Today’s Gospel passage ends with a parable. Parables have one specific meaning and most often, parables are left incomplete. So the original audience would get the meaning of the parables without any explanation, the objects and the materials discussed came from the daily lives of people at that time. Jesus uses parables to teach his disciples the truths about the Kingdom of God – the truths which cannot be disputed or contradicted. Parables, in a way, explain to us the heart and mind of Jesus.
In today’s parable, we see that the owner of the vineyard comes to the fig tree in search of fruit. Fig Trees have a popular place in Jewish culture and are mentioned about 60 times in the Bible but in this parable, the owner of the vineyard doesn’t speak about the fig tree favourably.
It usually takes three years for a fig tree to produce fruit. If a fig tree does not yield fruit in three years, it is unlikely that it would ever produce the fruit. Moreover, the fig tree takes a lot of nourishment from the soil. Since there is not much arable soil in Israel, the fig tree must justify its existence.
The owner asks the gardener to cut down the tree, but the gardener asks for a year of grace so that he can pay more attention to the tree. The parable ends abruptly without any conclusion. Did the owner give an extension? What happened to the tree? Did it produce fruit after a year, or was it cut down?…
‘Vineyard’ is another important symbol in scripture. It stands for something very dear to God like the ‘Chosen people of Israel’. Allowing the fig tree to grow in the vineyard, the owner shows how dear it is to him. The gardener’s reluctance to cut down the tree also explains its value to the owner.
In this background, we need to complete this parable within our own lives. God is always ready to give us another Chance.
Are we ready for that extended grace?
Will we produce enough fruit?
How do we respond to God’s mercy and love towards us?
During this Lent we need to take time out from our busy schedules to evaluate our life in God’s eyes – Do we justify our existence from God?
–Fr. Ranjan D’Sa OCD