. As we reflect on this Gospel, let us hear the voice of the merciful gardener calling us to repentance. Let us not waste the time we have been given but respond to God’s grace with open hearts, striving to bear fruit in our lives.
Readings for the Third
Sunday of Lent
Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15
1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Luke 13:1-9
Father John P. Cush, STD, is professor of fundamental and dogmatic theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary and College (Dunwoodie), Yonkers, New York.